An incredible depiction of the real struggles that average, mundane, normal, people have to go through in their everyday lives. Yet, the story itself is nothing but mundane. We get to look at the turmoil that goes on in an office setting and in within the people themselves. It's hard to believe that an office drama, of all types, can get your heart racing, keep your eyes glued, and feed your anticipation for the next scene. As someone who frequently cries over dead characters in fantasy/historical dramas, I found myself crying over simple decisions made by these characters that had such great impact on their colleagues.
Acting was superb! Super impressed by Bai Jingting who was able to shed his outer "idol image" and give us such a pure Sun Yiqiu. Loved how all the other actors portrayed their characters in a way that was so believable. I especially loved the portrayal of the "villain" characters, as they did such an amazing job making the characters look like people that we really could picture to appear in our lives.
I'm disappointed that there doesn't seem to be available Eng subs for a wider audience, but I hope that gets done in the future.
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IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A REAL OFFICE DRAMA, THIS IS DEFINITELY FIT FOR YOU!
From the first episode, the premise is already there. It's a strong office story that might give you a real stress about office life. Yea..office life isn't always good and smooth right.. But it also means that the acting of all the actors in this drama are very very outstanding! There are a lot of main characters here that makes us able to feel all of different work situation in the office. don't worry,, each of them have their own story that can't be counted as a side story or filler; every scene here in this drama is so meaningful, like there's always a lesson we can take from each problem they encountered.For everyone that asking how the drama goes on in each episode. It's just like a daily office life, they got a problem they solved it. So, maybe there isn't any BIG problem that started to be nurtured from the beginning of the story; so yeah, for everyone that seeking a drama that have a big boss to be defeated, maybe it's not a drama you're looking for ( finger crossed :P )
What can I say more about this drama? Story indeed a good one (at least for me) Acting? This is the most outstanding part of this drama.. Music: maybe the song seems monotone, but office work also monotone right? it's fit with the genre of this drama hahaha..
Okay, that all for now. See ya on another drama! :)
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I at first thought this was about pure investment, but it's so much more than meets the eye.
This show is so incredible, and I really do wish it was more accessible to a wider audience. I was one of the few fortunate enough to have enough background in Chinese to understand and experience this incredible story and pretty much binged this within a couple weeks time. The plot is so gripping and takes you through the highs and lows of the investment world, makes you care about (or get irritated by) every single character that gets introduced, and makes you laugh and cry and experience a whole whirlwind of emotions consistently throughout the watching experience. What's wilder is that I'm not even someone who's usually interested in office dramas, much less investment! This is truly a drama like no other. It is a drama about not running away and instead confronting personal weakness first and foremost.- STORY -
"It may seem like the world is against you, but it's up to you to change yourself."
That's the main theme that I at least have taken away from this show, and while it's rather commonly depicted, it was shown (not told) brilliantly here without being shoved down my throat. Through every leg of the journey, through every troubling scenario that Group 4 had to encounter, and for every depiction of toxic workplace culture, there are insights to be gained via how characters interact with each other and choose to handle situations that are thrown at them. There is not always a clear cut answer for what is the correct path forward. This show instead chooses to present the realistic struggles and collateral damage caused by manipulative schemes with painful brutality alongside incredibly strong bonds and friendships that form through adversity, and I appreciated every moment of it. What's even better is that, to my knowledge, I don't think any plot threads were left untied - almost everything had an explanation. This story is honestly so strong that I am inclined to seek out the original Korean source material (or the kdrama at least) to perhaps compare and contrast the different depictions.
- ACTING/CHARACTERS -
I first encountered Bai Jing Ting in Ping Pong Hero and subsequently went on to watch him in You Are My Hero as well as Octogenarians and the 90's. This particular role of his as Sun Yi Qiu is, in my opinion, arguably one of his best roles he's done out of the series I have listed. Sun Yi Qiu is an incredibly subtle role, lacking in confidence due to his weak resume and constantly feeling like he doesn't fit in. He at first feels like he must fight alone, but eventually realizes that this corporate battlefield is filled with comrades and it's with them that he starts to understand his own value. Bai Jing Ting portrays this growth in character brilliantly with nuance and I have high hopes for his future as a multifaceted actor.
Mark Chao plays the troubled, prideful, but incredibly righteous team lead of Team 4, Wu Ke Zhi. This role is honestly so layered and tricky and I can only applaud this man's efforts in portraying this fascinating character that is at once a family man with a tender soul but also someone with incredibly high standards and blunt words. He may be harsh, but he honestly cares more than most, and it's beautiful to see his relationships with his team members (particularly Sun Yi Qiu and Lin Yu Ming) grow.
