This drama is so amazing!
This drama is more down-to-earth and more realistic than most romantic dramas out there and it hit me right in the feels and finding out it's based on the author's own experiences got me more in the feels :)
When I started, I thought I would get tired of this drama by episode 20 but surprisingly the drama doesn't get boring, I didn't skip scenes like I normally do with such long dramas (I usually can only watch dramas that are 30 episodes or less) and I usually skip the scenes not involving the main leads. But with this drama, I saw myself getting invested in all the characters.
The following is just a run-down on some of the things I liked and disliked with this drama.
Firstly what I liked:
•The actors who played the main leads were well picked. They display a chemistry that seems so real.
The cast as a whole was perfect. favorite couple besides the main couple is definitely her mother and father :)
•I love the bond that the siblings had, usually, sibling bonds are not shown in the positive light in dramas.
What I didn't like:
•That there was a weird haze/blur present in some of the scenes. I get that it's supposed to help us differentiate between the different timelines but it was distracting at times.
•The cast hardly changed in appearances between the different timelines i.e. they have the same hairstyle even at the same lengths.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this drama and will definitely watch it again even if it's just for the main leads :)
Love,
ayaj
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1I recommend this drama if you are trying to watch a high quality drama. Please thoroughly watch this and do not skim some parts cause ik y’all can be impatient sometimes. This drama will definitely make you laugh, cry, and learn *make sure you watch till the end of some episodes to know why you’ll “learn”* Also GIRL THE KISS SCENES YALLLL IF U WANTING SOME HIGH QUALITY CHINESE KISSING THEN WATCH THIS DRAMA THERE AINT NO “GUY KISSING A WALL” SCENES. Ok this my first review ever. Bye
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I’ve watched so many romance dramas, and I will not lie when I say that they made me have some tad bit of hope in love. But this show hit me differently. I don’t exactly know why, but I think it is because it’s realistic and based off the author’s life experience that I’m compelled to see such beauty in it, that if such a love story exists, then there’s some hope in this world. This show didn’t only change my perspective on what romance is, but also made me appreciate the relationships with my family and friends. Without them, I think life would be much harder than it already is.
I want to bring the attention to our main couple’s relationship. Some may think it’s long and draggy and that the push and pull between the leads is frustrating, but I personally felt that it was the angst and the long period of not being able to be together that made the relationship so strong in the end. I would have have long condemned this if it were real life, I would have sniggered at someone’s inability to let go of the one they like and I would have laughed, because I would have believed it was mere foolery. Truthfully, there were only three reasons why I started on the show. One is because I am a sucker for push and pull relationships - for the right reasons, not the toxic ones. The second is because of the OST ‘我只喜欢你 (I Only Like You)’ by Hu Xia - I have been listening to it non-stop for months and even sang it at every single karaoke session I’ve gone for. The third is because I thought Zhang Yujian (Yan Mo) was cute.
But so many reasons - I don’t know where to start - made me finish the show in 3 short days. I particularly really loved our female lead Qiaoyi’s character. In her, I saw youth and naivety, but I also saw strength in forgiving and letting go. She is different from her brother Guanchao. He is a big flirt who is filled with the confidence that Qiaoyi lacks, but he also struggles with holding grudges from a traumatised childhood. While he is what she isn’t, she is also what he isn’t. Both brother and sister seek to bring out the best in each other, by being their strength in hard times. And this is something that truly touches me.
Yan Mo, our male lead, is cold, aloof, and doesn’t get along with anyone. He is independent, and has great confidence in his abilities and is strict in discipline. What I particularly liked seeing is that while Qiaoyi is the complete opposite of Yan Mo, she doesn’t exactly change his personality. Yes, he begins to become affectionate towards her, and cares for her all the time, but she doesn’t take away the traits of him that makes Yan Mo who he is. He still primarily remains strict and aloof, and I think that is what makes him charming. Qiaoyi doesn’t change Yan Mo, but she brings out the warmth in him, and becomes a beacon of support in crucial times. I hope I made sense here.
Family. Something that we have, but all too often we neglect and fail to appreciate. Qiaoyi and Guanchao’s mother and step-father are perhaps the cutest pair of parents I have ever seen. I especially loved the relationship that they had with their step-father. He is the most loving and supportive father that the twins can ever have, and he brings so much happiness to their mother. I think in that household, he is the shining light - so precious, so bright and so amazing. One of my favourite scenes was when their step-father told their mother that he wants to be the one to walk Qiaoyi down the aisle on her wedding day. Truly, it brought tears to my cold rotten self. Love that guy.
