Reviews

voyage

max masa's-tug of war-with company politics is kind'v ethe worst part of the show. i don't like it but i see potential in the beginning conversation between the presidents & masa talking about her like a product ,i think it's really good in context to this being a real struggle ayumi hamasaki faced as a developing artist. but like ,this show won't do anything good with that i know. also ,the use of the avex single「 can't stop this ! ! 」was extremely good. the loud club+appropriate beat breaking into the private lounge ,the sound drowning out dsuring the tension. i also think it is such a cool move as this is where masa turned the tide as an artist instead of an employee. we are reminded that we are currently inside of a club ,a place people gather & unite through music ,they are the odd ones out using it as business meeting. & this is also a business meeting enveloped in human emotions of jealousy ,anger & spite. i think it's genuinely really cool. i do think this episode is a step up ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆so now the main event of this episode is ayu's training. her time in new york kind've pisses me off. in the lasat episode masa already introduces to ayu the idea of singing with a beloved one in mind & by the end of the episode you would assume she got this down because that is literally how she gets his attention from outside. so why is it the big struggle she can't grasp here ? i personally think all of the physical training is very unrealistic like no i do not believe ayumi hamasaki can run like that but i am honestly fine with it because it was a good way to represent the physical toll of being a performer. this is a very demanding job & the physical pressure on her being something she needs to actually take hold of her dream & not give up on is a good idea. but i think the bull±shit " " sing from your heart & to the one you love " " thing does nothing here because she also literally does nothing to get to the conclusion here. the training montage was ass also ,i literally just said why though they show her get better but she's not really growing as a person she's not figuring out how to get better she just is. i also really lijke the sudden cut to a church when ayu & masa meet in new york. it's cool. i wonder if the present is what ayu wrote present about. but the real thing that makes me mad about the new york trip ,this is on me for misreading but i always associate new york & ayumi hamasaki with how she got the idea of the title『 loveppears 』so it was before she took a trip to new york ,which might not necessarily be this one & like i just said it also wasn't even a thinmg happening in new york ,but narratively it would've worked. we do cover loveppears era in this drama so it's just like . . . come on girl ! DO THE PEOPLE MAKING THIS DRAMA EVEN LIKE AYUMI HAMASAKI . . . ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆now onto alan shirahama & his girls plot. i honestly think this is a good side+plot to make use of the girls & his characters & how they both will underperform because they're not about that life like ayu & masa is. what i really want to focus on is how insufferable ayu is. i want to see actual growth from her. she should know better by now & it is not engaging to see her act overly sweet & naive & trusting. i personally think it would be interesting to see her know & understand that risa is fucking vile & have some apprehension to her. she should know something isn't fucking right when she offers that bath & she should have some fears & still fall for it. that would be a much more interesting character. i fully do not care that this is the second episode ,ayu is not interesting or special & it pisses me off. oh & another thing that bothers me. to me personally ,ayumi hamasaki's constant refresh of her look through hair is a really really important part of her image. it should not be done off±screen before a flight & overshadowed by MAX MATSUURA oh my GOD. kalen anzai still sucks at acting but her ayu voice she used for the「 boys&girls 」performance was really good ! too bad nopony in this production respects ayumi hamasaki enough for this to be seen.

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The Organization for the people

