To me, the story was your fairly typical romance; this show just mixed things up a bit by including three couples: three brothers from one family, paired with another's two sisters and their best friend. It tried dealing with the idea of age gaps (a whopping 18 years between the eldest brother and the youngest sister!) which can be difficult to address.
Despite attempts at creating problems for the characters to deal with, I felt that the writers didn't include much real conflict that built each relationship. The consequence of this is that by the end of the 60 episodes, the most sentiment I had was 'oh dang they're cute together' - as opposed to what I think the show was trying to go for; 'they're finally together, after going through so much for each other.' I view this as a failure on the writers' part: they tried to create the sentiment of how relationships can help build each participating individual as a person, but fell short of that goal. Perhaps three couples in one fell swoop was a bit ambitious.
For the most part, this show's strong point is in that it's a pretty easy watch. You have small intense moments that are almost always immediately solved, but almost no anxiety-inducing scenes in which you nervously wonder how the characters can get past a particular hurdle. It's always nice to have a drama on hand that won't cause you constant worry.
Acting wasn't the best I've seen, but it was enough to get by. For the most part, everyone played their roles well; for me, the pair of Jolin and Hope were the most convincing and certainly the most entertaining.
I was split on the soundtrack - the opening ('Faded Pictures' by Vanness Wu) I found incredibly addictive and memorable, but some of the others actually became fairly annoying. It's not a big surprise though, considering that you listen to them basically for 60 episodes straight.
Overall, a pretty fun show. 60 episodes at around 50 minutes each is quite the commitment though, but also necessary to get things rolling with each of the couples. So, there was definitely potential for the allotted 80 episodes, so I'm unsure why they cut it short.
Better Man's main strength lies in its lightheartedness, so I'd find it perfect for kicking back and relaxing.
Was this review helpful to you?
The endings for the couples were well done.
My favorite couple is Huang Tender as Yang Zhen Hao and Lin Shara as Wu Yi An. It seems like they made each other better. He helped her be strong and brave and she helped him understand his feelings. They are interesting actors that made me feel a deep connection to their characters.
The other couples could be annoying at times although I totally understand their thought process. It isn't like the character would get to see everything I did. LOL I still found myself yelling "tell him the truth" or "he really loves you, silly" at the screen.
The music is good.
I might rewatch this someday!
I seriously enjoyed all the characters and it was a fun watch. I recommend it to everyone.
Was this review helpful to you?
I thought all three couple were cute, but the relationships with the youngest and oldest brother were my favorite. I felt Zhen Zhen and Kai Kai were a great example of how opposites attract and my struggle to come together, but still make for a great dynamic. The youngest sister with the oldest brother was a nice example of how difficult a May December romance can be. The writers did drop the ball a bit on them and rush things toward the end, but it was still a cute relationship. The supporting cast of family members were very nice as well.
The music for this drama is addictive! I love every track. This is not a must see, but if you're looking for a simple daily drama that's cute, a little more than decent, and you like the premise, try this.
Was this review helpful to you?