Okay I’m gonna stop here. I’m so overwhelmed writing this review. I feel like crying. Dammit just watch it. You will not regret it, I promise you.
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I realize I'm in the minority with this rating
After having good luck with my last couple of C-drama choices, I was hoping to keep that luck going with this drama that was recommended to me. Unfortunately, this show did not work for me, in so many ways. There was good, and then there was the not-so-good.THE GOOD:
1) An Ge as Fei Da Chuan. To me, he was the highlight of the show. The tough guy was willing to put his heart out there. He really commanded every scene he was in. As an actor that is not the typical "pretty boy", he was just wonderful, and I felt that his character would be a terrific and trusted friend to have.
2) The second lead couple - Ma Li is just downright beautiful and Eden Zhao's character was immature and had some flaws, but you could understand once you knew the background of the family. Their love story was full of humor and longing. I loved that they were friends long before they were a couple.
3) The step-father. What a wonderful character! Typically in Asian dramas you have the standard evil parent that spends the entire show trying to keep the main couple apart. Seeing how he came into this family, and the role he happily took on as the kids' father was so special to watch. He was supportive and wanted what was best for them, always.
4) The friendships. The friendships and the family relationships in this show were stellar. The bond between the twins was never more evident than when he picked his sister over a girl he was interested in. His family would always come first. The friendship between the female leads was strong, and touching at times. There were a lot of different families and family dynamics portrayed in this show, and I felt that they were all realistic. Mistakes were made, people had to atone, scars developed from some things.
5) The music. I was so bored that I was spending an inordinate amount of time reading the subtitles to the songs, and when one of the songs said she was "marginally beautiful", I just had to crack up!
THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
1) There was a LOT of dead time in this show. There were full episodes that, I felt, could have been cut out. Slow! If the editing was tightened up and this series was shorter, it would have been a lot better.
2) QiaoYi - as an actress, Janice Wu must have done a good job, or they would have hired someone else. That leads me to think that the character was written the way she was for a reason. Unfortunately, I didn't care for her. I didn't connect with her being lazy/stupid in high school. She was weak in relation to YanMo - every time she talked to him her voice got all quiet and her chin sunk down to her chest and she couldn't look at him. This also happened when she became an adult. When she wasn't doing that, in the current time she was either trying to be "cute" or pouting. I found the adult QiaoYi to be very immature. I didn't find her character appealing.
3) YanMo - some of the problem with this character, in addition to the writers, must be attributed to Zhang Yu Jian. The character's mother said at one point in time that she had worried that he was autistic. He would probably be considered to be someplace on the spectrum - no social skills, doesn't make eye contact, no filter for what he says, can't read cues from people, extremely intelligent, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that sort of character, except Zhang Yu Jian was not able to ever imbue any warmth into the character. His eyes always remained cold and distant.
4) Lack of chemistry between lead couple. They seemed more like brother and sister to me at times. There were a couple of times, when he was thinking about the past, or when he was speaking in voice-over, that were touching. For the most part, however, I wasn't buying them as a couple.
5) Cinematography - they used a filter whenever the female lead was on screen. The filtering process was very abrupt. The first couple of times when the screen got really hazy, I thought I might be having a stroke or something, but then I realized that the technique was being used to soften the female lead. I don't think the effect was necessary at all, there was no doubt that Janice Wu was beautiful anyway.
6) Overuse of flashbacks - they kept switching between three time periods and it got really irritating, not to mention, somewhat confusing.
7) Track suits - the high school kids wore track suits. The high school theme went on for many more episodes than I thought it would and let's be honest, no one looks good in a track suit.
8) Overuse of drunk scenes.
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Zhao Qiao Yi is such a likeable and relatable character. Shes not special in any way. She's like any other girl who lives in your neighborhood. I absolutely loved her.
I don't think I have ever met anyone quiet like Yan Mo in real life. But he's just so adorable. Especially when he smiles. You'll see what I mean when you watch it. ????
The problems that they face throughout the show are the problems that each one of faces at some point in life.
This is such a beautiful story. The last episode honestly made me feel really lonely. But it also makes me hope that someday the things that I'm facing will also pass and I too will meet that one person who will understand and know me for who I am and love me anyway.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is everything you need in one drama. I have read the original novel before, the novel is more like some flashbacks and short stories based on the author's real life and her love story between her and her husband Mr F (as in Frank). It was sweet and not so detailed. Then news came out saying they are going to do a drama-adaptation of the book, I was half-excited and half-worried.
