A Drama Which Certainly Doesn’t Have A “ Shining” Charm…
‘ Shining Like You’ is one of those dramas which upon paper sounds brilliant. It isn’t particularly original concept of “female lead goes to art school behind her parents’ back” and the “potentially handsome love interests” but there was still a lot of unlimited ground to explore messages, character growth and social themes. However the end result of ‘ Shining Like You’ is a mixed bag of wasted screenwriting and character writing potential with poor-editing and a discordant buildup.
On a positive note the acting is decent enough ( aside from a few questionable line deliverances) and the drama is a fairly lighthearted watch. The premise isn’t overly complex and follows typically obsequious lead Lu Qi Yi ( Wang Xi Xuan) rebelling against the wishes of her parents to attend a course in foreign languages at university by instead enrolling in arts school. However due to her more timid nature Qi Yi soon finds herself an outcast by struggling to fit in amongst the more expressive and extroverted personalities on campus. After an initial awkward meeting Qi Yi soon attracts the attention of outgoing and popular art student Fang Yan ( Simon Gong).
So if the concept and the acting aren’t the drama’s major problems then what exactly lets down ‘ Shining Like You’? Ultimately the downfall for the show can be found through two main factors; character writing (one of the drama’s major cataclysmic letdowns) and of course plot coherency. To address the former issue it is important to establish that plot coherency is crucial within dramas for viewers to make sense often of a storyline or setup . Of course sometimes screenwriters can purposefully make plot coherency more enigmatic for viewers with the intention of reflecting themes or messages ( dependent on the plot or storyline ). However , in “ typical” romance dramas such as ‘ Shining Like You’’s plot coherency is nearly always quintessential to helping viewers root for certain characters, understand developments of relationships and keep us intrigued with events that are soon to follow .
Naturally ‘ Shining Like You’ isn’t devoid of a basic plot but its descent can be found as a consequence of a mismatched narrative and timeline as a consequence of sporadic subplots , arbitrary jump scenes and disjointed patchy editing. As a consequence a quintessential moment could suddenly be skipped by a sketch scene or an arbitrary moment, which became confusing for casual and devoted watchers alike to keep up.
This brings us onto the second dilemma of ‘ Shining Like You’; the characters. One of the biggest elephants in the room is evidently our female lead Qi Yi. Our main female lead is the epitome of a carte blanche female lead. She’s used by the screenwriter to move the plot along when necessary but she rarely has more definitive characteristics or traits to make her feel sentient. For example considering that it was one of the major focal points of the entire drama, there’s little explanation or depth given to her her goals or raison d’être for applying to the arts school in the first place . Arguably she does make a quick passing comment towards “chasing her dreams” yet it’s hard to really understand or relate to Qi Yi’s drive or exact motives for hiding her attendance from her parents, when the drama has rarely delved beyond the surface of her goals, past or exact motivations.
There’s naturally a big dilemma with the female lead’s “ personality” also. Qi Yi is intentionally supposed to be an “ introvert” but it often felt as though the series was never sure how to present her entire character persona. Introverted main characters can often be tackled in versatile ways by screenwriters from being simply “reserved” to “antisocial”, but opportunities for characters to grow, develop (or at least be explored in more depth) are often key to shaping out an introverted main character as an individual.
To some extent ‘ Shining Like You’ desperately tried to do this with Qi Yi and her “ difficultly to fit in” and “ reserved nature”. She’s supposed to be “shy and sweet” but it was hard to truly feel as though our female lead was seemingly struggling or suffering as a consequence of her personality. Qi Yi was often surrounded by allies or at least close acquaintances and therefore never really felt on the “ edge” of social exclusion ( as the series was desperately trying to make out in the beginning ), she was never really singled-out or excluded particularly by a greater majority of her peers( sans the cliche “ bully group” who picked upon more than just Qi Yi) and when she did exhibit “ antisocial” moments during the series her attitude was often petulant and childlike rather than moody or aggressive. Whilst the drama does try to offer a turn around by Qi Yi suddenly becoming “ prettier and more outgoing” , this was often ineffably unexplained.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad if the series had offered that Qi Yi’s immaturity at times was a byproduct of the way her parents have treated her or her upbringing . However instead of at least giving Qi Yi time to mature or explore her feelings, the female lead was treated in a similar manner to a rag doll ; an object of affection for the male leads , whilst happily obliging to having her emotions torn apart by not just her potential love interests, but not putting her foot down against a fake friend in plain sight also.
