smoky_topaz

Her girly fashion style and her all-cute-and-innocence behavior is partially true, but also deceptive.
Like Lizzy stated, her actions are bold from the start. Going against the wishes of her mother. Seeking him out after years of zero contact.
A lot of viewers (hence the “such a dumb fl again” comments) are overlooking her brain at work. She is clever.
How she acts seemingly spoiled to draw him out of his shell and rekindle their old closeness to one another and later on to flirt with him and mark her territory, LOL.
Her interactions with the 2ML are calculated, too. Her comebacks in their dialogues? 👍😘

Our girl knows, what and who she wants, and she’s going for it at full speed.

He isn’t „new“ for me as a actor/person.
But until now I couldn’t get interested enough to watch The Untamed. And his other work (what is listed) didn’t spike my interest either. I would love to watch him in a show, to get the hype around him.

“HY’s looks work better”. And your explanation.
That was the reason for my “nuhh” on HMH.
I never watched WY before.

I enjoy them, too.

Thought for a minute, that was the guy from “Our Generation”, and was like “oh. Yes, he would be a good 2nd choice”.
Luckily I went to make sure, I had the right person in mind.
Uhh. No.
Oops.
It seems, I never watched a show with SWL until now.
Zhang LingHe could definitely pull it off too. But the perceived (not the real actor’s age) age gap would perhaps be too large. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I was contemplating the cast today, too.
And imo he’s the right choice for his role.
Face card aside, he brings the stoic part, the intelligence despite being only a mechanic, the underlying vulnerability and the sometimes childlike yearning for softness and warmth to the forefront in his acting. The scar under his eye as added bonus.
No notes from my side.
If I try and picture some other actor instead of HeYu - I am not sold. Even with HMH I was like: “nuhh”. It’s good at it is.

After I caught up on the released episodes I have mixed feelings about this drama.
Strong start. But the energy got sucked out of it during the 3rd to 8. episode. The whole baby products trope? Boring 🥱.
First time I used a faster speed while watching for WHOLE episodes. And it still felt like regular speed (aside from the music). Not a good sign for a drama.
Thankfully it picked up in energy with the cameo of the “One Dollar Lawyer”.
Let’s hope, that the drama can bring back the vibe of the first episodes for the remaining drama.

The website seems to be some kind of archive.
The citation is from a publication about “Modern Chinese Literature and Culture”. The authors name suggests Chinese background.
Neither does it compares to Korean drama culture nor the origins of these tropes. Only that they exist today in Chinese dramas and how it influences gender politics within China.
Nothing wrong with that.
Such studies and publications exist everywhere.

Since watching Speed and Love made me nostalgic, I looked this drama up.
Since it doesn’t seem to be on any official streaming platform:
Found a playlist for the episodes on bilibili (search was: Mars drama 2004).
Sound and video quality is not 2025, but way better than what I found on YT last year.

Random thoughts after episode 9:
Tsujitani definitely grew on me.
His antics? 🤣
Love, that both friend groups are equally supportive and caring.

The hopper and the running at the end of the rooftop scene?
Such a classic teen romance moment. 🥰

The little heart to heart with Ryoto? 🫶🏼

Both their acting during this episode?
10/10
Fujimoto stellar as always in this show. I didn’t know him before, but now I hope, we get to see much more of him in future projects.
And Kan hot on his heels in his acting.
Kan’s facial expressions after their talk changes to shown desire for the other (Hioki unaware of himself like most of the time)?
Chef’s kiss.
The nonverbal asking for permission, the yearning while constantly searching for feedback in Hioki’s face on how on board he is with that next level of skinship. The subtle change to amusement, resulting in outright well meaning teasing and loving reassurance.
A second season is a must at this point and can’t come fast enough.
Awww.
I gobbled their acting up like the best treat available.

My first thought after his declaration was “famous last words, dude.”

My inner self was wincing hard at that scene. 😅

As someone, who didn’t knew him beforehand, I find his acting quite good.
Seemingly a stoic character, but the micro expressions and small gestures, which are important to sell such a character to the audience, are on point.
He depicts a multilayered character.

She knows exactly, what she’s doing.
🤣🤣🤣

Is the show cheesy?
Yep.
Choppy in parts, how the story unfolds?
Yep.
But nonetheless it’s still a great drama until now, which gives you all the feels and got me hooked and seated to watch.
The show makes me nostalgic af, because it gives the vibe of the older dramas with its color coding and theme.
Remember “Mars” anyone? This drama reminds me so much of it.

And I like Heyu’s acting!
I only knew him by name until now. That definitely changed with this show.
You can feel his yearning for her, her warmth and sunshine through his acting. And he didn’t overact one moment.
You can even sometimes see the hurt little boy in his face shine through.

He’s such a marshmallow for her. 🥰🤣

They shouldn’t give them harsh face wounds in the first place, when they make them disappear nearly overnight. 🤦🏻‍♀️

A time traveller among us. 🤣 I feel blessed and honored to make your acquaintance.
Viki released (at least in my time zone) at the same time as IQiyi today.
Technology. Software. Weird things happen sometimes.

After watching the first 6 eps:
Works for me.
Chemistry between these 2 is steamy.
The story so far has a good pace.
Kudos to the coordinator for the fight scenes. They’re looking good. 👍

The car scenes are giving me nostalgia for my first two cars.
Stick shift. A good shock absorber to counter the speed while taking the winding roads. That and mountains roads with no traffic?
Pure joy behind the wheel.

Just finished ep 6.
7+8 are not released, yet.
On the earliest at the same time like IQiyi today.