For someone who watched more than 10 episodes per day, I can say this drama is good, its worth your time, it has the sweet, the pain, the sorrow, and the rainbow after the rain. However this drama has its sad elements, it sure made me cry but i think its still worth watching.
SPOILERS AHEAD：
The plot is just so perfect.
Maybe because the characters are based on real-life people, each of them have their unique personalities, their good side and bad side, none of the characters is perfect, but we can see character development throughout the drama.
Guan Chao is the brother every girl wanted, handsome, smart, loves his sister until the world's end, but he is always flirty with other girls, he has his own insecurities which he did not shared until near the end of the drama. He acts like he's okay to protect his loved ones-- Qiao Yi and their mom.
Qiao Yi is kind-hearted and sweet, but she has low self-esteem and does not express her feelings very well. She tends to hide her feelings from her friends and family very often and the show teaches us that sometimes its okay to ask for help, because there are people around you that loves you.
Yan Mo is smart, he's the kind of person that has everything planned, what to eat tomorrow, which chapters to study in the following week, which university to go to etc. But he is a loner, he too does not express his feelings very well, in a high self-esteem way, non-sociable and has a mean mouth. He and Qiao Yi are the type of couple that can hold grudges for years. Towards the end we could see how he opens up to people, to care for others and to accept social cues and respond to them.
Wu Yi is Qiao Yi's best friend, she is those who dares to love and dares to hate, she is like a durian, with sharp-pointy outer shell and slimy fruit on the inside. She is the opposite of Qiao Yi, who is stubborn, Wu Yi also has her insecurities and is afraid of change and stepping out the first step in everything. She also likes to runaway from her problems, literally running away from them instead of facing it and solving it.
Da Chuan is the best friend everybody wishes for, he will not hesitate to lend a helping hand. He is bold and gangster-looking but has a kind-heart that has a soft spot for animals. He is very sociable, he can be friends with anyone including your parents. But he is also hot-headed, he tends to loose his temper easily and that sometimes causes trouble. Da Chuan is the person that keeps the gang together, he apologizes when he is wrong, he forgives and he appreciates.
They did a really good job in including the main leads' family dynamics. Guan Chao and Qiao Yi's mom remarried to their stepfather, they showed the reaction of both child, and their process of accepting him. They show how their previous abusive bio dad affected them later in life, which is really sad. Another to add is Guan Chao and Qiao Yi's sibling relationship, they supported each other when needed, they are very very close, very well portrayed.
Yan Mo's parents were also divorced, they show how he has to cope with it, how his mom made effort to give the best to him, and how his cold personality was not a one-day thing.
Wu Yi came from a single-parent family where her mom is a busy businesswoman and both mother-daughter lack communication which results in a stranded relationship, its heartbreaking towards the end of the show.
Some say the drama was boring during the middle episodes, this is because during that few episodes, the gang is dealing with stuffs other than their love-life. Although love is a necessity (all kinds of love, not just the romantic kind), but there also other stuffs in life we need to handle, like career, friends, family, this drama included other hardships that the leads' faced to show that life does not always go the way we wanted it to be, even if we put in a 100% effort, we might still fail, and it take another 200% effort to stand up again, this is how life works!
Acting wise, all the leads fits into their character pretty well, crying scenes were good, especially Wu Yi's, and Guan Chao's about-to-cry face expression changes deserves some applause too. Yan Mo needs to have his feelings expressed through his eyes, gestures, body language which is not easy too. Qiao Yi's character there's a difference in acting, she was really shy and timid during high school where she avoided eye-contact, speaks in a very soft voice and often hunches when people talk to her. She experienced a change in university where she joined clubs and societies and you can see how the actress put in confidence elements in Qiao Yi, she is more matured and confident, although she still panics when she encountered Yan Mo again but you can see the change in acting, praises to the actress!
Overall its a good and addicting drama to watch, acting is good, chemistry between the leads are good too, the story plot and script is the best part of this drama. Character development throughout the drama. Not a very poor production team so the set was ok, kept it real and not over-the-top fancy. Rewatch value was lower because i don't want to go through the pain all over again, but youtube cuts are the go-tos, just rewatch the cuts will be enough hahaha.
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This review may contain spoilers
This Drama was set up in a way I have never seen before. It had moments of the present, past, and future?? I really liked it when they talked to the camera and described a situation. I will say what I liked and then disliked about the drama-- what you should know is: it's a good one. LIKE: I LOVED the characters. These were some of the best characters and relationships I have seen in a drama. They made it real while still maintaining their drama charm. I love how they had a sibling relationship-- actually a beautifully crafted sibling relationship that honestly carried the entire show at the beginning. I liked how they dealt with difficult topics like death, disabilities, and pregnancy. Something about Guanchao's character was just so refreshing. Maybe it's because many leads in the dramas I've watched have had a history of being quiet, unexpressive, and serious (YanMo), but I loved how he was a great brother and developed so much as a person while maintaining his fun side. The relationships in this show were also great! personally liked the second leads' story a little better because it felt like the main leads took too much time to actually get together.