This also brings us naturally onto the discussion of side characters in the drama. On one note the show does really shine through at times with how more unlikely characters have difficult pasts or can prove themselves to be true friends in time of need. However like a lot of cliche romance dramas ‘ Shine Like You’ and the dreaded “ best friends formula” is torn apart from “ friends to enemies” with the creme de la creme of cliches; “the dreaded love triangle”.
This brings us onto one of the biggest flaws of the drama between the actual lacklustre romantic series between Qi Yi and Fang Yan. Respectfully the chemistry between Wang Xi Xuan and Simon Gong is hardly passionate, but it is not where the major flaw of the series lies .
Whilst trope-worthy, screenwriters and directors can often strike gold by using time and scenes to allow characters to know one another or feel conflicted with their feelings. In ‘ Shining Like You’ it’s hard to really define one particular moment where these two characters really develop their relationship beyond being classmates or having early impressions of one another. There’s the evident side argument about their gradual feelings and helping one another out when it was necessary for the exposition, but this rarely allowed for more definitive writing opportunities.
Consequently it was bitterly ironic that it is was easier to root for who we were supposed to “ dislike” (as viewers), second male lead Du Ang ( Zhou Cheng Ao) , as he had more initial interactions and chemistry with the female lead. Of course rather than using this as an opportunity for the series to allow the male lead to come to terms with his own feelings or develop interactions between the main love interests, the drama enjoys using this time to make Fang Yan the typical “ moody, short-tempered and jealous potential love interest”. The ending consequently felt disappointing by failing to wrap up some major plot points.
So what is the ultimate takeaway from ‘ Shining Like You’ and is it actually worth watching? ‘ Shining Like You’ tries hard to create a “ lovely and cutesy love story” between our main leads. To an extent the series flourishes with satisfactory performances by our main cast and some more insightful side characters having their own backgrounds and pasts. On the other hand the series has a patchwork approach to storytelling and narrative with a feeling of discordant coherency between characters and the actual storyline. Slow pacing and sporadic plot jumps lead to poor and lacklustre character building and interactions between our main leads. Ultimately whilst ‘ Shining Like You’ might not make a bad binge-watch drama, there are certainly more entertaining, well-written, engaging and classic love stories in dramas to watch than this one.
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One of the worst dramas of 2021
Stay away from this one guys, it's horrible. Really, I can't find one single reason to watch this. I finished it with the strength of hate and lots os fast-fowarding.There is nothing redeeming about this drama. The script is bad, the scenarios are boring, the characters are dumb, even the plot twists are awful.
It was supposed to be all fluffy, and teen, but iended up being 24 episodes of nothing. Really, they start with a plot, but they don't finish it. Then start another one, and guess what? They don't properly give it closure. I have the feeling that they got a drama that had 50 episodes, badly chopped it and then stitched it all in one that has 24 episodes of bad editing. There're so many loose ends that it almost makes no sense a lot of times.
Just save your time and put this one aside.
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This review may contain spoilers
Roads To Becoming A Stars For Qiyi and Fang Yan
Shining Like You▪️Main Points
~ How people learn in the school of arts to gain more knowledge and skills to become a great actors and actresses.
~ FL forged the admission letter for college in order to go to her dreams university without her parent's knowledge.
▪️Opinions
~ I think the writers was a bit clueless since they made an introvert and obedient person, FL lying to her parent in order to go to the university that she wants. It was a bit impossible for someone who obedient and introvert dare to make her own decisions and also have the courage to lie.
~ I also think that FL was not an introvert person since she can talk with strangers and also she able to stand in the stage in front of many people. The writer made the characters a bit unreasonable which can make us questioning for it.
