So much potential and yet...
I got pulled by the ratings but wasn't convinced at all by this drama.Maybe as a filler no-brainer drama this does the trick.
The concept was really appealing, no palace intrigue, a pirate king and a super-heroin wannabe, there was so much potential to do something new there... but no.
I was on the fence about the FL at first but by the end of the drama I gave up on her. Her character is so poorly written, it's borderline split personality. She's supposed to be brave, clever, heroic and yet she ends up acting like a child, throwing tantrums and being over the top "cute" to manipulate the ML. Why couldn't she be like Chu Jie, a bit cold but at least with some maturity and consistency? Her skills are all over the place too, she's clueless in combat, next scene she fights with a sword and then again clueless and easily captured.
I agree with other reviewers that poor ML is carrying the entire story. The actor is doing a great job and it's like the same amount of effort was put in writing his character as it was the entire rest of the cast combined. Supporting characters were either cruelly unexplored or cliché after cliché.
The pace of the romance development is very off and all over the place. From hate to love very abruptly is one thing but later in the episodes they go back to bickering, wooing / hard to get as if they just met while they already confessed and are already married!
Plot-wise, all over the place again. There is like 2 subplots and it feels like a second season starting episode 15. It would have been better to drop the subplot with Zhao Yuan Ming and keep a more cohesive story.
I started ignoring all plot holes otherwise that would have been unwatchable, a lot of actions and events make no sense and their outcome even less.
I've seen warnings about the drama being low budget, I usually don't care, costumes and decors were fine. However they really should have saved the money for proper editors and sound technicians, instead of spending it on useless CGIed wolves.
The OST is very forgetable.
If you're looking for a good historical, non palace drama, with bandit boss ML and smart capable FL, with a hate to love and forced marriage romance, I highly recommend Cinderella Chef instead, which does all that much better than the Romance of Hua Rong.
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I think the director chose the best and right main actor Yuan Hao and main actress Zhao Zhao Yi for this drama, The Romance of Hua Rong Chinese Drama (2019).
This copule is very match and cute. They are both handsome and beautiful.
Especially the smile of actor Yuan Hao is very sweet.
I think he is worth to play as a main role more in drama and they should stop him as a support role.
The director organized and facilitated the casting of actors for all the roles in a this drama sucessfully.
So, this drama is very good.
Also the costumes and hair style,make up are smart and beautiful.
I hope this couple Yuan Hao and Zhao Yi in other dramas together as a main leaders together.
I highly recommended this drama!!!!
I hope season 2 of this drama with histrorical style or moderen style.And should choose Yuan Hao and Zhao Yi as main leaders in season2.
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This review may contain spoilers
A cute adventure story with romance
Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this is a “liked/cheerful meh”.Things I liked: Yuan Hao in a pirate costume. Period. I think that is 99% of the reason I watched this a third time when it aired on Viki (previously on YouTube). I liked that there was a reasonable progression of character growth. Our ML learned not to be self-centered and possessive while our FL gained a great deal of maturity. I liked that the FL stayed strong throughout—yes, she was annoyingly immature and stubborn at times, but she grew on me. For example, in the beginning of the story her mission is to leave the island and she does not let anything get the way of it, not even marriage. I liked the side characters (eyebrow guy was the best!) and that the SML got his own happy ending with one of the SFLs. There are cute and funny parts to the show that I enjoyed.
Things I did not like so much: Don’t go into this expecting a great deal of logic, it’s not so unbelievable that I could not stand it, but you do have to suspend disbelief. I did not like that the only time the FL and ML slept together was when one or both of them was roaring drunk. There wasn’t a huge among of depth to the “evil” characters, but like I just said, logic really isn’t this drama’s strong point. However, I, personally, have no major objections to this drama.
Need something light and fluffy with a handsome ML to admire? This is the drama for you. Enjoy well-written, gritty reality and historical accuracy? Don’t touch this one with a ten-foot poll. :)
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Interesting series! ML chasing FL
It was funny because I would be super invested and interested and then there would be an episode that caused me to want to stop because it was no longer interesting but then something interesting would happen again, and repeat like a cycle. I would be bored, interested, bored, interested. So keep in mind that though it may seem like a slight drag, it has another twist/relationship/love interest coming up. The female actress was witty and she wasn't swooning over the character until literally the last 5 episodes, which I like because it didn't make it dramatically cheesy. But I AM IN LOVE WITH THE PIRATE'S PERSISTENCE AND LOVE for the girl, its so cute. especially the small things. However, the girl is lowkey whiny and slightly annoying at times, however I quickly got over it lol. It does get cheesy at times, and I am not a huge fan of cheesy romance. It did drag at times with the outside characters and their relationships so i lost interest/skipped those, as well as the evil plot behind the show made me skip at times. But overall minimal skipping, and super ML chasing FL. I really enjoyed the jealousy of the ML as the FL was naive and super friendly with everyone lol.Was this review helpful to you?
What was that?