Yi has had to move from her home. She now has a garret space to stay in. The comrades responsible for her make sure she feels every minute. They have the fake syrupy condescending tone of the chief’s wife down pat. Yi is getting a bird’s eye view how the party saying it’s for the people is only for some of the people.😝 This is another attempt by the friendly neighborhood comrades to get her to leave Shanghai. While she appears to be bullied, she is quietly and resolutely holding her ground. She wins by staying in the city of her choice in spite of their crap. They think she is too weak from wealth to deal with harsh conditions. They have no clue what her family put her through. Compared to her father and gma, these naggy old biddies are nothing to her. That is why she does not bother angering them. That’s wasted effort. Mr Fu is trying to be helpful in his blundering way. He is cowardly, but truthful. The one thing Minister Wen got from the conversation about ZhouYuan is that he lived with integrity and humility. He had good taste in his preferences, but not pretentious. Fu was trying to send business Yi’s way and the one thing that did score a point for biddy was demanding her seamstress skills. This was the first time a bit of fear showed in Yi’s eyes. Minister Wen stops by. I like their conversation about garrets and the inspired artists and authors who created in these spaces. He notes the meager living arrangements and that she doesn’t complain about them. He encourages Yi to get along with her neighbors. But if he was neighbors with Yang’s ilk and charm, how much would he want to mingle?😝 Like most youth flexing their almost adult wings, her sis in law felt entitled to read Yi’s diary and demand compliance to the new party. She doesn’t have enough interest in history or life experience to choose to think for herself. She is easily indoctrinated to ‘better ways.’ She is also so angry and miserable about her brother. Her pet peeve right now is that she and sis in law are on same page where her brother is concerned. It tickles the back of her mind that he would have nothing to do with the organization she prizes so highly now. She wants to drown that sentiment out by making Yi fall in line. I hope at some point they can have a real conversation, but again, politics can really tear up families. I liked Yi’s stance on not pride of being Shanghainese but respecting her identity. That is what all parties ‘ of the people ‘ want to make us forget — who we are as individuals and how that makes the world better. It is harder to keep people as sheep when they have individual thought. Anything not coarse and unrefined is seen as bourgeois, so they conveniently label Yi as such without even knowing her. They vent their conflicts with status and wealth on her and make her the pariah and scapegoat. She is the one that needs retrained to their thinking. This is pretty indicative of all ‘inclusive’ parties. You are welcomed as long as your opinions don’t disagree with their party line. The surprising thing is Yi takes her diary and turns it in, the second surprising thing is her bold stance of demanding immediate judgment. She is going to wait til they read and evaluate it on the spot. She knows if she leaves, it’s all over. Her sis in law has to blab to Yang in her self righteous little rant. They go storming in to find her already there. Unfortunately for Yi, little miss chatty Cathy now has made it so Yang is in charge. He makes everything an interrogation. I have to smirk when the brainwashed kid has no clue how to answer. She finally lets some truth out and immediately gets yelled at for it. I absolutely loved Wen’s response to Yang, I think your diary had some negative remarks too. How about we get yours out pass it around and discuss it. Wen gets summarily dismissed by my favorite organization lady.😝 Her private admonishing of Yang proves she knows he’s not fit for the job. She just wants a loud guard dog to intimidate people. 😝 The only good thing is that the sister is getting to work out some of her emotional turmoil about her brother. She has admitted the real circumstances of Yi’s family and deep down wants to do the right thing. This is more peripherally for her brother, but at least she still cares about him. She just has few qualms throwing Yi under the bus if necessary. Yi warns Fu to keep his distance right when her ‘escort’ arrives to take her home. She is now expected to join activities that will introduce her to all her lovely neighbors. Yi collapses when she gets home. Not surprising since she’s been living on coffee and water.😝 They are keeping her diary and there’s no telling who all they are going to share it with. She now has to write a reflection paper so that she doesn’t have a charge on her record. Yep, that’s pure freedom for the people right there.😝I am starting to think lady comrade that came at her so fiercely is seeing that Yi is not at all what she expected. In her own way, other than Wen, she is actually trying to be kinder. Minister Wen and his friend remind me of Ao and Dalun😂 His buddy thinks he has found Wen the ideal woman and their meal turns into a blind date. This snobby woman couldn’t be more of a misstep then if he was actually trying to sabotage Wen on purpose. Since they are supposed to be condemning wealth, surprised the comrade knew all the best places in town to eat.😝 Hypocrisy runs deep in all political parties. That is the one true common denominator for every single one of them.😝 This drama is doing an excellent job moving forward in time and keeping the story going. All of the conflicts in this time frame also hit home today as history often repeats itself. There is one mystery Minister Wen learned from sis in law. ZhouYuan had his sister deliver a book to someone named Jian. She was asked to keep it secret even from Yi. So who is Jian and what intel was in book he was passing along?

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Highly Recommend!

The premise is old school University BL. There are even Engneer / Doctor couples. But these romances are very mordern and the relationship pacing is perfect. The couples are having lots of emotional and physical development that feel genuine and is very enjoyable to watch. Yes there are some cliche tropes and serious red flag issues like rape, the intrusive mother trope, rejected females, violence and jealousy, but everyone has taken responsibility and apologized for their mistakes, forgiveness and reconciliation are always uplifting plot points and relationship arcs. There are lots of sweet, tender moments and spicy NC scenes. Who doesn't love good kissing? 🥰

