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The New Gold Standard for Reverse Harem Vertical Dramas!

Hong Luan Yin's plot is proof that a story doesn't have to be revolutionary. As the saying goes: "There's nothing new under the sun." But if a story's execution is good, then it'll feel that way. And that's exactly what happened with Hong Luan Yin. It felt revolutionary because it was a reverse harem handled with care. Yun Qi was given time to explore her relationships with the men, and production didn't let "propriety" (*GASP* an actress kissing four men in a drama? Whatever will we do???? Will she even be able to marry now?!) limit their artistic vision.

The drama seemed to have a decent budget. It couldn't have been too high because the characters only got one or two costumes, but it wasn't low either because the wigs and sets were good. I wanted to point this out because whatever the budget was, the director (and the rest of the crew) made everything look and feel opulent. Sumptuous, even. The soft, golden lighting, the rich colors, the ornate brocades and jewelry, the heavy velvet, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. It was visually stimulating, and helped immerse me in Yun Qi's scheming, tense, and sensual world.

Hong Luan Yin is not a short vertical, and yet I was locked in for three and a half hours. In fact, when it ended I wanted more. Which is unusual because I tend to avoid verticals that go over two and a half hours because they start dragging.

Now that I've finished waxing poetic about the plot and production, let's talk about the characters:

• Yun Qi (our beloved FL):

Not gonna lie, I was nervous about her portrayal. Logically, it would take a confident, charming, and assertive person to control a harem, but dramas always seem to make female leads in reverse harems endlessly flustered, clueless, boring, and indecisive. The harem of men usually control her more than she controls them, which is why Yun Qi was such a breath of fresh air. She was cunning, charming, assertive, generous, and even funny!

I appreciated that she had a firm grasp on her harem (including the maid LOL. They should've put her on the cover too). This word gets thrown around a lot, but Yun Qi is genuinely iconic, and I don't know if we'll get another FL like her any time soon.

• Yun Jin Chen:

My prince. My baby. My puppy. My kitten. My darling. My peach. My love.

Can you tell he was my favorite love interest? Or was I too subtle?

When I first saw the cover for Hong Luan Yin, my eyes went straight to him. He's wearing plain white and light blue robes. He's not as ornately dressed as the other male leads, but something about his eyes and his posture drew me in.

Yun Qi's scenes with Jin Chen were the best in my opinion. They were the most emotionally intimate and raw. They don't have the explosive, fervent kind of passion audiences seem to prefer in drama couples, but they still have passion and chemistry. It's the slow-moving intense kind that oozes through the screen like syrup. It enveloped me during so many of their scenes, and I wanted more.

• Qi Zhuo:

As the sexy "male entertainer", he was definitely my second favorite. Not only was he gorgeous and had the best clothes, he had fantastic chemistry with Yun Qi. His backstory's a little confusing though, so I'm looking forward to getting clarification if we're blessed with a second season.

I definitely need to see more of his outfits and face jewelry. Dude would be the final boss at the Met Gala.

• Huo Xiao:

Even though he's ranked third on my list, Huo Xiao was a pleasant surprise! He's handsome, but overly calm and serious MLs aren't my jam. I usually find them boring. But I loved how jealous he was whenever Yun Qi got chummy with other men, and how ready he was to break the rules for her. That's what made me warm up to him.

• Xie Lin Yu:

I didn't dislike him as much as I thought I would, but he was still my least favorite male lead because he had the childish, immature hothead thing going on. I'm not knocking whoever has him as #1 on their list, but that male archetype's just not my thing. I appreciated the comedic relief he provided though.

With all that said, I'm obsessed with Hong Luan Yin, and I will be watching it many more times and praying for a season 2. Yun Qi is awesome, all the male leads have distinct relationships with her, and I'm interested in seeing where the story goes. Just like other popular verticals, I'd be down for a whole bunch of seasons, and Yun Qi ultimately picking all of the men in the end.

Hong Luan Yin is now the gold standard when it comes to reverse harems, so I hope it inspires more intentional, fleshed out dramas like it.

If you read all of that, thanks for indulging me. When I love something, I can't be succinct.

