Love Is Sweet (2020)

Yes it's sweet

Story: The point that I found uncommon as other recent popular drama is that in this drama the male lead character actually secretly love the female lead for such a long time. And the male lead is more romantic and nostalgic that his girlfriend. The office politic is also pretty intriguing though it's predictable.

Acting: I admit that the main reason I was so eager to watch this drama because of the two lead actor. And this drama is one of Leo Luo best drama for being lead character. Although I think Leo is more suitable in fantasy xianxia drama, but his acting as director of big company is convincing. Bai Lu always identic with badass female character, so her acting as independent office lady is definitely suit her. And I love the comedy side of this drama, it's really funny and silly but cute at the same time.

Music: Not much I want to explain but the soundtrack are amazing.

Rewatch value: I bet after rewatch this drama, I will still laugh at the funny scenes.

Overall: As mention on the title, this drama is sweet, romantic, funny and also thrilling in some episodes. Jiang Jun - Yuan Shuai is one of the best drama couple this year

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Leads carried the whole drama

Absolute kudos to Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu. Their explosive chemistry MADE the whole drama. I wasn’t even concerned with a few things here and there (except..see below). They truly connected as co-stars on a whole new level, it felt so natural. Their interactions were addictive, they overshadowed everyone else.

I loved the pace of YS and JJ’s relationship, their verbal sparring was all kinds of adorable. Once they met up again after so many years, time wasn’t wasted on any long, drawn out misunderstandings or conflicts. Each one showed patience and maturity when it mattered. I honestly dislike dramas where couples go on long breaks for ridiculous stuff.

The con of this drama was the second couple’s “relationship.” It was like whatever didn’t go wrong with the first couple’s relationship was just randomly thrown into this one. However, I wasn’t too distracted because, once again, the main couple absolutely RULED.

There were some dramatic stuff as well but not over-the-top. Fluff was absolutely necessary between YS and JJ and I lived for them!

I know there are 2 more months to the end of this year but I can safely say this is my favourite contemporary cdrama of 2020.

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A must-watch!

First off, I really ❤️ this drama. Bai Lu and Luo Yun Xi’s chemistry and acting are off the charts! I mean even with its imperfections I still gave this drama a solid 10. But even with a score of 10 (for me) it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its flaws. It has and I do hope my review will give you an idea whether this drama is good to watch or not.

Acting: Lead couple Jiang Jun (Bai Lu) and Yuan Shai (Luo Yun Xi) acting and chemistry made this drama so great! You can feel the chemistry even from the start. Their acting is so natural. When I watched their BTS you can see how comfortable they are with each other and it translates into their performance onscreen. Since JJ is allergic to tears she cannot show her emotions by crying. This is when you will see how good of an actress she is. You can see it from her eyes, movements, etc. This is my second time watching Bai Lu (seen her first from Lucky’s First Love and I became a fan of her after that). It’s different with Luo Yun Xi, this is my first time watching him so I dont know what to expect. I’m glad he didn’t disappoint. He’s so good in his role. When I looked him up, I found out that his notable works are wuxia/costume dramas. I couldn’t think of anyone who can play their roles. The second couple played by Shae Xiao and Riley Wang is just so-so for me. Honestly I find their story boring. I’m not sure if it’s really the story or the actors. I’ve watched Riley Wang before and he was a good actor. This is my first time seeing Shae Xiao. Her acting in this drama can be over-the-top at times but it’s tolerable. However their story doesn’t stood out for me. I think this is one of the “weak points” of this drama. Second lead couples usually have cute and funny stories. But Xu Li and Li Xiao Chuan failed in this category. As of this writing, I still cant pinpoint if its chemistry, story or acting. Sometimes it can also be the execution. Anyway as for the rest of the cast, I think they did well. Du Lei played by Kido Gao is an interesting character to say the least. You’re gonna love and hate him.

Story: This is a business, romcom genre. So expect a lot of business terms or scenes. I really dont know much about investment banking but I got a glimpse of how it works. As for the overall story; I think it’s good. Childhood friends who had a fallout before, met again after 10 years. Expect lots of bickering from the main leads which I think helped their love story because it showed how they progressed together. I like how they are not your usual “drama couple”. They seem like an ordinary couple. Realistic (well except for some sizzling moments :D) and relatable. Yes, there are cheesy and fluffy moments but it will make you smile/laugh and not cringe. It’s light-hearted and a feel-good drama. I like the pacing of this drama. I’m used to cdramas dragging the story but thankfully this drama didn’t do it. It has a good story dev’t and pacing. Character development was properly presented. You’ll see how each character progressed; how they dealt with their shortcomings and conflicts. May I just add that I like the women in this drama. They have strong personalities and not usual your damsel in distress characters.