Honestly I am not a fan of stupid slapstick shows. This one is no exception. Just utter nonsense. I understand how this may entertain some people but I barely got thru it. I continued only for the ML. He was adorable. FL was an utter train wreck and completely unlikable to me. I really could not stand her character; she actually had no character! She was an utterly useless, selfish human being whose mouth worked so much faster than her pea brain. If you have 24 hours to waste by all means watch this. I can not believe they are actually doing a season 2.Was this review helpful to you?
I really love the chemistry of the Two. I wish they end up together. Also wish them to have a successful career. I really want them.
The story is also funny. While the character of Qin is very romantic. The character of Rong is somewhat very clever for a women during that era. This plot of the story is something that i look to a historical drama.
Good luck yuan hao!, till your next drama.
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The lead couple were really romantic. The cute fights between them was really nice to watch. The romantic moments between them was really beautiful. The lead actor looks really good when he smiles. sometimes the lead actress looked really funny in some moments but it was ok. They fought together, they saved each other, together they learned to
respect and support each other. There were many funny moments too
The whole casts really fit their characters perfectly. All the cast really did a very good job.
The costumes were really nice. They looked really nice in them.
Overall it was a really great drama. i think everyone should give a shot to this drama. A great historical drama
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This review may contain spoilers
Fav show ever
So, I was very very happy about this show.First time watching these two main leads. Read somewhere that ML is quite new to the main lead role, although he played many roles in shows but was never made Main Lead and this is the first show. I do hope he gets more opportunities to get more main lead roles. I think his acting is awesome.
As for the story, ML was awesome, the character suits him the best. That smile, OMG. The chemistry between them both is really good and i kind of guessed that they were actually dating in real life before looking up online. And according to some other fans these two are actually dating. I love shows which main leads are actually dating in real life, as i am a sucker of rom com dramas, it makes it more "real" and "comfortable" watching them kiss and flirt and hold each other. Not sure if anyone noticed that most Cdrama/Kdrama kissing scenes are rather stiff especially from the girls. They just stays there waiting for the guys to move their lips and they just kept their lips close. Awkwardly hard to watch.
Other scenes and stories i enjoyed watching while waiting for new episodes for this show was their BTS or the trailers for the next episodes. These two flirts and go crazy with their love for each other. Whenever FL jumps around like a kid, pulling and tugging on the ML, he just looks at her lovingly and lets her do whatever she wants to him. Some scenes can be seen that he even played with her.
This show is light and airy and i think its worth watching and sooooo sweet. Will definitely watch again for the cutesy scenes. I AM GENUINELY HAPPY FOR THIS SHOW.
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Stayed For Male Lead
Whew, I just finished this drama and rushed here to leave a review. Okay so overall the story was nice and the plot was good except for the ending which in my opinion was a little anti-climatic as they built the story around this big mystery only to end it the way they did. It wasn't an awful ending but it could have been better.Next is the biggest and most important thing and that is the way the male lead carried this show. While I rated this show an 8.5 that rating mostly goes to the male lead (and some supporting cast) who I personally believe saved this show from being a dumpster fire. The female lead is probably the worse female lead I've come across in a drama. In terms of the character, she was so obnoxious, whiny and overall annoying. At points, I even had to skip her scenes because it was pissing me off. Then there is the actual actress herself who I felt was pretty bad in comparison to her male costar. Her acting seemed awkward at moments and in scenes with both her and the male lead his acting would be so good while hers seemed so awkward.
I never leave reviews on the actors no matter how unsatisfactory they are but this show is the first. I may check out some other shows that the female lead was in because I refuse to believe that this is her best.
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Story: Many historical comedy C-dramas got the problem that they suddenly switch the super dramatic serious line at the middle or end, which luckily never happened here. Most time it kept the comedic touch without taking it too stern. Don't expect super mindblowing plottwists, it's mainly here just for laugh.
Acting/Cast: Actually a nice cast which are chose n quite well fitting their chars. Especially the male lead, who stood out the most for me. He can switch between serious and comedic facial expressions very naturally.
In overall I'm satisfied since it has been while where I liked a comedy history C-drama.
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This series had so much potential however I also feel like the female leads personality in this series was really immature which somehow made it a little less fun to watch. We watch the series knowing it’s about a romance but when you see the female lead and how she acts and treats the male lead it’s irritating during most of the series. It’s really clear early on how he feels but I watched over 15 or so episodes of this guy trying to win here over. Throughout this chase, she often disregarded him and behaved toward him like she was a 12-year-old. Sorry, I really don’t find that entertaining. Her personality stays the same throughout the entire series although she begins to change somewhat in her behavior towards the male lead.
If you enjoy romantic comedies, bubbly females and adventurous shows you may really like this. You will most certainly laugh. This was definitely one that gave me mixed feelings as the male lead was a lot more mature and focused and romantic in his way while our female lead was portrayed as a often naïve, immature female and often a crybaby. she did prove clever at times though. Maybe that’s the thing nowadays but I just don’t find a naïve female or a female who acts like she’s 12 entertaining especially if she’s being cast as an adult. It’s weird.
Other than disliking the female leads immature personality, I sincerely enjoyed everything else about the series.
FYI when I watched the series, there were many moments when the music was louder than the voices speaking. If there was no translation I would have had no idea what they were saying.
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