~ The story messed up in the half of episodes. It was unpredictable and also boring. There’s no romance between ML and FL. They just nice to each other.
~ ML has a bad tempered and proud. He said bad things that can hurt many people and also he not matured enough to become an actor. He acts liked a spoil kids who need some attentions.
~ FL was a nice and obedient person. She did not know how to say no to others and always helps them when they asked. She also got a good grade during Chinese Examination For College in high school. I think it was a bit pity since she's got a good grade but she wants to study about arts.
~ I think many unimportant scenes showed in the drama. It was so boring till you started to skip a certain parts. FL and ML also got into relationship in the end of the drama. They also argued after got into relationship. This was the most annoying part in the drama. They only got into relationship but already caught in the problem.
~ Hao Kaixin was the most annoying character in this drama. She said Qiyi was her best friend but she felt jealous with Qiyi when she did not got the acting while her friend got it. She also did not confident with herself then she got the plastic surgery and got into incident by making her own face became injured.
▪️Characters Intro
~ Gong Jun was a handsome and great actor. He nailed in all his characters. He also has a sweet smile. He acts as Fang Yan. Fang Yan was a handsome young man who wants to be a star. He still needs to improve his skills and talents in order to become a good actor. He was a nice guy.
~ Wang Zixuan acts as Qiyi. She an obedient and honest person. She also kind hearted girl because she likes to help others. She lying to her parent about admitting in the university that they want. She also has a difficulty in talking smoothly.
▪️Overall
The story was a bit messed and the acting story were not convincing. I think the plot of drama was disappointed and writer messed it up. At first, it was quite interesting since the story just simple such as they’re just entering the university and showing how students in university of arts were studying. Later on, it became more and more confusing and boring.
I was thinking why writer makes this story so bad and it’s pity that the audiences will feel disappointed when watching it. I’m not really recommending anyone to watch even the actors played were so compromising.
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Good but…..
I think this drama was good but it seemed super rushed. The plot (specifically between the main love interest) wasn’t very well defined until like the last two episodes where suddenly they are holding hands (???) . This relationship was very superficial then suddenly so deep she sobbed for him not to leave? I completely understand the drama is more than just this relationship, but if you’re going to create a plot surrounding these two characters and their lives/ relations to one another, maybe develop the relationship more?The acting was ok, some scenes were awkward but it seemed to be more directing/ editing than the acting. I’ve seen the two main actors in other shows and they were spectacular so I’m unsure with them together, maybe it was just no chemistry?
Overall I think this show had SOOO much potential, it just seemed to fall flat for me. There’s nothing that really stuck out or stuck with me. Also the main character being a jackass never changed. There wasn’t any character growth for him. You presented an issue for him with his dad and acting and the acting part wasn’t ever resolved just hinted at over and over.
I’ll leave you with the famous words of Blackpink Jisoo “not bad but not good”
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NOT A CLASSIC ROMANCE
I really loved this show. Gong Jun and Wang Zixuan steal the thunder, and i started this show particularly because of her. I was not disappointed.It's not a classic romance modern drama. Every character has its own pace and development, and its own story to tell. The flow of the plot is not always light or easy to follow, buy it respects the setting of the drama, I really liked how the focus is more on the personal growth and following dreams, mixed with romance and real problems.
The two protagonists are my favorite. The chemistry is on point, subtle even though developed slowly.
I really recommend it.
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Gong Jun could not save this one :(
Really disappointed with this one. I like Gong Jun but it seems his dramas of late have been received poorly (The Flaming Heart was bad too!) I also like the FL also from Gank Your Heart, but this drama just could not hold up.The storyline is bad... no real essence. They are in the uni cafeteria , the bullies are having a fight with the ML and friends, and then suddenly the whole cafeteria breaks out into a dance battle. LOL... I mean, what’s going on??!! The editing is sloppy, there’s no continuity in between scenes.