OST: I’ve watched a lot of dramas but soundtracks rarely got my attention. But this one really stuck on me. I even created a playlist for it. The soundtrack really helped create a positive vibe for this drama. It was perfectly executed. It has the perfect song at the right time and at the right moment.

Visuals: Loved the locations, overall look of the drama and cast. Though this maybe overlooked at times, the visuals are an important element in a drama. It gives a refreshing vibe to a drama. The best scenes’ (confession, cheesy moments, proposal, etc) visuals made these moments great. It added value which helped the drama made an impact for these scenes.

Rewatch Value: Yes, I have rewatched this a couple of times already. Since it’s not heavy or intense it’s easy to rewatch it. You’ll love to see JJ and YS’s love story again.

Strong Points:
- Lead couple’s acting and chemistry
- Story
-OST
-Cinematography/Visuals
-Pacing of the story
-Didn’t drag misunderstandings

Weak Points:
- Uninteresting second lead couple
-Transition after two years (this happens in ep31)

That being said, I hope you’ll give this drama a chance. You will not be disappointed. You’ll definitely feel that Love is Sweet. 😍❤️

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Just here for the Main Couple

After watching TTEOTM, I really liked LYX and BL. Then I discovered that they had a drama before that in a modern-day setting.

The story was good, almost entirely. I'm sure you've read enough reviews and comments at this point before you landed on my review, so I'm just gonna try to make the praise as short as possible. I have no problems with the Main story, it was cute, it was fluffy, and obviously, the chemistry was off the charts. The very definition of 'Love is Sweet'. The business side of things... it was aight, I would say, I was whatever whenever the characters are blabbing about business shit that I couldn't relate/understand. The second couple is just plainly boring, I liked it in the beginning, it was cute until it wasn't and just became an annoying filler. Also, I loved the Sideplot of the 2nd ML.

When I thought it wouldn't matter to me if they dragged the hell out of this drama for how much I loved the Main couple, but nope! How naive I was for thinking that. This series could've ended at episode 30, everything was nicely wrapped up and tied in a nice little bow, but the people behind this were like "Nope! Let's do 6 more episodes as an epilogue" just to make the 2nd ML bad.

The Characters. I already said my piece with the Main Couple no need to reiterate, they are the hard carry of this drama, If not for them, I would've dropped this after episode 30. 2nd Couple didn't elicit any chemistry whatsoever, the match-up is just terrible. If you look at it on paper, you got a super bubbly girl and a dense boy, should've been good, right??? but because of their age in this drama, it fell flat. The girl is supposedly the adult in this pairing, the boy is still in college, so you'd expect the girl would be the mature one here, but nope! The way she's trying to get the attention of the boy in the beginning is cute, but as it goes on it just becomes cringy and annoying. I wasn't planning on watching this drama on 2x, but my god... I just had to because of them. It just looked childish. The Rival ML, the way he's written, was really good to me. I love how both MLs in this drama were given a fair shot at courting FL and I loved it. It was very intricate to me, though sadly, it was very obvious that he didn't stand a chance from the beginning. He's very dynamic, and I loved every aspect of him, just not in the last 6 episodes. On the other hand, the Rival FL wasn't built up that much at all, we only got tidbits of her, and then suddenly things just happened, and then she became obsolete. Every character in this drama, bounces off each other very well, from the Main down to the minor characters. Some of the side characters I thought were going to make a big impact later on because they were given a good chunk of screen time but didn't, so it felt like they were just wasted characters to me.

The acting is also great. Everyone did very well. This is the 3rd drama that I've watched where Riley wang is in it. I can see that he has improved here a little.

The Music, obviously I liked the OST. There's that one BGM that is used a lot in business scenes that I wasn't really feeling because it doesn't sound business-esque to me, it fits more in a fashion drama.

Overall, a good drama. I'm not sure if I would recommend it in general though, but if you've watched TTEOTM first and you liked the Main Couple, then go for it. It's a breath of fresh air seeing both actors in another setting.

