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The production team's best drama to date!
This drama starts off really promising, with Zhang Xin Cheng's amazing body-switch acting (okay Liang Jie lacked a little at the beginning but gets better) and a very upbeat funny scriptand superb comedic timing when it comes to the background music (waiter! please give the BGM teacher one extra chicken leg!)
but as with the two previous dramas by this production team (Go Ahead and Find Yourself), I was worried that the scriptwriter would also give up on the earlier successes and like, disappoint us in the end
so I was hesitant to recommend this until I had watched all of it.
By episode 24, I was like, wow this is really keeping up
and by episode 26, I thought this was probably one of the best Chinese dramas I've seen this year.
The strengths of Find Yourself -- ridiculously funny character settings + breaking the 4th wall humor (oh my god that *one* scene hahahaha)
and the strengths of Go Ahead -- family love and reconciliation
minus the weaknesses of the two earlier dramas -- draggy plot, irrational character decisions, single-faceted villain characters
In this drama, not only all the main characters are lovable, but even the side slightly-bad villain characters get their redeeming moments
and I guess the 26-episode shortness kind of helped keep things contained and to the point
so we got the comedy and the fun and the romance without the draggy plot
I've already mentioned Zhang Xin Cheng's acting, but I got to mention it again.
Best female lead of 2021.
When he plays the female lead's soul, his attention to small details... 100% resemblance holymoly.
Would recommend even if you're not into rom coms and are just into enjoying good acting, music, and cinematography.
And even more recommended if you love a good rom com too. Cus this one is pretty great.
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The "Second Lead" Won
So this is my first time writing a review just because it is plain painful how this drama is not getting the attention that it so deserves.After watching Put Your Head on My Shoulder, I thought it will take me a long time to move on. But upon watching this, poof, I forgot about PYHOMS and was immediately hooked up with this series. Until now, I haven't move on from this yet. Have you ever watched a 60 plus episode drama which you think should have ended at 10 plus episode? Okay, so yes. Now, have you ever watched a 30 plus episode drama which you think should have reached 60 episodes? This drama, at least for me, belongs to the latter.
So what made this series stand out from the rest of the C-dramas I watched?
Story: The story is a typical C-drama school romance played for so many times already. Being typical, however, is not necessarily bad when it is done so well. This, I believe, is an example of it. The characters were believable and one can relate with them (although they are still exaggerated at an extent because well, of course, this is still a drama). Nobody was portrayed to be perfect. And unlike other C-dramas which tend to portray the female lead as literally dumb and bullied, this drama gave leadership ability to the heroine and made her likable to her classmates. The character development was also good. Additionally, the parts touching family and friendship were heart warming.
Cast and their Characters: Most of the actors and actresses are apparently newcomers but guess what, they certainly did not show it. They have the emotions, they have the timing and although there are still some toe-curling scenes, they are still manageable. Each of them have given justice to their roles, delivering it so well. Their chemistry is also great especially the male lead and the female lead (their chemistry is purely insane). As each episode go by, I can't helped but be drawn and attached with everyone of them, especially to the character of He Xin Liang. Casting Ding Yu Xi for the role is definitely a winner as I cannot imagine someone doing it better than him. He Xin Liang undeniably raised the standards for internet boyfriends. He deviates from the stiff, cold, snobbish male leads who, for some reason, always gets the girl. I guarantee you that in here, you will not be infected by Second Lead Syndrome (except if you prefer the typical male lead). As for Ji Xiao, although you may not jump in his ship, you will definitely still love him. I think this is where the beauty of this drama lies--you do not have someone to entirely hate on. There may be times you get annoyed with a character but it doesn't last.
Music: Opening OST was good and memorable. Other background music was suitable where it was played. The song sang by Ding Yu Xi is also good.
Rewatch Value: I have rewatched this drama and still do, especially on times when I just need a light and fuzzy drama.
Overall, I think this drama captured the essence of youth, of young love, of first love, of family, of our dreams and ambitions and of friendships the way we see it when we are still 16 or 17 years old. It takes you back to the days when you were still in high school, reminding you of your silliness and immaturity. It brings back the fuzzy feeling of having your crushes and your so called love. Most importantly, it shows how some things do not turn out the way we wanted to and how, at some point of our lives, there are greater things more important than being in a relationship with the person we love. It also portrays how love, although true, can also be shown by letting go.
