Accidentally in Love (2018)

Silly and amusing with likeable leads and good music . . .I liked this more than the numbers suggest. The whole was better than the individual parts.

For the genre, there is actually a fair amount of tension/obstacles in this show. There are misunderstandings, rivalries, lies about background/who you are, jealousies etc. Eventually, the multiple identities/huge amounts of misunderstandings gets a bit old. But what I did appreciate, is the characters spend A LOT of time together. Getting to know each other, slowly getting familiar with each other in the way that's really only possible when you are at university.

Bonus plot points for actually delving into the music industry a bit.

There is an interesting mix of acting styles. Chen QingQing dramatically overacts in order to differentiate between her two personalities - whereas Situ Feng has a more low key, naturalistic style. They are very endearing/cute together - but do not show a ton of range.

Added bonus is that the main actor actually is a good singer/entertainer (more so when doing boy with guitar bits, than dance numbers).

I have other criteria I score by:

Complex Themes -3
(Very little in terms of themes. The attempt at a theme about beauty falls very flat (the end result being she is incredibly attractive, but he likes that no one can tell). The one about being true to who you are is a bit better theme but not by much.)
Character Growth -4
(Situ Feng because a more trusting, softer, more lighthearted personality over the course of the show. Chen QingQing due to the dual personalities doesn't change much at all besides switching between the two characters. )
Nuanced Women -4
(Chen QingQing essentially plays two stereotypes and doesn't so much blend the two as pick one. There are some female friendships but not very strong ones).
Cinematography/Production Values - 6
(Not a lot of money is needed for this show, but there were some areas that showed the lack of budget - esp. when attempting to show Situ Feng is 'cool' or Chen QingQing is 'wealthy').

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This drama is like a bar of chocolate. It's sweet and addicting. The story is cliche as it can be, but the characters, comedy, and the production make it into a series that is enjoyable to watch. The concept of the story is like an ugly duckling that true identity is a swan, The main character, QingQing, she is a very pretty girl from a very rich family. She is also highly educated and has a lot of talents. In order to find out more about her parents, she runs away from home and lives in disguise. She disguises herself as an ugly girl. Although she was mean to be ugly, I think she is still pretty cute. I still cannot get the perception of wearing glasses and having short curly hair can be considered as ugly. But this is the setup.

After an accident, she met Situ Feng. They start on a bad note. They fight a lot and act as an enemy to each other. But slowly they fall in love. There are so many funny parts in the story that makes it a good rom-com drama. I give it 8 because although the drama is enjoyable, it still lacks in the department of emotion. Through the journey, even though the drama makes me laugh, but it fails to make me emotional during the sad scenes. The ending is kind of rush but it gives you a notion of happy ending with all characters are all paired up. Overall the drama delivered the main story that it wants to deliver. It's a good youth rom-com drama. The story is not too serious. But more like funny and cuddly.

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Surprisingly Fun

First off, light TW for suicidal female character, and scenes with suicidal implications.

I wasn't expecting too much from this drama, and was pleasantly surprised by the ridiculous humor and cheesy yet sweet scenes. There's laughter, romance, and some angst towards the end. The storyline leaves a little to be desired as it's one that we've all heard before. There's tropes aplenty (the accidental fish-eyed kiss in the first episode prepared me mentally for what was to come) and silliness abounds as we follow the CQQ on her misadventures to find out what really happened to her parents.

It all begins with her running away from her wedding and STF escaping her fathers guards. After that, she enters the college where her parents met and continues to follow the clues to the truth. Almost all trope boxes are ticked with the trio of mean girls, innocent best friend, and bad boy brother. Again, nothing new, but certainly an entertaining watch along the way.

My biggest issue with this was the angst that was introduced in the last stretch of the drama. It would have been a home run for me, personally, if they had kept the conflicts much lighter than they did. Introducing a highly delusion and suicidal female character only proved to be detrimental to my enjoyment and felt too forced for my liking. There were a couple extra scenes as well regarding the CQQ's jilted ex that seemed unnecessary as well, but were easy to overlook as they were brief. Other than that, the drama was fun, cute, and the side couples were entertaining. The music was very catchy and nice to listen to, and the acting is what I'd expect from this type of drama with a nice balance between serious and silly.

All in all, a really cute drama if you're looking for something with humor and conflict. Definitely good for a filler watch.

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This drama follows a rich heiress who wants to escape her arranged marriage and in order to do that she makes herself look uglier than she normally is. She then meets the male lead who is escaping his team. Apparently, the male lead is a popular singer and he used her to irritate his father. The premise is okay, nothing new there it was that typical simple romcom that you could breeze through in a weekend. It was light, it had moments. There were moments that made me laugh. The plot was simple and nothing new. Oh, the female lead reminds me of Lee Sung Kyung at times with her expressions.