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Well, I my review is probably useless since there is a lot on this classic Chinese drama.
But hey, I'll go anyway.
So, let's be clear: I loved it. The mix of humor, romance and realism make it a spicy cocktail that I love. But I would say that the biggest asset of this drama is clearly our two leads, whether it's the fictional relationship between them, the crazy chemistry between the two actors or even simply the two actors separately. The mix of complicity, teasing and devotion between Jiang Jun and Yuan Shuai is just a real delight and we love to see these two confront each other, bicker, reconcile, have fun, kiss... Obviously, Luo Yun Xi and Bai Lu are on an equal footing in their acting performance and the chemistry between them perfectly reflects the relationship between two teasing childhood friends.
However, there are a few flaws in this relationship that I will come to later.
I will now come to the plot: what I like is that it is simple but realistic, referring to the workingplace without doing too much but is not boring, being full of rhythm. The supporting characters are (almost) all interesting.
BUT : there are still some flaws in this drama that prevent me from giving it the 10/10 that I REALLY wanted to give it.
At the very beginning, I mentioned the bubbly relationship between the main characters. But while as I said, this relationship is the drama's biggest asset, it's not without flaws. Thing is, Yuan Shuai's devotion to Jiang Jun is often at the border of a controlling overprotectiveness, especially in the first 10 episodes when he does everything to keep her out of his company because he thinks 'she doesn't have the strength necessary and wants to protect her, and so basically he bullies her to prevent her from working at his place. Not to mention the fact that the guy somehow manages to makes her move out and even finds ways to make her move in right next to his place. In short, even though his devotion was adorable, his overprotective side and his habit of trying to control her life and to bully her supposedly to protect her were quite infuriating (it all depends on your tolerance). While we thought we had gotten rid of this after the first 10 episodes, it comes back running around episode 21-22 (something like) but the writing tries to make it pass with the female lead punish him (okay, I admit, this part was really fun) but it comes way too late and fails to catch up with the mistake made for some reason I'll explain.
Also, the tropes of "I use crazy methods to make her be my neighbor" and "I bully her because I love her" have been used and abused, and have long been out of trend in an increasingly feminist society, so people should think twice before using these ! Also, although I love Jiang Jun (because I just can't hate a character played by Bai Lu), I think that although the drama tries to present her as a strong and smart woman, she's often in "damsel in distress" situations where she needs the male lead or second male lead to come save her. Even when it was for her father's case, they still had to take care of it. I think it would have been beyyer for the writers to make her a bit stronger and more resourceful, and give her situations where she saves herself instead of relying on others. Another trope which is no longer in trend and would have been dispensable. This is also what makes that when Jiang Jun "punishes" Yuan Shuai for having kept her in the darkto protect her, although it is fun, it is not enough to make up for the mistake : with Jiang Jun constantly needing others protecting her and never proving her own strength by herself, this "consolation" that they try to offer us for his bad methods of protection does not manage to make up for this.
Then the supporting characters. I mentioned they were almost all interesting and they were. I would say what is best about them is the fact that they are all constantly evolving. BUT there are still two characters in particular who are exceptions to this : the second couple in the story, Xu Li, Jiang Jun's best friend (played by Xiao Yan) and Xiao Chuan, the hero's cousin (played by Wang Yi Lun). Clearly, the intention of the writers was for us to be as attached to them and their story as we were to the leads. But this is a total failure, and believe me, I'm not the only viewer to feel that way. There are plenty of reasons but I would say the most important is that their story is uninteresting, childish, boring, even annoying. When we all see your the nonsense that Xu Li is ready to do to conquer Xiao Chuan (like working at the convenience store when he goes), when she barely met him... well, it's embarassing (clearly, even if I love this drama, feminism takes a blow here). Also, she and Xiao Chuan (well, especially her) are pretty childish, which makes them kind of annoying. To continue, the two actors don't have any chemistry, don't especially show any acting talent here, and their characters aren't particularly likable or attachng, since they're so immature and kindavstupid. The problem is that these two have a lot of screentime, a screentime that the viewer will basically skip out of boredom. So if these two had much less screentime the drama, it would have been better.
Finally, one last point that REALLY left me disappointed. I say it again, a point that I like in the drama is the constant evolution of the supporting characters. But there's one in particular that gives me the feeling of a piece of food stuck in my throat, because it's so frustrating and poorly exploited. As in any good romance drama, our male lead has a rival, Du Lei. His rival who wants to defeat him professionally, who has a complicated and difficult past which explains why he became manipulative and cold, and who gets close to the heroine to use her against Yuan Shuai but ends up getting sincerely attached to her and even falls in love with her. During the first 30 episodes, his evolution was fascinating to follow but also touching: to see his difficult childhood which allowed us to better understand him, to have pity on him without approving him, to see him slowly change and reevaluate himself after spending time with Jiang Jun, finally realizing his toxic xays, his past faults, seeing him work as a duo with Yuan Shuai to help Jiang Jun and do justice. There was even a cute little bromance profiling between him and Yuan Shuai. ANYWAY : the guy was the one who had evolved the most since the beginning of the drama and I loved it, to see how this character had freed himself from the toxicity in his life and seemed to move towards peace and happiness.
And there, tragedy : the last 6 episodes. This last arc of six episodes which, frankly, brings nothing to the plot, is even rather useless and above all, ESPECIALLY, makes a COLOSSAL throwback to the character. We had taken 100 steps forward since the beginning of the drama, he suddenly takes a 1000 steps backwards. This guy who had managed to get rid of his manipulative and cold personality thanks to Jiang Jun suddenly becomes a crazy and obsessive psycho precisely because of his love for Jiang Jun. Damn, what a waste...it left me incredibly frustrated for the character who made me feel incredibly sorry because the harsh, cold environment he grew up in, with no love and warmth.