Just give this one a miss. Next please :)
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This review may contain spoilers
El peor drama de Gong Jun
Jamás creí que escribiría una reseña con malas referencia de un drama de Gong Jun.Sigo a Gong Jun desde que lo vi en The love equations, y en definitiva tenia una super mejor actuación.
En definitiva este papel le sentó muy mal, pero mal es poco, le sentó terrible.
Pensé que seria mucho mejor de lo que parecía y en definitiva falle en mi suposición. Admiro a Gong Jun y fui feliz cuando alcanzo la fama y reconocimiento. pero hacer un drama a la ligera y no meterte en tu papel fue algo que no podre sobrellevar y dudare de ver sus próximos dramas.
Dejando el terrible hate que le hice a uno de mis actores favoritos hablemos de la trama y la historia de SHINING LIKE YOU.
Pero que patético drama, en ningún momento vi seguir sueños, pero realmente necesitaba ver que siguieran sus sueños, aun con un bajo presupuesto , necesitaba ver que ellos amaran realmente su carrera. Quizá fue la mala sinopsis que me dio falsas esperanza; pues una chica obediente jamás engañaría a sus padres, eso no pasa ni en las novelas. en segundo lugar esta la parte en la que se menciona que es "Introvertida y mala para expresarse". en definitiva ella no era introvertida ni mala para expresarse, su personaje era mas como una persona ordinaria, ELLA NO ERA INTROVERTIDA, o quizá en el guion original si lo era pero entonces aquí la del error debió ser la actriz porque no me dio un personaje introvertido que vaya brillando de a pocos.
24 capítulos no fueron suficientes para desarrollar cinco historias de amor, Qi Yi y Fang Yan, Du Ang y Zi Mo, Zhang Yang y Kao Xin, Bai Qiao y su senior Li Xiao, el señor Sun y la maestra Tang. Minino hubieran abarcado solo la historia de amor de los protagonistas, es mas, para que me ponen de etiqueta romance si su romance fue un 1% literalmente de un día para el otro se aman y todos como que, ¿tan rápido se enamoran? No pasaron muchas cosas lindas juntos, como así es que se sienten nostálgicos. Fue frustrante ver los patéticos triángulos amorosos que en realidad no tenían cabe en este drama.
Las historias profundas de cada personaje secundario también fue innecesarios, pues volvió superficial a los personajes principales, realmente sentí mucho relleno y cosas que eran innecesarias para un drama que pudo tener mas historia.
Tengo que decir que ODIE a la pareja principal, amo a Gong Jun, pero odio este personaje. Por dios, que hicieron con los buenos personajes de Gong Jun??? Malograron sus excelentes papeles con este. No había ni un poquito de química, no se de donde se saco el romance, ahí no había romance, no había ni una gota de amor puro y sincero, todo estaba, sarcásticamente, actuado.
Solo hubo una pareja que me gusto y fue Zhang Yang y Kao Xin, ella si lo quiso aun él siendo un niño nada bonito y sin talento y él estaba dispuesto a todo por ella, la quería incondicionalmente aunque todos estaban ahí con sus estereotipos de belleza diciendo que ella no era bonita. odie el final de Kao Xin, lo deteste profundamente, mínimo esa pareja debió quedar junto enseñándole al mundo que la apariencia no lo es todo.
y después la pareja principal, que gusto de separarlos, y ese final medio abierto, medio cerrado, o medio confuso como yo lo llamaría. ese no es un final digno, en lo absoluto.
en fin, no lo recomiendo, pero si quieres ver algo nada serio, poco romance y si lo hay al final es casi nada y ridículamente actuado, malos OST, quizá la historia te guste un poquito pero no es como otras producciones que son estupendas y bien actuadas. En fin yo lo llamaría el peor drama de Gong Jun.
¿LO VOLVERIA A VER?
NO, no desperdiciaría otras 24 horas de mi vida solo para ver este drama el cual no pasa nada.
¿ME DECEPCIONO?
SI, y mucho.
¿SEGUIRE VIENDO DRAMAS DE GONG JUN?
Los veré si él no tiene una actuación mediocre.
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