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[WARNING: the rating and review I give have the possibility to be subjective due to my preference for the genres, scenes or casts]

First impression : FUN! (^o^)

This series feels fresh because it's fun to see the at-the-first-arrogant idol become so cute, childish and caring idol (^_^) The heroine is so cute too, I prefer she become Chen Qing Qing than Qing Shen, because she more alive when she is Chen Qing Qing.

Another point that I love from this series is that the heroine seems independent and smart, so that she didn't have to depend on the hero too much (^_^)

The conflict so far is around fight over the hero and actually I'm kinda dislike this conflict. Why? Because to win a man's love with some sly trick is just shameful even she love him so much. I stopped to continue watching it for a little bit longer because I lost my mood (^o^;)

The other conflict is about choosing between career and the one you love the most, especially Si Tu Feng's career. I choose this conflict better than the other conflict (^_^)

Now let's talk about the production. The use of green screen is too obvious we can see the difference. For example, the scene when they at the car or at the cave. Maybe that's indeed their intention, I don't know too (^_^”)

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I really enjoyed watching this drama. I'm going to be honest, in the beginning I was a bit reluctant about keep on watching it because I found the acting a bit exaggerated but as I kept on watching it got really interesting and I was craving for more. The ending was alright I guess, I would've liked to see a bit on how their life went when they were older. Acting was great, they chose amazing actors for this drama. The music was good too but one thing I'm not sure about is if Feng was actually the one singing or if they just put a track while he pretended to sing. Another thing I want to point out is the part in which Xinya was playing the violin. I am not a professional but I have played the violin for 2 years making it enough for me to noticed that the song didn't match the notes Xinya was playing. Overall it was a great drama and I hope a season 2 is released.

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This is a very lighthearted, cute drama to binge watch. The actors were adorable and the chemistry was amazing. Usually, I find side romances to be boring, however, with this drama it was definitely worth watching. The second female lead was probably the most negative thing about the show and I wish she had a better redemption storyline. The aesthetic of the show was very pleasing and really added to the atmosphere of the entire show. They shot the show in some really amazing places. I also loved the development of the main couple and how they helped each other out in many ways. In terms of the acting, you could tell they are new to acting but it adds to the show, considering they are all in college and it's mainly just a romance comedy. The ending of the drama was also satisfying, a little cheesy, but good overall.

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I'd almost completely given up on dramas because I was annoyed at how melodramatic, stereotypical, and boring they all were, but I saw this one on Netflix and decided to try it out, especially since the episodes are only 20ish minutes long, instead of the usual 40 minutes! I was hooked on the first episode and enjoyed it so much!

I loved the directing and aesthetic style of this series: the colors were bright and helped set the mood, and the characters were so cute genuinely made me laugh. The MC (Qingqing) is one of my favorites of all time because her personality was so distinct and strong. Her and Fangfang's friendship is also one of my favorites; you can tell they genuinely loved and supported each other. The main guy was also pretty funny, and I loved that he had no problem dressing up like a woman at times, and the show never acted like it was sooo humiliating to do so.

The ending and last couple arcs (probably the last 5 episodes) was... weird,... and definitely fell into old (and not good) drama / dramatic stereotypes (like trying to be #angsty drama kinda way). But the tone and style of all the other episodes was still great! All in all, a great comedy with a great cast and beautiful cinematography.

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Pros: This drama has good production quality. The set and costume designs were fun and cute. The cast is very good looking! The female lead's acting was good and made a lot of scenes work. The music is top notch, and the drama can be really funny.

Cons: I feel like this drama lacks the most in story telling. They hint at a backstory for each main character but don't go any deeper than that. The characters are not fleshed out which makes me feel a disconnect during many scenes. I also think that the acting can be really bad! I don't want to sound mean because I love watching dramas, but Situ Feng, Gu Nanxi, and Zhang fangfang's acting did not convince me for the serious scenes. In fact, Zhang Fangfang and Lin Yiyang's acting did not convince me at all. Sometimes it really does sound like they're reciting memorized lines when it shouldn't feel that way. Because the acting is subpar, I feel as if this drama lacks heart and some scenes felt awkward when they should have felt heartwarming.

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I think this is for tweens

I found this story very confusing. I can only assume the target audience is girls between 9 and 11 - maybe some adults will find this charming, but I think they will be the exception.

The plot isn't bad but the actual story and acting is extremely OTT. The characters are at university (I think), but they all have only one classroom and all take the same subjects? This story has a Power Rangers feeling to it ie overly colorful, OTT acting, weird situations... If you watch the first few episodes and think this isn't for you, then you shouldn't force yourself to finish it - it doesn't get better.

I do think girls aged 9 - 11 will enjoy this though and that's why I gave it more stars than I otherwise would.

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