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A Jiejie Romance That Feels Like A Warm Hug

Yang Peng Cheng does it again! He really has a knack for picking good dramas. "Ming Mu Zhang Dan" is a well-made, introspective jiejie romance that features a sweet, mature relationship between the leads. All of the characters (including the supporting characters) also have interesting conversations about love, life, respect, societal expectations, and even motherhood. The FL is rational and doesn't take crap from anyone, and Yang Peng Cheng's character is basically Prince Charming. Everything goes well, and even though that's not how life works, the drama manages to craft a fantasy without making it overly dramatic like a lot of verticals. Certain aspects of the drama (like the FL's worries about the future) still felt relatable.

If you're looking for a mature, feel-good jiejie romance, look no further. "Ming Mu Zhang Dan" is a very enjoyable, comfortable watch.

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Perfect Crown Is Perfectly...Fine

**05/30/2026 Update**

I finally finished the drama, and I can't lie: I was even more underwhelmed by the last couple of episodes. They were so boring, I would've abandoned the drama if I hadn't been watching it with someone else. There was virtually no tension or suspense during the climax, and everything was predictable.

The drama continued to LOOK beautiful (and so did IU and Byeon Woo Seok), but it was truly one of the blandest things I've ever watched. So, for that, I'm gonna have to knock half a star off my original rating and bring it down to 4.5 out of 10.

As someone who's been watching K-dramas for decades, I still can't believe how lackluster they've become. I don't know how, but I really hope this changes in the future.

**********************************************************************************************************

My personal rating system:

5.0= Average (aka "Not bad, but not good." IYKYK)

There's a Romcom Problem...and unfortunately, Perfect Crown doesn't escape it.

For a long time now, audiences have been complaining about the lack of squealing, heart-racing, butterfly-inducing content in modern romcoms. I am one of those audience participants.

Many issues have been identified, but if I talk about all of them this review would be longer than "War and Peace". So I'm going to talk about two: realism and the fear of “cringe”. Realism and the fear of cringe are the reasons why live-action Disney movies look so drab instead of vivid. Realism and the fear of cringe are why so many superhero flicks were dark and gritty until recently. Realism and the fear of cringe are why so many movies and TV shows (and arguably books) are predictable. It's negatively impacted almost every art medium and genre, but none as bad as the romance genre—particularly romcoms. That’s why so many of them, including Perfect Crown feel…lukewarm.

I've already mentioned this in a comment, but modern-day romcoms are trying too hard to stay grounded in reality. In doing so, much of the whimsical, epic, SWEEPING moments that became traits of the genre are either non-existent or feel muted. Perfect Crown's issue is the latter. It's a shame because I FEEL the director trying to create those moments for us, but I can also feel the screenwriter and whoever edited it practically chanting, "A realistic modern-day monarchy. A realistic modern-day monarchy. A REALISTIC MODERN-DAY MONARCHY." Why does it have to be so realistic when that's not what the genre's about? People watch romcoms to be swept up in a fantasy, but a lot of screenwriters and networks are forgetting that. They're too busy worrying about audiences finding their drama "cringe”, whether it's more profitable to make the leads red flags, green flags, or morally gray, and waiting to see what therapy terms people will incorrectly use to describe the relationship dynamics. It's obvious, and why Perfect Crown ultimately fails to stand out. I applaud it for trying to take us back to the romcom basics, but with two HUGE stars like IU and Byeon Woo Seok + an obscenely large budget, they needed to go wayyyyy BIGGER. This is a Cinderella love story (if Cinderella was already rich) at heart. And Cinderella’s a classic fairytale. We needed more whimsy, more drama, elaborate costumes, and ardent declarations of love! Not uneventful royal soirées with dresses that look straight off the rack at Nordstrom, baseball games where nothing cute or fun happens, and a Temu Titanic scene. People are calling the Temu Titanic scene cringe, but my problem was it being tame and lacking creativity. I’ve seen audiences forgive “cringe” in favor of novelty. If Prince I-an wanted to “fly”, Hui Ju should’ve taken him on a hot air balloon or something. Realistically, a yacht makes the most sense, but again, that’s the problem.

Yesterday I watched episode 7, and I literally turned to the person I was watching it with during Prince I-an's confession, and asked, “Was this drama prescribed alprazolam???" That was one of the most lackluster confession scenes I've ever seen in...anything. And it's because the drama's trying to do this whole "realistic, every-day" thing. Again, most people aren't looking for that vibe in a romcom with princes, princesses, and palaces. So stop holding back. Go all the way. Aim to give us a confession we’ll be quoting for months.