This series is highly recommended for everyone who loves light dramas and who are tired rooting for the second lead to no avail. Many have dropped this from the first episode because of the female lead's hair but please, please, please, try to overlook her rather unflattering hair and you will see (maybe) that this show is a gem.
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Watch for main leads
The synopsis turned me off...plastic surgery? No thanks. The poster with the leads drew me in. Male lead isn’t the typical “pretty” “gorgeous” type everyone fawns over. He is also older. If anything like Dating in the Kitchen, I wanted to try.Sure enough, I enjoyed it. The business side of it showed some brilliance in ideas. Like other stories, there’s the schemers and conspirators trying to oust the top guy. While there’s some crazy twists, there’s some nice surprises that are noteworthy.
Synopsis seeming to focus on plastic surgery is wrong. Except giving the idea that it’s dangerous if not done right, that plot was gone right after one of the sisters had one. I guess how a person changes not just physically but mentally fits in.
Janice Wu as the kind sister Xiaoting was excellent. She encounters lots of degradation but handles them with her head held up and a maturity beyond her age and experience in work field. Edward Zhang as Lian Sheng turned out to be exactly the character I wanted to see. He is very matured, quiet and thoughtful. Their meeting should of never happened and as it goes with Chinese dramas going around circles when if they simply ask, lots of dumb runaround would be avoided. His disguise at initial meeting is hilarious and he’s perfect. From there, the relationship development slowly made its way to one that was so beautiful. She’s young, he’s a lot older yet when he fell first, it was just adorable. Their chemistry was so good and I appreciate this a lot in artists acting ability. There’s a twist that springs out late that adds spice.
The supporting cast were good, when not annoying. The second leads were immature and their relationship was weird. Writer sort of dropped them towards end. The nice thing added is that there were no super evil characters, slappers, screamers (well, that’s more of kdramas to be fair). It was a pretty smooth storyline and I watched all the way through..even un subtitled few last episodes.
I could actually go back and rewatch this. It’s a 9/10 for me.
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Up close and a little personal
I got served something I didn't expect. Unlike many ...I came and stayed for Hu Bingqing. She is quite the action star but what she's great at is emotive acting. She's definitely one of those actors who acts with their whole body. Her eyes tell you more than what she says. I thought this was her story ...turns out she had seven sisters and six brothers. Telling a group story is tough and purely up to the director's vision. How much time do you spend on everyone? How much time do you spend on action and training? If you're familiar with commando films ...you expect certain things.The representation of military women was the focus and I would say this production team did a great job. BTW...these operators are not teenagers. Most are career military with personal achievements in marksmanship, martial arts, communications, linguistics, tactics, munitions, demolitions and medicine. We still don't know what Gu Xiaowei specialty was outside of talking trash?...lol. These women are fiercely proud and self aware. Females in the military walk a different path than their brothers. I wanted to see if this production would represent the female POV without the silly cdrama troupes. They did pretty well except for a few things. I reminded me of GI Jane mostly due to the FL and ML relationship.
The brothers were impossible not to love. They were incredibly supportive and uplifting. All they cared about is having each others back. If you could do that...then you're family. Their continued support for each other as brothers and sisters...speaks louder about their sense of community than any flag or anthem. That's where they got us and that's why we stayed to watch this drama.
I would agree that the villain was unorganized. Someone forgot to tell them ...they're an organized crime syndicate. Organized being key. It made the counter attack seem excessive...police tactical could have handled them just fine to me. Blue Lighting didn't seem necessary. China has 1.5 billion people and a long history with bandits. They also have extreme and long established criminal organizations which deal arms, drugs, human trafficking and treason. So much crime to pick from and they chose energy...? I don't even know what they were trying to do.
It's a good watch for 35 episodes. Definitely want a season 2 with a bigger villain. I miss everyone already...
