sulkytofu

If there's one thing that I really appreciate about recent romcom c-dramas, it's how much healthier the MLs are becoming. Han Shuo communicates his feelings, is willing to apologize when he's in the wrong, and doesn't ever do anything to harm the FL (even when he's jealous or being possessive!) I like how both the FL & ML have their own lives beyond each other, i.e. the romance is not a substitute for their own goals, dreams, and individual personalities.

Both Han Shuo and Qianqian also have a very healthy emotional relationship that's build on an affirming and positive foundation. Most importantly, he respects the FL's actions and her mindset, while being aware of his own limitations and faults. It's been great to see increasingly more MLs with multifaceted and reflective personalities, that don't harm or act meanly to the FLs, but instead equally and mutually support them as their partner.

Thank you! Seems like we have a long way to go especially with the episode count. I'll keep waiting and seeing the comments, and hope that the latter episodes are just as good as the beginning ones!

Honestly, not even Tim Pei could save this drama. There are so many issues, from the psychology aspect of the series (throw away all of the ethics of the profession in this series), to rash decisions the FL made out of heartbreak which frustrated me. These issues ultimately took away from the lighthearted romcom tone that I feel the show was aiming for.

Most of all, I really wish the chemistry of the characters could have kept me watching, especially because the ML actually has a very considerate and caring personality, but as the plot increasingly became more illogical it became hard to watch. I've unfortunately dropped this one at around Episode 6 despite the short number of episodes, and would not recommend this one considering how many solid C-dramas came out this year which would be much more worth your time.

Is this a drama that is fluffy and focused on romance? I'm trying to manage my expectations, so that I can prepare for angst (if this is the case) or if this is something that one can watch to pass the time and enjoy the sweetness!

They're all only related by the fact that they are created by the same production team! Both Ashes of Love and Skate Into Love are from completely different, separate novels (written by different authors). There's no similarity beyond that.

I don't know how I'm going to explain why seeing apples, bananas, and oranges on my countertop just cracks me up now ( ՞ਊ՞)

On a serious note, the script is absolutely hilarious, and the comedy is top-notch. I have good feelings about the series having a short and manageable number of episodes, and the entire cast's performances have been great to watch. The chemistry is wonderful, and I love how Zhao Lusi obviously brings in her unique romcom style to the drama, while I liked Ding Yuxi's performance here much more than his role in Intense Love.

The new poster is so gorgeous!

I have yet to really be able to form my thoughts on this drama, which I think overall I disliked, even though it had some parts which I found to be well done. Zhang Mingen did a great job acting in this series, and I felt like both he and Janice Man had quite solid chemistry. I think the main problem is that the ML + FL never really build up their relationship — it's basically almost insta-love in the first episode. The hardest thing is that I wasn't convinced their relationship could really weather all of the problems and conflicts that arose, and that the lack of communication (especially from the FL's side) made me question whether these two were mature enough for a relationship together. There were also A LOT of side characters I really disliked, and I wasn't a fan of the second couple which takes up quite a bit of screen time.

What this drama did REALLY well, however, was interestingly become way more engaging halfway (25+ eps, when it finally catches up to the very first scene at their "wedding") instead of becoming draggy. It was so much better seeing the ML + FL have to work to repair their relationship, but also go through their own personal difficulties and traumas. In other words, I fast forwarded quite a lot of the whole first half, but then couldn't stop watching parts of the second half, which is something unique that I've yet to experience with other dramas.

I've seen the BTS clips, and it's an absolute shame they dubbed her. Jin Wenxin has such a uniquely deeper voice, and I totally agree that it would have actually made her character even more attractive.

I definitely liked this A LOT more than My Love Enlighten Me, but that's maybe because I really didn't like the ML in that one. Gala Zhang does a really great job at creating a very well-rounded and relatable ML, so I think you'll really enjoy watching this!

The acting in this show was incredible and very well done, and I was really surprised that much of the cast has not achieved as much mainstream fame compared to other actors. Chai Biyun did a great job tackling on dual roles, while Sun Shaolong was amazing in bringing to life the character of Ouyang. It was also great watching how hateful Zhang Tao made his performance as Chen Zhe, and Wan Siwei's performance as Li Dong obviously tugs at your heartstrings.

The story and plot itself is not very novel (especially if you've seen Korean melodramas.) I think a lot of the twists could have been taken out of the series, in favour for more cute and romantic scenes. As others have also mentioned, the first 30 episodes were very well done, especially because our leads carried the story with their amazing romantic chemistry. Following that, however, misunderstandings are dragged out, with lots of angst until the very last two episodes. What does keep you watching however is seeing just how far the villain will go for his ambitions, and this alone kept me watching the entire series.

There were some things I was confused about, like did Chen Zhe ever seriously love Lin Meiya? And some other plot points that I felt were very unsatisfactorily handled. However, overall production is well done, and it was a treat to watch some really great performances from underrated actors, which I believe we would not be able to see in a different production.

This casting is an absolute must watch - I'm so excited by this especially after Gala Zhang's incredible performance as Xu Fang in The Best of You in My Mind, while Wan Peng did an amazing job being the bubbly and adorable FL in My Girlfriend is an Alien. Can't wait to hear more news and to see more updates once the casting is confirmed and the series begins airing.

I know! It's really hard to say because very often Chinese dramas are aired way later than they are filmed, for many reasons (i.e. censorship review, etc.) At least when it does air we don't have to wait like a whole week for new episodes like K-dramas, but I hope we get a release date very soon.

No problem ^^ Have fun watching ~

Oh, that's a relief to hear, and thanks for your comments! I love really fluffy dramas that are light on the angst and high on the romance, and I'm glad that at least their chemistry is really good! I still have this on my watchlist, and will keep this in mind.

Under the Power is definitely not in the same timeline, but if you want a precious historical romance where the two characters solve cases together, I'd also recommend watching it as well!

I don't think it will, because much of the events from GGS were actually in the prequel to and the original novel of this series. In other words, GGS was clearly created with no assumption that Appledog's Time would be adapted as well (and I think many readers are surprised, especially when they actually read the original novel Honey Stewed Squid, to see how NONE of flashbaks of Han Shangyan's friend group exists).

I have a hunch and I do think MBFB will make some big changes and definitely focus on Wu Bai and Appledog's characterizations, but I'd be surprised if the timeline were the same as GGS.

For those who want to read the novel, it's available here completely translated at https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-heartbeat-at-the-tip-of-the-tongue/. It's very well loved, as while it is a romance, there's also quite a lot on figuring out what one wants to do in life, and the main couple have a very healthy relationship and communicate very well together.

I'm going to be honest, in that this was not the casting I had envisioned for the series. There seems to be a lot of changes made to the story, particularly the portrayal of the ML's blindness which I thought was incredibly affirming and well-done, and that I think is quite frustrating to see. For many reasons, Song Yiran is also one of my favourite second male leads of all time, and I hope that the actor does justice towards the complexity of his personality as depicted in the novel. There are a lot of high hopes and expectations here, and we will have to wait and see how it plays out through the adaptation process.

I really think it's primarily a writing problem, and maybe an acting problem as well. My issue is that right from Episode 1 the ML feels like it is okay to destroy someone's career (regardless of whether he got the right person or not), and he doesn't really ever "grow" throughout the series. I can't see why Nuannuan, considering how hard she works to overcome her own challenges, likes the MC who doesn't ever really suffer any setbacks throughout the show.

Thank you! I just finished it today!