I'd also like to shout out some other notable performances.
Bridgette Qiao as Lan Qian Yi portrays the struggles of a female in a male-dominant work environment with strength and poise, and gains acceptance through her solid efforts and smarts. She is no damsel-in-distress and is arguably a career woman more capable than many men that surround her, and I admire her for that.
Pang Han Chen as Gao Si Cong is an intelligent man with high educational standing who learns humility and compromise through many twists and turns. He is a great reminder for those who are highly qualified to never look down on the seemingly mundane details, because simple mistakes can add up.
Wei Da Xun as Hao Shuai provides incredible comic relief, but also manages to have a reasonable character arc of his own that lets him stand up for himself against someone taking advantage of him.
Zhang Zi Xian as Lin Yu Ming shows such a heartwarming and memorable character who always puts friends first, and honestly, I'd love to be his friend in real life as well.
This doesn't even go into detail about all the other side characters and antagonists, but this section is already long as is. Just know that this drama would not be anywhere near this level of quality without such a brilliant cast, and I wouldn't trade them with anyone else if given the choice.
- MUSIC -
This is arguably the weakest part. The music was just not very memorable to me, but at least served to adequately support the rest of the content.
- CONCLUSION-
Through this show, I have learned that we make investments in so many things throughout our lives. We invest our time and money in friendships, family, work, and recreation, but an investment we really cannot neglect is the investment in ourselves. I know this is cheesy, but I'd like to pose this drama's major question to you. What is your selling point? And for what do you live for? Ponder upon these like the characters in this drama, and maybe, just maybe, you too will gain insight into yourself as well.
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Great adaptation of the Korean version...
But... as all Chinese dramas was way too long , drugging mercilessly from the 20th episode onward. What saved it was the very good acting by the cast though Mark Chao couldn't persuade me that much at the role of a middle aged burnt out company employee.Generally speaking Chinese drama makers have to address the issue with the super long dramas they produce that force them to fill the empty time with unimportant scenes that don't add anything to the plot. More is not always better guys.
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The ordinary workplace is a school, a family, a battlefield
Mark Chao as a technically fantastic investor, but too straight /prideful /charmless in the interpersonal department. He completes difficult projects but makes enemies in his company left and right, including all his bosses at every level onward and up. Trying to uglify a former model to be a rumpled middle management is hard work. Mark Chao is always wearing suits and shirts that are a size too big, hanging weirdly, with half combed hair, unkempt beard, trying to achieve that effect...semi-successfully, I guess. But his is a complicated role of a harsh but caring boss who feels all kind of pain when a project he loves can't get sorted, or he has to do things that violated principles, or when he can't give his employees who are loyal to him the benefits they deserve--and he performs this role excellently.Sun Yi Qiu is an introverted, slow-but-steady, detail-oriented, and principled young man who invests real emotions into investment projects and the people involved, just like his new boss. Due to sheer chance, he drops unprepared into this huge grinding machine of a company and must learn from scratch (not even a basic college degree because he spent his formative years aiming to be a competitive Go player, but ultimately stalled). Eventually though, with some help and hard-won opportunities, he does find a food-hold to stand his own ground in the world of investment banking.
Along with him, there are also 3 other fellow first-year employees, each on their own journey in the first steps of their careers, having their own character arcs, their own stories and volition and perspectives, which are also very engaging.
The acting is really great throughout. I love how REAL everything is... and admit to being moved to tears several times, because the conversations and lessons are the type that everyone can encounter in our IRL everyday lives. Although, that's also why this show is quite stressful, lol. Way more stressful than watching some gods and demons battling over a universe.
Although the story drags a bit in the middle and could have had 10 episodes shrank to 5, the close work relationships everyone form, whether good or ill, is really the best parts of the story. The Chinese workplace is a FAMILY. There are family members who care for you and are loyal to you, or who can't stand you or are jealous of you, or who have their (sometimes very rational and valid from their perspectives) negative opinion of you, or all of these at the same time--but it is your obligation to find a way to coexist together in a reasonably cohesive way if you want to succeed, and become a part of that complicated family. And when you REALLY can't anymore... well, going forth to create your own new family is truly the best and most hopeful option.
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This review may contain spoilers
What a great office drama
I love this drama because it tells viewers no matter how hard work environment can be, we will succeed in our ambition as long as we are willing to give ourselves a chance.This drama is about the struggle of four young people who embarked their first training programme as an invesment analyst for a venture capital firm in Shanghai.
