Both main couples did have cute chemistry at first, but after so many episodes I felt like I was watching repeats of the same moments and they lost their charm. Relationship building was all over the place, too fast and too slow at the wrong times.
After awhile, it dawned on me that the main girls really bored me. Nana lost her spunk after a sadly short time. Really, she left her personality on the cruise ship. She had potential!! Later when basically on a dates-not-dates with Qingyang, she brings up her mother over and over and over and over again. I get it. Your mother meant everything to you, but if you want the boy you have to stop talking about her so much. No guy wants his relationship with the girl he likes to be about her mom. Honestly, I think Qingyang ends up knowing more about Nana's mother than he does about Nana herself.
And Pi Yanuo...she had no personality from the get go. Her character exists entirely for Zifeng with no interests and no goals that aren't his. She's basically the blank slate female main who is there so the viewer can imagine herself/himself dating Baron Chen. Strong female protagonist she most definitely is not.
They are also unbelievably innocent. Don't let the "mob boss" description fool you. Hansheng is the only one who would last a day in a triad family. And the fight scenes...it's clear from the very first episode he's introduced that the "villain" is no match whatsoever on any level. Nothing is keeping Yanuo and Zifeng from happiness except for Yanuo who doesn't seem to be bothered by it much.
Zerhui, the vet, might as well not exist at all for all the effect he has on anything. He only serves as a disposable meat shield so the viewer has a reason to see Hansheng as anything worse than a guy with a bad attitude and inferiority complex.
Edison Wang as Hansheng (who I like to call "Abs" and sometimes "Smirk") and Amanda Chou as Xiao Jing (who I call "Best Girl") are the scene stealers of this show each with unfortunately little screen time. They are the only characters who move the story forward. Otherwise, it stagnates in the waters of overly-long, bland discussions about vague feelings, memories, and staring off with sad eyes into a pretty landscape.
Another thing that bothered me was that the cast more than once referred to Guang Chao as ugly--and Johnny Yang is far from ugly. It made me shake my head and say "are you blind or just stupid?" and unfortunately I think stupid is the answer.
However, all that aside, I did enjoy it for the awkward, if not forced, comedy until about episode 9. Afterward, I ended up skipping to Hansheng and Xiao Jing scenes because absolutely nothing happens in this drama without them instigating it.
A good note, Bii contributed some beautiful songs to the soundtrack. I wouldn't download and listen to them on their own, but they are well done, atmospheric songs.
Sounds harsh, but it wasn't terrible. It has its place, but it's not on my rewatch list for sure. There are much better mindless rom-coms I would rather watch for a third, fourth, and fifth time before pulling this up again. If you want cheese and some laugh out loud "wtf are you serious?" moments, this is your drama. If you want a compelling plot, think twice because you might get as bored as some of the characters look.
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Underrated Gem
Do not sleep on this drama. It is one of the best dramas! If you love the rich man/poor woman dynamic this is it. I love seeing Chaebol/Rich be KIND AND NICE. Most are always cold and mean to everyone including the love interest. But the main character is nice and fair to everyone! ALSO! The kissing scenes?! OMG. These are grown folks kissing! Not the resting lips on each other and don’t know what they’re doing. This drama i’ve been avoiding for a while but, once i finally gave it a chance? I couldn’t stopWas this review helpful to you?
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The does he or doesn't he question is the fun of watching. I would definitely recommend with some fast forward moments and some skipping.
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This review may contain spoilers
Pros:Yanuo is passably male for a good portion of the show.
She is a master martial artist and she doesn’t ever have a scene where she loses to someone and then someone tells her, or she thinks, it’s because she’s ‘still a girl’ or some other bullshit.
The friendship is strong in this show. And it is beautiful. Seriously my favorite scenes were of their wonderful, amazing friendships. The teasing, the playfulness, the loyalty, the mindfulness. Gorgeous.
All the characters are lovable (except that one asshat, but that’s rather the point).
There is no point where Zifeng has a gay panic, so if that's something that puts you off a gender-bender show, don't worry. He does think he's gay, but there's no panic.
It’s bazonkers, but that makes it funny. Several times I was like ‘this is so unnecessary, why is this happening?’ because something silly and easily avoided was happening.
There’s a love triangle, but not really, because the other guy was never an option.
Zifeng finds out Yanuo is a woman partway through the show (won’t say when because spoilers and all), but he doesn’t alter how he treats her in the slightest. He doesn’t start telling her to not come do Triad business with him, or not to get into a fight, that something is too dangerous, etc. He does caring, thoughtful things for her just as much before as after he knows.
Qingyang is Soft Boy. The softest boy. So many times he came on screen and I was just like ‘heeee’s sooo sooooooooooooooft.’ This has nothing to do with the plot, but I felt you should know.
Cons:
The cinematography is awful. Camera angles were terrible. Everything was so close up. I was like ‘wow, do I need to see their pores in this scene?’
“Give him this cup of water.” What cup? I don’t even see you, the person offering the cup, let alone the cup, because the camera is focused so close up on the lady you’re talking to.