Now that I've finished talking about Perfect Crown's main issues, I want to get into the nitty gritty. I’ll start with the things I found lukewarm, then end on a positive note with the things that were good.


THE LUKEWARM

• PRINCE I-AN: I don't know how it's possible, but Byeon Wook Seok looks even prettier here than Lovely Runner. Seriously, what's his skin care routine??? The man's skin is supple. The man is glowing. He's doing the best he can with I-an, but the character simply is not dynamic or memorable. I love to write, so I've taken writing courses, and done a lot of studying on my own. If you want a character who feels 3-dimensional, you're supposed to be able to answer these 4 questions about them:

1. What does your character want?
2. What does your character need?
3. What drives your character?
4. What secret does your character have?

And why? (For all of them).

I know I-an wants Hui-ju, and the drama's done a good job showing us why. I also know he might want to rule, but why? Just because he's the overlooked second son? Sorry, but the drama hasn't shown I-an being particularly passionate about helping his subjects or wanting to further a certain cause. Does he want to get rid of homelessness? Save the dolphins? We know nothing. The only reason he forced his high school to make the archery field accessible to everyone was because of Hui-ju, not because he's passionate about inequality between the social classes.

I also don't know what he needs. Now I know some people will gleefully take this opportunity to nitpick or get trite with answers like, "He needs family!" or "He needs love!" Yeah...we all need those things as humans. What else? What does he specifically need?

What drives him?? Why does he even want the crown? It can't just be because he's been passed over for it in the past. That's lazy writing. What does he actually want to accomplish if he becomes the emperor?

Lastly, aside from the poorly kept secret of I-an and Hui Ju’s fake relationship, we found out another one this episode: I-an has the burnt remains of his brother's letter abdicating the throne, and passing it to him. Predictable, but a good secret nevertheless.

But yeah, at the end of the day, Prince I-an is an extremely forgettable character who feels incomplete. There's nothing engaging or nuanced about him. (And this is coming from someone who loves “nice and/or kind guys”, so it’s not because he isn’t a “bad boy”.)

• THE ANTAGONISTS: Yoon Yi-rang (aka the Empress Dowager) could've been an amazing antagonist. Instead she's one-note and underutilized. I couldn’t answer the 4 character questions above about her with a gun to my temple, much less the why’s. It would've been nice to see what she was doing in high school. Did she go to an academy like I-an and Hui Ju? Or did she go to a finishing school of sorts where the whole curriculum was being a good royal wife? It would've been so easy to humanize her by giving her this inner conflict of: my whole life was about supporting my husband, and now it's about supporting my son. What...do I want? The screenwriter could've even given her a cute/unique hobby she has to hide because it’s “un-empress-like”, but she can’t help but enjoy it. Nope. She's basically a cartoon villain who only cares about power via her son.

Yoon Yi-rang's father Yoon Seong Won is the other villain, and he's barely worth mentioning.

• THE PLOT: Yoboseyo?? Are you there? I didn't expect this drama to be plot-heavy because most romcoms aren't, but all the characters do is go to work, the palace, and get Subway. We need better palace intrigue (those who know me will laugh at that), political interference the Prime Minister has a hard time stopping, and more imaginative royal events and parties. The need for realism strikes again! Where's the creativity?

• THE WARDROBE/COSTUMES!!!!: Uh...for a drama about princes and princesses, and the uber rich, WHERE IS THE FASHION???? Is it hiding with the plot? Perfect Crown has had some of the most basic outfits I've ever seen! Every time the drama tried to do a big outfit reveal with Hui Ju, it was just a boring suit! LOLLLLLL. They expected my jaw to drop for a suit???? They weren’t even interesting. They were very regular. I know Hui Ju is a CEO, but she's already a rule-breaker, so let that actually translate to her sense of fashion in a meaningful way. And no, Hui Ju wearing a suit while everyone else is wearing evening gowns or hanboks doesn't count. A suit is still a suit at the end of the day, and an outfit known for being functional and practical doesn’t fit Hui Ju's personality even though the costume designer is trying to tell us it does. The whole drama exists because Hui Ju does outlandish, impractical things like enter into a fake marriage with a prince to raise her social standing. Her clothing choices don’t reflect that. Even her gowns and hanboks were lackluster. The peachy, tulle gown she wore in episode 6? Revolutionary! I’ve never seen that before. What an interesting choice for a bold character -_- Prince I-an’s black and gold royal uniform ate her up in that scene. In fact, his suits are often more interesting than Hui Ju’s when it comes to cut, style, and color. However, if I had to give one character best dressed, it would be Yoon Yi-rang—which isn't saying much, but her outfits are better than everyone else's.