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Yumi: Journey of self love
Great marriage of animation and drama.Yumi's animated cells, every single one of them, we didnt know we need them until we saw them and love them so much. Lust cell cracks me up. Hunger cell is too cute. Interestingly my fav cell is rational cell. What makes it good is how relatable it is. Everyone has many sides to them. Similar with yumi, today fashion cell takes over and she makes a splurge. Or emotion cell takes over and she does a reactive reaction that she may regret. Even how the weather reflects yumi's feelings.
What makes it good is seeing the journey of the cells which infers yumi herself learns from experiences- every fall, every heartbreak. And seeing how the cells lobby for her happiness.. its really a journey of self love. Learning how to open up, how to take intiative, how to flirt/be coquetish, how to give, how to stand up for herself and ultimately how to let go.
Romantic interest wise comic readers knows Woong and Yumi's rollercoaster. He may not be perfect but both him and yumi shared alot, experienced new things together and were once very happy. Hes definitely in a few volumes of encyclopedia in yumi's central library and forever will be up on her wall of special moments. He helped unlocked alot of things in Yumi's heart. I was glad he entered Yumi's life.
Lastly I noticed Kim Go Eun seems much more carefree in her acting here. Both her and Ahn Bo Hyun were truly great in their roles and played off each other so well. There may not be that much of Woong in the sequel but I still hope to see him.
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The romance was cute, but because of the short duration, it feels too rushed. There's not much of plot/character development. I think it'd be much better if they turn this movie into a drama.
Acting
I'm not familiar with any of the actors. But they did a good job portraying their characters.
Music
It wasn't anything memorable
Rewatch
Yes, short and the the special effects / cgi was really good. There's a lot of funny moments. So I'd definitely rewatch it
Overall
it's a good movie to kill time with
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A very good “My Ex Wants to Pursue Me Again”-story
This is a very good “My Ex Wants to Pursue Me Again”-story with good actors and an interesting storyline that is both passionate, heartwarming and heart wrenching.I loved this strong/capable/sweet FL and tenacious/passionate/loving ML - and their great chemistry.
Well, this is definitely well worth watching.
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Dramas have made me cry before. But I've never cried because one ended. I found myself unbelievably heartbroken after finish the last episode of the second season. Little things would remind me of this series, and I would become sad after remembering it's over. I spent so many hours watching fan videos and interviews with the actors. I convinced my friends to watch it, and I'll keep trying to convince even more friends to give it a go.
SOTUS is very unique in that it can be enjoyed by many people. One of those friends I mentioned is a straight male - and he really enjoyed it (although he had to look away during kiss scenes!)
At first, Arthit might seem like an asshole - the hazing process might not make any sense - but you'll start to understand by the end. Rewatching this series was just as great as it was watching for the first time, because now I know what the hazing really meant, and why Arthit does the things he does.
The romance is just so well done, it isn't forced in its development. They don't try to like each other, it just happens, without their control.
Even the side couples are adorable.
My only wish in life is for a season three.
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This review may contain spoilers
I just completed the Princess Silver series and it left me with very mixed emotions. I've never written any review before but the extremely heavy after thoughts compelled me to write this post. This is not so much a review, but I want to share my thoughts and feelings about the drama. In my opinion, Princess Silver is one the best Chinese Drama produced in recent years. I have not read the novel, so I do not know how close the drama to the original source is. Nevertheless, the story is a beautiful and very heavy heart tragic story that takes a lot of emotions out of the viewers. Complex relationships, plots, and key secrets are beautifully written and planned by scriptwriters. For the most part, the drama flows well through the many episode but becomes a bit draggy on the last six. Perhaps, it could have been done with 60 episodes and I will share my thoughts on that.Let us begin, the soul of the drama definitely comes from the superb young casts, especially Sophie Zhang. She is the center and the life of the drama in every single episode. All others are good, but Sophie's performance is many levels above all others. I have seen her once few years back in ROCH as Guo Xiang. Her acting has matured significantly over the years. Unlike Guo Xiang simple happy loving teen character, Rong Le character consists of complex dispositions, and most involve extreme level of emotions: happiness, betrayal, despair, hatred, strong will, wisdom, hope. Yet, Sophie has demonstrated the ability to connect all those with me as a viewer. The two vivid scenes, when she gets rolled out on a bed to force surrender from Wu You and when she finds out the cure for her illness, to me, are no doubt of her best performance. You can really connect and feel the pain and torment through her face and twisted body. Her performance would be the only reason if I to re-watch the series (very unlikely). She has done an extraordinary job in Rong Le.