Working in a fast pace environment can be challenging but their friendship helped them pull through the most difficult times in their professional career.
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This review may contain spoilers
harsh realities of the workforce & the importance of book smarts and street smarts
I wanted to watch this when it aired.Alas! I am 4 years late but better late than never. I highly recommend this drama to mature viewers who have experience being in the workforce. It is also a good drama for those who have not entered the workforce to get a "taste" of what it is like.
What I Like Very Much:
- This drama has a stellar cast. Never once did I cringe because of poor acting. The acting is top-notch and very believable. Big Kudos to the cast, especially the main leads.
- I like the complex character in the form of Wu Ke Zhi. Although he is not a perfect worker/ superior, he comes across as someone with heart and whom I, like Fatty, will like to work for and to work with. He is portrayed as someone who deserves respect for how hard he works and for how dedicated to being a good person he is.
- Lin Yu Ming is another character that I like very much. I like the way he speaks and how he knows what works for him and what does not.
- The plot, despite being in the workplace and all, is not boring at all. In fact, I find the storyline engaging and eventful. I want to know what happens next and am riveted enough to want to keep on watching.
- This drama is a drama about growth of the different interns/ newbies as well as the development of the older staff. I enjoy seeing how the interns/ newbies become more skilled, more experienced, more tactful etc.
What I Do Not Like at All:
- Yin Sheng Chao is positively heinous. What makes this worse is that there are really people like him in the world. He is devious, evil, malicious, selfish, manipulative and just downright a scumbag!
- I find the drastic change in Hao Shuai from cunning and bold to a little "broken down" puppy hard to swallow. The drastic character change does not appear realistic and congruent to me. I do not like it. I feel that he should stay feisty and shrewd. Nonetheless, Yin Sheng Chao gets his just desserts in the end which makes things feel much better.
- Ma Zhong is another annoying boot-licking character who curry favours the top and ill-treats the subordinates.
- Gao Si Cong is positively irritating. He thinks too highly of himself when he actually is not that great. Thankfully, he grows and changes positively.
Additionally, from this drama, I have come to realise that a college degree is important because without it, doors are closed. Case in point - Sun Yi Qiu. He has the smarts and he is willing to work very hard but, without a proper college degree, he cannot find good employment in a reputable company.
Overall, I highly recommend this drama because of the amazing cast and the great plot!
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chinese version of Wall Street
It was a fascinating series where twists and turns in the plots by superiors bullying trainees. The internal struggles of daily life that each individual cast has to deal with and the flashbacks were helpful to understand. Power struggle from the top to bottom showed the reality of how staff had to put up with idiosyncracies.Constant infightings between the various departments trying to vie for the top notch are portrayed the vicious envious supprssing attitudes all revealed.
Life lessons over time resulted in the maturity of the casts.
Ending was wonderful for the leader of Team 4 to resign and open his own consulting firm.
Good little updates with the major trainees on how they turned up.
There were many poignant moments which tug at one's enotions on enduring oppression and suppression.
Abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.
thank you cast for a riveting exciting series and the cast for their great performances...
When at the end of the show, audiences could hate the bullies while compassionate sympathies to the opporessed meant the success of casting and storyline.... Appreciate the Producers, Directors, Casts, scriptwriters. Job well done. Keep producing such amazing stories of real life.
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Muy emotiva, con actuación impecables
Llevaba tiempo queriendo ver esta serie especialmente porque sé que Mark Chao escoge buenos proyectos. Al fin la pude ver y me encantó.Una típica serie de historias de oficina, con un gran desarrollo de cada personaje.
La unión de este director estancado, gracias a su carácter, unido a este novato sin titulo universitario que llega a la empresa, va desencadenar un montón de situaciones, muy interesante desde el aspecto de crecimiento personal, de todos los personajes principales involucrados.
Pase toda la serie emocionada viendo paso a paso la evolución de cada practicante, viendo las motivaciones de los jefes y los clientes. De verdad aprecie mucho con el detalle que este chico principal explicaba todos sus sentimientos con voz en off.
La actuación de Mark Chao es impecable, solo una mirada lo decía todo, él es genial.
Al final encontré esta serie en youtube, la recomiendo 100%, si lo que quieres ver es romance esta no es tu serie, si quieres ver situaciones realistas en el medio laboral a la medida que te encariñas con los personajes, por aquí es.
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