It's hard to place this series in one category because it did have its flaws that I can still clearly remember 3 years later. The plot dragged, and became convoluted, yet kept me enthralled and invested in it just enough that I couldn't skip the boring parts and had to know what happened next. It was just so unnecessary, and I had to focus a lot just to keep up with the under-handed twists and schemes of the business world.
But the cast absolutely saved it. The first few episodes are still some of the best episodes of Asian dramas I've seen, and I adored the chemistry between the MCs (but who are we kidding, Aaron Yan is able to draw the best out of his costars and makes the whole scene flow well). Even the costume design was top notch and the supporting cast was brilliant.
It's definitely worth watching for a first look into that genre of drama, to wet your toes into it from english shows.
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All in all this drama is good and worth the watch!
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highly recommended!!!! 9/10
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Great romantic show with drama and sweet moments
By far the best Taiwanese drama I've seen. The storyline is compelling and relatable, the main couple has sizzling chemistry, and the plot keeps evolving so that the show length feels just right and not dragged out. I love the camaraderie that the main cast members form. The relationship between Zhong Yu Tang and Ji Wen Kai feels a little weird at first, but as more flashbacks occur, you get a better sense of their history together. They have so many cute scenes and I'm glad the show doesn't tear them apart just for the sake of melodrama. The OST is also excellent. Would highly recommend this show for those who like a good romance with a strong plot behind it.Was this review helpful to you?
The main couple is so cute. The main guy's love for the leading lady is so cute. The show is mostly set in the present but it does show their highschool days as well and it's almost the best part of the show because their friendship/"rivalry" when they were younger was the sweetest young-love thing ever. I get major In Time With You vibes and I loved it.
This drama, I repeat, this drama, had no hospital scenes, no opposing family drama (literally none. everyone loved them together), no gang scenes (im not gonna count the school bullies) no one got kidnapped, or hit by a car and no one was crazy and it was the most refreshing and yet bizarre thing ever cause you come to expect them (like, there was this scene at the end where the evil guy was holding a pen and he kept waving it around and I was legit 100% convinced he'd suddenly stab everyone with it in a fit of revenge, but he didn't and used it to write instead and my brain just went *explodes* because yes. that's what pens are for, and anyway) Nothing soap-drama happens in this show so you don't need to leave your brain at the door if you don't want to. There's no noble idiocy either so if that doesn't immediately make you type it up into viki, I don't know what will.
But the acting is on point and the both of them are such a gorgeous couple. The business war aspect of the show was also really interesting although I must admit, the employees at the beginning annoyed the absolute hell out of me because they were so bad at their jobs, but the show is about them "changing" and stuff so they had to start somewhere, I understand. I just would've fired them like last century if I was their boss. But our CEO is secretly a sweetheart and likes giving people chances so there we go.
Also, props to the best second lead female in the entire fucking world. no lie. you'll know what i mean. like for real. What a G.
Anyway, if you're looking for cute 'In Time with you' meets classic 'Ceo vs secretary' meets 'rivals to friends to lovers?' rainyday romcom, seriously, this is for you.
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This review may contain spoilers
Stars slow but evolves into “Friends” like episodes
9/10 is how I would rate this. It is a 2016 Taiwanese drama spanning 17 (90 minute) episodes.A "refresh man" is basically someone who punches the clock but doesn't put in any real effort into excelling at what they do. Yu Tang (Joanne Tseng) was head of her class and one that would have been considered likely to succeed. She is a secretary and anticipates continuing her career in the lead/executive secretary roles. Ji Wen Kai (Aaron Yan) was a frenemy in high school and was a very low achiever. As life happens, Ji Wen Kai reappears in Yu Tang's life as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the cosmetic company she works for. When Yu Tang fails to perform to his standard he does not hesistate to reassign her to a team of "refresh men" which is a humiliation for Yu Tang. She feels it is revenge but grows determined to succeed at all costs.
Spoiler 🚨 I loved this one – one of my favorites. The CEO was so arrogant and mean to the female lead in the beginning I thought man I really am not going to like this guy. But then you start to understand and realize it is not what it seems. As you understand their past – the two grew up together – the story just continues to evolve. Joanne Tseng and Aaron Yan have great chemistry. The team he puts her with are all a bit eccentric but evolve into great friends and a strong team. In fact nearly episode is like watching an episode of friends once she is placed with the team. For me this drama had a very slow start but once it started going I had a hard time turning it off even when I knew I needed to get some sleep. There is, of course, love triangles and you fall in love with those characters as well and feel their heart ache. But it is great and entertaining love story.
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Glad to have come back and re-visited this show
I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this show. So much to like!1) Teenage to adult frenemies to lovers trope.
2) Business setting
3) Growth of the business team, both personally and professionally
4) Smart FL
5) Protective ML (though clueless in the romance department!)
6) The best 2FL EVER! Thank you for not sending her down the usual road!!