As for the male roles, it is worth to mention of good performance from both Aarif Rahman and Jing Chao. Zongzheng Wu You played by Aarif is a protagonist that anyone can long for: intelligence, arrogant, powerful, brave, fidelity. I do find a bit stiff in Aarif acting. He does well in arrogant and battle scenes, but I don't connect with him on the painful and happiness scenes. Perhaps, that is the intention of the scripts not to show weakness in Wu You character. I think Wu You is not a difficult character to play and Aarif performance does progressively gets better through the series and keeps hold of the viewers. The chemistry between Aarif/Sophie - Wu You/Rong Le is phenomenon. Together they really bring out an intense love that would rival any relationship in all period drama. The sacrifice, loyalty, and fidelity outshine all the evilness in the story which is extremely critical factor for good period drama. You want them to be together, but you cannot wait for them to be separated as well, and long for them to be back again. It is a heartwarming circle that keeps the wheel of drama rolling.
With Fu Chou character played by Jing Chao, I would say, second to Rong Le, this is also a complex role to play. Seasoned actor Jing Chao fits and plays the role well. This character has no external emotion expression, but I do connect with Fu Chou from begin to end, from dislike to acceptance, from suspicious to truth, and from despite to sympathy. Through mostly short sentences, burst of emotions, facial and body expression, Jing Chao has really carried out the depth and complexity of the character. Because of his acting, I do circle back to Fu Chou and accept his role in the story.
To my least favorite character of the series, it is Rong Qi played by Luo Yunxi. From both character and performance standpoint, I find it exceedingly difficult to accept and tolerate this combination. Luo Yunxi acting seems very dry to me. Understanding that Rong Qi is a sickness and painful role, I never see that but do see an internal evilness in him until the very last episode. I am not sure whether I misunderstand the role, or it is supposed exactly like that. This is where I like to know what is really the Rong Qi actual character in the novel. As for the story, I see the last 6 episodes is written as a redemption for Rong Qi and to fill in all the missing pieces. I find myself forwarding most of it because, by episode 60, my mind is already made up for Rong Qi as an antagonist, and there is no return from there regardless of how many more beautiful details of Rong Qi and Rong Le relationship added. I understand the need for a series of events to bring back all memory for Rong Le and to cure her illness, however, the dragging of the last few episodes on the relationship of Rong Qi and Rong Le during her pregnancy are very repugnant in my view. At that point, most of the secret plots have been exposed, and therefore, I feel that the series could have been concluded with 60 episodes by keeping the details on their relationship minimal. It is very unlikely that I would rewatch the drama because of these very distasteful episodes.
Lastly with some random thoughts, although I have enjoyed Princess Silver, the tragic story in the drama is too heavy heart for me to rewatch a second time. I find it draws a lot of emotion out of me which a good drama should do. I am also overly impressed with the overall casts and their performance. I hope and look forward to seeing their other works soon. Regarding costumes, I have mixed feeling on some costumes used in the drama, especially the design and accessories of the royal outfits, seemed to be over killed. For those who enjoy serious, highly emotional, intense love, and complex storytelling, I highly recommend this series. If you are looking for fun, light heart, beautiful love story, my current favorites are Joy of Life and Under the Power, both are excellent dramas that will leave you a big note of happiness and satisfaction.
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Just your usual gangster film, but worth it for the romance
Gatao: The Last Stray is a Taiwanese action-romance film directed by Jui-Chih Chiang and starring Rexen Cheng (The Victims' Game) and Nikki Hsieh (Meet Me @ 1006).In many ways it's just another predictable gangster film, but the romance and great chemistry between the leads makes up for where the rest of the film is lacking.
It's worth watching this for the romance alone in my opinion, it's very sweet. The chemistry feels very natural and convincing and it makes the rest of the film bearable, even nice to watch.
The plot itself is very predicable and easy to follow, in many ways it lacks depth and could've used a more interesting and dark approach. The fights were underwhelming and unrealistic which took away the feeling of true danger for the viewer. I also think that the ending could've been more emotional to feel more satisfactory.