THE GOOD

• SEONG HUI JU: She's a polarizing figure. People either love her or hate her—which means she's well-written. (Btw, just because a character is universally liked, it doesn't mean they're well-written. People can wrap their heads around that when it comes to male characters, but they’re still working on it with female characters). I happen to love Hui Ju. She's ambitious, intelligent, assertive, arrogant, resilient, and kind (she's kind, NOT nice. Kind and nice can overlap, but they aren't the same thing. I will not be debating this. The only thing I'll say is kind people actually tend to rock the boat and piss people off in society. They don't mind hurting feelings or offending people in order to do the right thing. Whereas, nice people tend to go with the flow and worry about offending/hurting others, sometimes to the point of being people pleasers. Do some research if you're curious. The differences are interesting). I can easily answer all 4 characters questions about Hui Ju. They're obvious, so I won't bother going into them here. She's an engaging character, and IU's comedic chops are not lost on me. Just wish Hui Ju had better fashion sense.

• THE CHEMISTRY: I didn't know if IU and Byeon Woo Seok were going to have any chemistry. This is something a lot of people were wondering about before the drama came out, and now that it has I think it’s safe to say they do. It's not the tense or explosive kind of chemistry, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't there. I'm not surprised because IU tends to have pretty good chemistry with most of her co-stars. She comes across as someone who’s chill and easy to get along with, and it's not hard for that kind of person to connect with others. I've only seen Byeon Woo Seok in Lovely Runner, but judging by people’s reactions to 20th Century Girl, he might have that same charm.

• THE ACTING: In addition to IU and Byeon Woo Seok's cute chemistry, the acting is what's keeping me watching. I love IU's little facial expressions, and comedic timing. And Byeon Woo Seok is doing a great job at acting smitten with her. Prince I-an’s eyes are full of fondness whenever he stares at Hui Ju. Their love story is sweet, and I want to see what happens with it. It's just a shame these two solid actors are wasted on such a mediocre script (I still can't believe it won MBC's Screenwriting Contest. This was really the most creative, impressive thing in the bunch???).

• TRYING TO GO BACK TO THE ROMCOM BASICS: There are a lot of things about Perfect Crown that could be better, but I do want to applaud it for TRYING to give us a whimsical fairytale romance. It’s trying to make us swoon and give us butterflies like the romcoms of old. There's no magic, time travel, serial killers, robots...etc. The focus is on I-an and Hui Ju’s relationship. A romcom in its purest form. But to be a solid one, Perfect Crown needed to let go of its fear of being cringe and unrealistic. Screenwriters nowadays seem to be scared of the words "romantic” (the irony), “sappy”, "outlandish" when they actually need to be leaning into those words to get the genre back on track. I mean, some viewers are already calling it cringe, so they might as well take it all the way and give us something unique and MEMORABLE.

We're more than halfway through the drama, so I don't expect much to change, but if it does I'd be happy to amend my comment. Perfect Crown had the opportunity to dust off the romcom crown and place it on its own head, but a failure to commit to the fairytale, and trying to make the story feel realistic and "accessible" only make it “fine” instead of great or amazing.

With that said, this is MDL so I know I have to leave a little disclaimer:

• I am allowed to have my own opinions. You don't have to agree with me and I don't have to agree with you.
• Constructive criticism is something that exists. Not liking every single thing about a drama is NOT hate.
• I'm open to respectful discussions, but not arguing. I have a job and other responsibilities. I will simply block you and you'll be talking to yourself in the comments (perhaps that’s what some of you want?).
• If things get too crazy, I'll nip everything in the bud and just disable the comments.

This is the longest review I've ever posted, and it's for an extremely popular drama. I’ve seen what some of you have done to others, so let’s keep it cute >.> I’ll be watching episode 8 later today.

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