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Winds of change

Japan is dropping bombs on Shanghai and people are grabbing what they can and are leaving. The brother wants to carry the baby, but it’s most likely because that is where he stashed his cash.😝 The family flees and the brother is killed by bomb shrapnel. It is debatable if he was trying to save his son or his money, but the baby survived. Ao and YiSun are staying in Shanghai. He gives her his watch and you can see the dent on top that deflected the knife. I am glad they hugged and did not kiss. The close up earlier of failed kiss was a bad choice. The female lead is beautiful and acts well, but kissing with feeling is not her forte.😝 Their loving smile as they courageously meet their future was a nice closing to their arc. This was well done. Yi Sun is using the house Shen bought for her to protect her family. She is moving them to Chonqing and tells Yi to continue her studies. Shanghai eventually was victorious and Yi returned. But there was only a brief visit with Aunt before she and Cheng went abroad for business. There is a skip to 1993 and granddaughter wants the story of grandparents. Their story starts in 1955 with her mom remarrying and daughter taking his name changing from Lin to Yi. Considering her father…I am glad they had another option and hope wife had a happy ending. Yi marries ZhouYuan and her husband disappears. He is a KMT official that is MIA after leaving for a mission. He has been gone 5 yrs. Her husband’s position is what has her on the outs with the communist wave coming through. The hospital, now clothing factory, is where she works, lives and faithfully waits for husband’s return. She is the only one that thinks he is still alive. The new communist group wants to oust Yi from her home saying as a nationalist her contract is void. She refuses to leave because it is where her husband knows to find her. She wants to set up a meeting with minister Wen not knowing her friend has already made a bad impression with him. She heads to the federal building to argue her case and meets her sister in law. They have an argument over politics, but both agree on the bravery and integrity of her brother. She unfortunately meets with Yang who is adamantly anti- capitalist and had to be corrected by minister Wen. He is just as adamant and rude with Yi suggesting she moves northwest and acquaint herself with sheep and wool textiles. They assume she is wealthy and treat her disdainfully. What actually annoys me the most is the chief’s wife. She has that fake condescendingly kind act with both Yi and Wen. She is like Si Yun’s mom with son. Yang saved her husband in the war so he can do no wrong. Wen tries to tell her politely he’s an ass not cut out for dealing with the people. He would be better with the blue collar issues than white collar. But her syrupy ‘he is doing just fine and will only improve’ speech goes over with Wen as well as it did with me.😝Yi boldly went to Minister Wen’s office and caught his attention with her boldness, sincerity and art. She underestimated him at that meeting. Minister Wen received two apologies that day, but only the one from Yi was sincere. Yang is the guard dog for the heads of the party. They know exactly what he is and choose it.😝Minister Wen is equally forward finding Yi. He admires her art and equates it with the correct painter’s styles. He now knows that her husband liked Russian art and music. The Rachmaninoff piece was quite nice in the background. His music can be quite turbulent and fits well with the discord going on now. The rude woman that kicked her out wanted to act like the party would be so willing to assist her if she asks. Like all political groups, help comes with strings attached. I like how Yi coolly thanked her and went on with her business paying her no real attention. Minister Wen assured Yi that her case would be settled soon. I like that he is taking an interest in her situation. He is more moderate in his thinking. This story is told well with good pacing. I find the second arc as interesting as the first with an entirely different group of actors now. Well done.

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White Angels vs Black Angels

Guest member was Sun Li, Deng Chao's wife. I didn't know that they were married, I searched about it when the fans shouted "kiss her". The games were fun like the Gymnastics activity was hilarious like how Deng Chao passed the first round in one go and they even completed all rounds while Chen He was stuck with the first round. In the second round too, the opposing team tried hard but still failed in the first activity they just vibed and they were all fit for the task, like Deng Chao, Baby, Lu han, Zheng Kai, they effortlessly completed their task in respective rounds. The second activity was smiling challenge, testing one's acting skills, Sun Li controlled herself pretty well. Deng Chao did good too. For others I can't say much, since I won't be able to hold myself either if people were staring at me like that and trying to make me laugh. The third activity was interesting, the black Angels had a secret task of completing a puzzle, Lu Han was out at the beginning of the game, by Sun Li, naive, he was careless, but his teammate revived him and I was happy that he atleast tore off Zulan's, Baby's and Li Chen's name tag kinda revenge haha *evil. Even though the white Angels won, the best moment for me was the married couple fighting one on one, Kai was so awkward like "I'm not interfering in couple matters" while Li Chen was laughing at his friend 🤣. That was the highlight🤣.

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