“How do I look?” I have no idea, because I can only see the barest slice of you, in 4 different shots, while the camera shows us your hesitant face and his ‘wow’ face.
The kissing scenes were really awkward. Like, they seemed to be trying to make it look natural, but I was like just ‘I feel bad for any actual significant others you two have if this is how you really kiss.’
Zifeng is a mafia boss, the head of a Triad even, but nothing illegal happens under his watch. He runs an amusement park and pulled the Triad out of all illegal business. It’s a Thing in the show. (and it's literally the first thing you learn in the show via Zifeng talking to his dad, so Not Spoilers). It took 28 out of Netflix’s 30 episodes for there to be any real threat (imo) to someone's life.
The longer the show went on, the more Yanuo acted like a girl. Like, sitting like a girl and demurring in a very feminine way and speaking in a quieter, almost breathy tone all the time. She started out acting very boyish, and I don’t believe that 25 years of acting like a guy would vanish that fast (<100 days) just because you fell in love. They even started giving her more feminine makeup the longer the show went on, though the character never started wearing make up within the show.
Whomever did the music for the show is on par with whomever did the cinematography for the show. Music starts and ends randomly, sometimes switching songs mid-scene and mid-music swell, music abruptly stopping mid-scene and with nothing happening on screen to signal why the music would stop.
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I haven't watched many Taiwanese dramas, but Chen Baron as Du Zi Feng and Lai Megan as Pi Ya Nuo are good actors and had great chemistry together. Megan played Ya Nuo like a tomboy rather than a boy and I think it made her character more believable. The other actors were good also.
The music was ok, but they play the same song too much.
I might rewatch this someday.
I recommend this drama if you like mushy cute romances.
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I like watching dramas that have lots of tearjerkers and it lacked a lot of that.
All the "sad" scenes didn't even last long??? Like...it was settled within a few minutes and the drama makes it all happy again?? I can't even.
-WARNING!!! DON'T READ UNLESS YOU WATCHED ALL THE EPISODES-
Story:
The main characters were so...bland...Very undeveloping. It just felt like a bunch of fanservice between Pi Ya Nuo and Du Zi Feng.. Their relationship had NO tension NOR drama.
Like oh?? Her van is spinning outta control? Nah, she's ok.
Oh? She got shot in the arm? She's ok..
Oh? He got shot in the back and Yanuo's crying so much?! IT'S A STINKING PAINTBALL GUN?!!?!?
Like I would be just dying for something terrible to happen to them. I personally enjoy dramas more like that..It makes me feel like the characters really go through a lot together and that tells me that they really love each other.
This?? They have like...nothing.... The couple was WAY too perfect and predictable. I was hoping there would be a shocking moment he found out Yanuo's a girl? Nope! They don't show that scene until the very end making Zifeng look like an idiot not knowing Yanuo's a girl!! It made me think he was super dense...And what made me even more mad that I didn't even see a majority of the characters reactions when they found out Yanuo's a girl?? The ending felt way too dang rushed... It just felt unfair and that the characters were so underdeveloped... The other side characters were way more interesting. Nana's story had way more development..A little more drama..Wish it had more but it was way better than watching things be perfect all the time. As for Zifeng's dad... Why couldn't we see flashbacks on what happened? Wouldn't it be more dramatic that way? Nope..Everything's hunky dory! Ugh. Even dramas that's genred under comedy have more sad moments than this. I watch drama mearly for crying and feeling my heartstrings tugged. This drama isn't for people like that..
I won't ever be rewatching this drama.
Acting/cast:
At least the acting parts were good..The parts I enjoyed were the comedy. I laughed a lot about it.
Not much to say since I didn't really enjoy the story.
Music:
Music was so perfect. Even though I somewhat hated this drama, I would like the soundtrack for this. Each song is catchy.
I think I'm done ranting here...All in all, I don't think it deserves such a high rating, but that's just my opinion.
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https://kdramasanonymous.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/bromance-review/
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This review may contain spoilers
I really love gender bend stories. I know it's cheesy but when a man is questioning his sexuality, because he seems to like him/her in a special way, first of all it is hilarious and secondly it just holds the truth that love is blind, it has no boundaries.I came across Bromance while it was still airing and decided to wait till it finishes. Since the rating is 8.0 I had my expectations pretty high but at the same time I kind of knew that I am not going to like it as much as other people did, because I have very high standarts. And sadly I was right, while it wasn't bad, it definitely doesn't deserve an 8.0.
The only thing that made this drama good was the two main characters and I am not even exaggerating.
The story and pacing is all over the place. At the start the story was progressing way too quickly and the second half was draaaaged on, there were hours of usseles fillers and sooo much cheeese. To be honest I don't even know if the thing that this drama had going on could be called a story. Bromance had just a few boring plot lines and the writers kept jumping between them so in the end I didn't care about the story at all. You could say it is a badly written slice of life. There were a lot of things that I wish they could have spent more time on like Zi Feng's past before he was adopted or the whole mafia thing...seriously why are they mafia? Why are they not mafia? What do they do? Am I the only one who was confused? Basically all the scenes with Zherui were stupid - unnecessary and unrealistic drama. The reason why Pi Ya Nuo dressed up as a man...I know it is hard to find a good reason for such a stupid thing but...really? Altogether the plot was uninteresting and pretty boring most of the time. There are more things I am unhappy about but spoilers...