7) Great chemistry between leads, both when arguing and once in a relationship.
8) Fabulous kisses.
9) Happy ending.
My only complaint was in the lack of consequences for the evil people. I found that very unrealistic, and not too smart, from a business standpoint.
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Anyways, I enjoyed the tension between the two MC's and the side characters were entertaining. The backstory to the MC's was very sweet and heartwarming.
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So yes, not super fast-paced but definitely enjoyable. Becuase of this drama, I have opened myself to other Taiwanese dramas such as 'Two Father's' which is a 2013 drama that I have just fallen in love with!
Anyway Aaron Yan in this Refresh Man drama is absolutely breathtaking both in looks and performance. The female lead is fun to watch because of her perseverance and the supporting characters do their job quite well, bringing out important themes of friendship, truly caring for those who work around you and also loyalty in and out of the work-place. The OST is just so fun and cheerful, I almost want to learn mandarin just so I can sing that damn song everyday!
Overall, very good drama with just enough romance and life lessons to keep you watching. However, because of the slow-pace, it has very poor rewatch value. All in all, the best thing about this drama is the continuous message about never and not giving up!
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Let’s weigh Refresh Man on our show beam balance and see if the show is ‘refreshing’ or ‘tiring’.
Good Weights
Amazing Aaron: Aaron Yan is a complete drama hero. Be it romantic scenes, comic scenes, or even emotional scenes he aces them all. He is good-looking and expresses through his eyes and that is something I admire the most in him. His emotional scenes are subtle yet you can feel his pain and clearly see the emotions he is going through as a character. Taiwanese romantic dramas thrive on the perfect kissing scenes and kissing is Aaron’s forte. All in all, he is just the perfect romantic hero.
Lead Pair Chemistry: Joanne Tseng and Aaron Yan make a good on-screen couple. They even manage to look ten years younger in their school uniforms without causing any dilution in their chemistry. They look very comfortable and that comfort level reflects in their acting.
Magical Music: The show has some good soundtracks. The show’s theme song Partner by Claire Kuo is peppy while You’re The First to Come to Mind by William Wei is romantic and addictive.
Fantastic Finale: I initially thought that the show has 20 episodes which is a reason why episode 17 was more of a shocker to me as I wasn’t expecting it to be the concluding one. But episode 17 is the best of all the episodes. The writers put in so much effort to tie all the loose ends and make sense of all the mysterious instances on the show. Everything that happened in the show was beautifully explained in the last episode. It was undoubtedly one of the best finale episodes I have seen of a drama.
Bad Weights
Too Good To Be True: Wen Kai is the perfect boss, perfect mentor, perfect businessman, perfect friend, and the perfect boyfriend. Now isn’t that too much of perfection? He was supposedly dumb in school but suddenly after ten years he is excellent in everything he does. What did he do in those ten years? Visit some multi-talent training camp? But he is the quintessential drama hero so you can’t even expect him to be flawed in any way.
This office romance is interesting and enjoyable. The characters were well written, the script was consistent and the actors did full justice to their roles.
Refresh Man is perfect for binge watching. If you enjoy watching swoon-worthy romances then do watch Refresh Man as it has all the ‘awwww’ moments you watch in a romantic show.
Originally posted on www.alphagirl.in
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I soon found out that Aaron Yang was a brilliant actor and anything he's in is worth watching so started this and it had such a feel good factor I found I couldn't turn it off,
Aaron plays his normal CEO roll but every time convinces you of the character, and he does it here very well with a good storey and an excellent supporting cast.
Some reviews say that some of the acting is a bit cheesy but I found that any cheesiness was in the right places and meant to be there and added to the whole charm of the program. In the second half of the series the plot could have gone in either of two directions and you are kept in suspense till nearly the end.
It was also nice that at the end you are given a little bit on each character, and where they are and their likely direction. 10/10. one to watch.
P.S The intro music was so catchy I watched every minute of it rather than skip it. 10/10 for that alone.
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then he started talking in shitty English and talked like he was "hip" even MORE stereotypical, then they just made this dumb scene with them recording the guy buying their company's product, anyways another problem at hand was that it was ABSOLUTELY unnecessary, they could've easily pretended they were a foreigner from canada or something, trying to"change" your race for a stupid video is just fucking dumb, i don't know how those people even have jobs, with their pathetic and non creative mindset, and now lets get to the worst part, the fact that they probably KNOW its bad, it was 2016 when this came out not 1999, if your still ignorant to this day you need a slap in the face,he also wore an afro wig....if thats important i guess, anyways they are so fucking dumb to think their idea would work, sure in their dumb show it would, but in real life everyone could obviously tell that he was NOT black, i see blackface so much in asian culture, im very sorry to the people who liked this show or wanted to give it a try, very sorry that a show had a chance to be good but was ruined by one disgusting action, -Wook
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