I recommend you to watch this without any expectations like I did. If you're after a good gangster flick then you should probably look elsewhere.
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I had such high hopes for this drama, but the ending left me disappointed. The drama is beautifully shot, and the side characters are wonderfully written, but it threw away the unconventionality that had originally kept me watching. I had hoped that the drama would dive into the character development of the female lead and her struggles with love after leaving a toxic relationship, but it did none of that. The main couple had chemistry, but halfway through they got incredibly boring, and I found it hard to believe either of them changed for the better since the drama rarely bothered to show it. While it's arguable that it was more realistic this way, I found that it fell into the same tropes of the female lead ending with the toxic male lead, and the theme of choosing romantic love over choosing oneself. Was this review helpful to you?
The plot twists, the ending, ugh, the ending is bittersweet
This drama is amazing, the cast, the actors, it is very well made.Being set in a different year in the past begs me to question what/when will the modern twist be put on?
After the modern era change, it seems to have lost a tiny bit of the sparkle this drama had, but that is to be expected, when things have changed.
The ending, oh, so heartbreaking. I wish for a season 2 but I doubt that will happen.
Amazing cast, the story is not too slow, and the acting is top notch!
The storyline is pretty good, hard to follow sometimes, since I forget who has used the spoon and so on, lol.
There have been many good dramas this year, and this is definitely top 5 so far in my mind.
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It’s uphill after the first 2 episodes!!
The first episode I was ready to drop it. The FL was unbearable and I thought there was no way I could sit through 24 episodes of her! But I looked at some of the comments and most readers said it gets better after episode 3 and they were right! FL’s character development came quick and she went from awful to normal and to pretty likeable. ML I adored as the handsome introverted prince with his perpetual pout and eyes that could never hide his true feelings. I liked the chemistry between the leads and although there were the typical troupe misunderstandings, they didn’t last too long.The last few episodes did get frustrating for me. SFL had too much screen time compared to the FL and the storyline seemed to get drawn out. I’m a total HE drama watcher and this one I guess is a kind of sort of HE so I’m sort of satisfied!!
This drama was a good watch … definitely surpassed my expectations considering how low the bar was after the first episode!! If you can get to episode 3 or 4, I think you’re good to go.
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Surprising
Very rarely I get to change my mind: when a drama is on my dropped list, it stays there and I usually do not give it a second chance. I was challenged into watching this so I gave it a go. And frankly, it was not as bad as I thought it would be.Star In My Mind is a drama about Dao and Kleun and their imagined unrequited love for each other. When Dao confesses before leaving for a trip, Kleun is flabbergasted and just utters a banality. They meet again a few years later at the University where they share a dorm. After a few wrong moves, they eventually find common ground and love.
I had dropped this after the first episode, the cringe factor (the confession) was just too much for me to bear. But surprisingly, that cringiness disappears and we get a straight forward rom com together with all the usual tropes, misunderstandings, another love interest, helpful friends. Another surprising absence is the adults (parents, teachers etc.) since none of the characters work, they must be financed somehow in order to study. But we do not know really how (most of them apparently come from well off families!).
As somebody pointed out already, there are no side couples in this drama: there are friends in their group flirting but nothing is mentioned let alone fleshed out. This drama is only about Kleun and Dao. I found this a refreshing change from the usual thai bl formula where there are usually two more couples adding nothing to the plot but wasting time.
The actors had a surprisingly good chemistry probably because the characters they played were the complete opposites: Kleun a taciturn popular guy and Dao an expressive artist. Joong is an awful actor: he has a single facial expression: brooding. He might be handsome but he is like a doll. Dunk was surprisingly good. He has an interesting voice and managed to be slightly better than Joong. They appeared to be at ease with each other and did not shy from contact.
The rest of the cast were just there not to have the stage empty. They were there as support for the main leads and we never did get to know them. Which is ok since it made the series shorter and more compact and therefore easier to watch. The only character that gets a bit more time is Fah, Dao's older brother who is the star of the second series. 😀😀
This series was a surprisingly decent watch and I ended up liking it more than the second part Sky In Your Heart. To be watched while doing something else....
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