And so, it's for these reasons that even if I love the drama, I can't give it a 10/10 but I have to take away two good points.
This drama is nevertheless a classic: I recommend it to those who love romance and comedy without angst or anything complicated, and more particularly Bai Lu and Luo Yun Xi who shine here.
But for feminists who want a strong and smart female lead who doesn't need anyone's help and a male lead who leaves some space to the female lead, who hates some of the stereotypes mentioned above... uh, go your way, no kidding.
However, we can tolerate these flaws for the rhythm of the plot, the relationship and the awesome chemistry between our two main characters.

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You want romance? Definitely should watch this for the lead's romance

The lead characters Yuan Shuai & Jiang Jun is what made this drama one of my favorite. The story and history of these two from childhood, through high school and to the present time. The small misunderstandings Jiang Jun experienced as a kid was explained in Yuan Shuai's point of view. The great amount of chemistry between these two from bickering to the romantic cute scenes. These two characters and the music in this drama are what made this drama strong. It's comedic for the most part though there were a few episodes where this drama just suddenly turned dark (Eps 27-30). But once that passes, the comedy returns again.

There were some things I wasn't satisfied with.
- I normally like the secondary couple in a drama but this one didn't do it for me. Xu Li was the strange girl who all the sudden fell in love with Xiao Chuan just by how he looked when she first saw him and pretty much stalks him or waits for him everytime. He didn't do anything special that would make her fall in love with him. And then Xiao Chuan, smart in tech apps but not in the romance department. He completely ignored her feelings for most of the drama and then suddenly just falls for her. Eh... this couple wasn't handle very well in my opinion. I skipped a lot of their scenes unfortunately.
- Second male lead, Du Lei had character growth but the writers ruined his character in the last 6 episodes. They made him into a possessive jealous psycho when he could've been the best friend and supporter of Yuan Shuai towards the end.
- Yuan Shuai not getting his original position back at MH and instead works for rival group GE. This didn't make sense as the villain, who caused him to ​leave, was eliminated so he should've got his position back, regardless if Du Lei was given the position.
- Wasted last 6 episodes. The main problem was solved by Ep 30. This could've ended at 30 episodes. If they wanted to continue with 6 more episodes, give us 6 more episodes of happiness and comedy with our leads or show the other side couples, since these couple did kind of happened out of nowhere. I didn't want another issue within these 6 episodes.

Overall, the leads and their chemistry is what held this drama for me. You do have your typical main leads break up, a few characters who I wouldn't say are evil overall but do have an evil moment or two, mostly due to jealously. ML is pretty smart overall while the FL is all over the place but she does have her bright moments too. In the end, you'll likely enjoy this drama a lot of because of these two, Yuan Shuai & Jiang Jun.

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This is a really good drama that, if not episodes 31-33 and the “tear effect”, if would’ve been a GREAT drama. The storyline flows nicely and the lead couple has good chemistry but, sometimes, the leading lady appeared emotionally challenged due to the fact that she could not cry or she would faint. Although her allergy to tears is an interesting element to the story, it took away from the opportunity to have great interactions and emotional expressions throughout the drama which the male lead compensated quite nicely. The romance progressed in a good pace and it is quite realistic. Although there are some misunderstandings, they were resolved quickly and the couple’s intimacy was believable and refreshing. The OST is beautiful and there’s also great cinematography. The supporting cast and their stories were nice to watch. Overall the drama is entertaining. Enjoy it!

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Did not meet expectations

I was looking forward to this drama after reading the positive reviews. However I am sad to say that it did not meet my expectations. Overall plot was simplistic and the characters of the FL, Jiang Jun and ML, Yuan Shuai were bland. The second ML, Du Lei was more interesting with more depth in his character development. In fact I was rooting for him to get the FL instead of Yuan Shuai. The FL's allergy to tears formed the basis of the story but this sounds bizarre and I am not sure that it is medically correct. The first part of the drama was focussed on the relationship between the ML and FL but the scenes were mainly of them fighting each other and there was little sense of chemistry between the both. Although many reviewers mentioned the chemistry between the FL and ML , I did not get much sense of this. The second part of the drama was more interesting as it moved beyond the romance to the politics in business. Like mentioned by some reviewers, the drama could have successfully stopped at episode 30. The subsequent episodes 31-36 where the second ML reverted to being a villain seemed to counter the good effects of the earlier episodes.
Overall, the drama is watchable but it is nowhere comparable to some others which I have recently watched eg You are My Glory or Dine With Love.

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