DIDN'T LIKE: I didn't like how much they used the same 3 songs for every situation, but now those 3 songs will be burned into my memory forever. I also felt like it went just a little slow towards the end, but it wasn't too bad. The last thing that kind of bothered me was a personal opinion. I lowkey wanted to follow the story of Wu Yi and her ACTUALLY being pregnant. I feel like that would have been really interesting and unseen in a drama.
OVERALL- I miss this show already. There were so many good aspects of this show and really gives you a glimpse into a whole new world.
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Beautiful love story
It was truly an amazing drama. It showed the struggles we face as teenagers with school and grades. It showed how one person can change your life.When I first started the drama the jumps between the different timelines got me confused but after the 2nd episode I started getting the hang of it. I enjoyed how they gave us a glimpse of their married life while they were also showing us their life when they were teenagers. It made the angst tolerable especially when they parted. It gave hope that at the end they were going to end up together and live happily ever after.
It was a truly wondering well made drama that I would rewatch
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beats any other drama in being slow-paced.
I only asked one question throughout this whole drama: how is it so highly-rated?I am not too picky with dramas, but i almost dropped this multiple times and only didn't so i could see if it gets better. so i waited. and waited. and it finally somewhat picked up the pace halfway through or so. enduring the painfully boring first half was somehow worth it by the end, but only because this was something i could watch while working on the side.
the sounds and photography were off (why was the screen always foggy), and the acting was exaggerated at times, but not by all actors. i usually like the fl actress but her character never really becomes confident. her voice is always too low, which is frustrating although it improves by the end. i honestly didnt feel any chemistry at the start either.
What i enjoyed most was the friendship, especially between the two fls, and the second leads story. honestly shouldnt have continued this drama, but its not too bad overall if i count my enjoyment towards the end. 7.5/10
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MATURE PLOT, CHARACTERS, CONFLICTS
Perfect to binge-watch, no skips, worthy for sure. No complex plots and complicated characters — just a simple and realistic journey of the characters. From friendship, family, love-life, dream, to an ending of a marriage of the main leads, it was pleasant enough. (E1 already hinted a happy ending.) The romance is not cringey and cliche. Those short-time conflicts were reasonable. There's no frustrating episode to the point the story fucked up. This series is fun, may sometimes heartbreaking.I definitely recommend it!
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This review may contain spoilers
Best C-Drama Ever!
I watched several dramas like put my head on my shoulder, love o2o, and such, but this drama will always on the top.I rewatched this for almost 4 TIMES. (And probably almost remember the scripts lmao). The storyline is kind of simple, but authentic. It contained less cliché moments (which are common in popular C-Drama) so that you wouldn't cringe at all! It also have a lot of things to learn of, either from their family, friendship or relationship, which you can relate. One thing I would highlight in the plot is the humorr!! A lot of scenes were hilarous and unexpectable!
The chemistry between the leads are AWESOMEE! They potrayed their roles perfectly! I never cried while watching any dramas but this makes me teared up (especially about Hao Wu Yi. Man, relatable as hell)
The music! If I could I would give a 100000/10 since the songs were veryyyyy goood and will get you emotional!
Probably nothing that I dislike from this drama lol. Too perfect for me.
I would recommend this drama to you who is into romance drama, but in the same time dislike cliché moments. Plus, to you who want to find a 'life-relatable' drama, this is the drama for you!
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35 episodes of pure enjoyment (and no draggy garbage!
It's rare that I would enjoy a drama that's so long, because I get super annoyed by the stupid drama tropes... glad to say this drama is 35 episodes of pure material with no draggy parts, making it super enjoyable to binge-watch in a day or twoThe plot is very interesting -- we have lead characters who have so much chemistry, as well as some additional touching family drama parts for those of you who get weak when it comes to parent-child relationships (like me
And let's just say the chemistry is REALLY THERE.
I also like how the drama was laid out -- bits and pieces of "present day" at the beginning sprinkled in to give us a big picture
then later on reminding us where those pieces lie within the timeline and stuff
It's so sweet you'll get diabetes
but not overly sweet that it's only fluff no substance.
Also, extra points to the male lead's cold humor. He really made me laugh.
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