Nonetheless the two main chatacters were such a delight. Zi Feng was very unique, he was a 'bad boy' but not a bad person, he was kind but not soft. I can not describe him well enought. There is one thing I have to give props to for this drama. I was uncomfortable during the first few episodes, because I couldn't get used to the fact that Pi Ya Nuo looks basically like a real man. She acted like a man, talked like a man but there were so many subtle things that made me think, "Ahh, she is a woman afterall" wich was perfect. While I did like Du Zi Feng and Pi Ya Nuo to bits, at first they seemed really weird, like their personalities were mature but they acted very childish. Later on I got used to it. I don't know, maybe that is just how humans are and I am just being stupid.
Other characters...*sigh*...most of them were fine, but that's all they were, the show could have perfectly continued without them. Then there were other characters that I didn't really like. For example Du Zi Han was such a mean bitch, I don't understand how no one seemed to mind that. Qing Yang - while I liked him at first, later on I noticed how stiff and boring he was. Bii's acting skills were pretty bad, but he's hot so I can forgive him since it didn't annoy me ;) I liked Han Shen's character development, but they didn't give him enough screen time wich is a real pity. While Na Na's character was very interesting and fun at first, later on I found myself uninterested, because her fate was predictable.
While the show as a whole is skippable, I still recommend it solely for Zi Feng and Ya Nuo, because they made this drama shine with their interesting personalities and undying love.
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The characters were very well rounded even the minor or supporting roles. Most shows like this the characters don't develop very much other than the main roles but this one had all characters develop which was great. The relationships on the side were good too because they actually developed slowly and were rally good. In "Coffee Prince" the other relationships were rushed or ended badly in "Bromance" they develop slowly and end happily and satisfyingly. I usually don't like other relationships developing on the side of the main relationship but Qing Yang and Na Na's relationship managed to bring me in and want me to know more about it and see it become something. The relationship between Zi Hao and Guang Chao was too predictable to me because of how much Zi Hao didn't like Guang Chao and because of how Guang Chao kept perusing her but it was still nicely done and it was nice seeing it rise slowly. Chu Zhe Rui as a love interest was a good addition even though he didn't get the girl you could clearly see him developing as a person.
How they got rid of the antagonist Wu Han Sheng was nicely done too it was a tad cliche but it worked. Although they could've kept him and had like him slowly like Ya Nuo or have him have a very deep, distinct background that he was actually in love with Zi Feng would've worked too but how they did it was nice too. When Zi Feng's father couldn't remember and Han Sheng was showing up more I really knew it was going to be him that was responsible for Zi Feng's fathers disappearance. But learning that Han Sheng's father had covered for him was shocking to me because I thought that it was Han Sheng in it alone and seeing their relationship really deterred me from actually thinking he helped; having Han Sheng's father be forgiven slightly was a wonderful and well crafted moment in the show.
Zi Feng finding his father was a good addition too because you expected it but you didn't know if it would actually happen. At first I was a little confused when he saw his father at the fountain because I thought that it really wasn't his father and he was just thinking things. But seeing that it actually was his father really comforted me and also helped with Ya Nuo and Zi Feng's relationships grow. Having Zi Feng's father like Ya Nuo more was a fantastic thing to do because Ya Nuo could get close to his father helping Zi Feng also get closer, she could also help with him recovering his memories, and Ya Nuo and Zi Feng both trying to recover his memories really was a big thing that helped them get closer. Seeing Zi Feng and Ya Nuo's relationship flourish was lovely to watch and the things that helped build up to it was great too; like when they brought in Zhe Rui you could tell that Zi Feng was slowly figuring out his feelings for Ya Nuo.
Now the kiss scenes were done very well and it wasn't like some other dramas where they lightly touch lips it was a real kiss like they truly meant it and weren't acting. The scenes where it got a little racy weren't like other dramas where they're sometimes very aggressive and fast or really droned on where it got to the point where it wasn't very good; they were sweet and ended at the right times. The kiss scenes and the scenes where it heated up a bit was very strong and beautifully perfected; there was clearly emotions there that you don't see in most dramas.
All in all the show was beautifully done the ending was short and sweet but it really hit home. This is the second drama I ever watched and I was happy that I did so because it was a lovely show and I'd definitely watch again to see what I missed when I first watched.
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Acting: I have to give the acting lots of points. They were committed to their characters. I bought the chemistry and camaraderie they portrayed. Overall the acting was beliveable I will say this wouldn't being a drama without so dramatic over acting and a whole lot of ugly crying but ehh. No real complaints.
Music: Unannoying, calming and pleasant. Not super catchy but hearing it will bring back good memories and matched emotions.
Rewatch: It is definite rewatch. You have to watch it at least twice to catch things you missed the first time.
Overall. Funny, light hearted and Baron has awesome hair. Really watch once just for Baron's hair...it's alway perfect even in it's imperfection. The characters were likable and not once did I wish for someone to just die so that is a good sign.
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