Eternal Love Rain (2020)

2020 drama underdog that I surprisingly looked forward to

Eternal Love Rain is possibly one of the most uncomplicated, easy to watch, romance drama with basic conflicts and villains for 2020.

Most might not like this because it’s a lot like junk food and sweets, but I am some of the few who actually liked and waited eagerly for all the episodes. I like it exactly because the episodes were short, the story was very uncomplicated and it was easy for me to relate and understand.

The actors are not as popular as those in other dramas but for small production like these, I think they did their part. I specially would like to commend the actor for Li Ji because he might be the oldest but he pulled it off being the crown prince. Overall, the main and supporting cast were ok.

On the romance part, it was very PG 13, which for other dramas I would be disappointed, but for Eternal Love Rain I think it actually works because it makes Xiu Rui/Wang Run Ze’s acting more acceptable like he’s really a pure/innocent dragon on his first romance/love. I am also some of the few that are not bothered by Yin yin/Camille Hua’s high pitched voice because I understand that some people do get high pitched when they are excited (like me) and her character is almost always happy/excited. Lol. I just found Wang Run Ze and Camille Hua’s scenes together to be so adorable/precious that I don’t mind the awkward kiss scenes. Lol.

Regarding the conflict and villain, this story has got to have the most uncomplicated villains and conflicts for any period drama. The show did try to humanize the villains (Mo Cheng Feng and the Xiu Ren) and gave them fitting ends. The conflicts are also easily resolved after 1 or 2 episodes.

Anyway give this show a shot if you’re lookingj for something light to watch. Just watch it at 1.5x speed so you won’t get as irritated.

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Light-hearted with a unique storyline

I enjoyed this drama for several reason. It’s light-hearted and never takes itself too seriously. The casting was excellent in that each of the main actors seemed comfortable within their roles. The production company spared no expense on a quality musical score and scene sets. The premise of the plot was interesting and unique, including a main character who is actually a dragon in his real identity. Shout-out to Kobe Liu for his excellent job playing a character that required a balance between comedic and serious acting. He was genuinely believable in his role as the crown prince Li Ji. This cdrama was recommended to me as a must see and I wasn’t disappointed.

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Dang I really wanted to like this drama but this fell short for me :( When I saw the trailer for this drama I was so excited ! argh... I honestly wasnt feeling the drama or the storyline... It wasn't well developed...

Male lead is super cute btw!!He is a dragon but has been stuck for 5000 years ? and can't go back into the ocean aka his home because he doesnt have the ni ling ( or a special scale). This is because he gave it to this little girl. The little wanted to use the scale to save her village from dying. The little girl disappears and the dragon thinks the girl tricked him, thus making him not believe in love... Fast forward, he meets a girl similar to the girl from before. The female lead is a daughter of an official in the court. She is loud and proud. Turns out they are neighbors and they start to fall in love with each other, with the encounters of few evil characters . One tries to get into a marriage with the female lead but she doesnt like him. The other evil is the dragon's elder brother who tries to get the special scale for himself to get higher powers/stronger? ( i believe)

here comes the rant
1) the little girl part was like not even important ... why included it. I mean it would of been cool to include if she was her reincarnation or somehow the little girl turned out to be the female lead but it obviously wasn't because of the time frame...
2) storyline was very choppy and not developed well.. The female lead had blind hope that someone will help set her dad free from prison ?? In the town there was the case of people getting killed and stealing hearts, claiming it was an evil dragon... how did they make the connection it was the male lead who was the dragon?
3) honestly did not understand why the dragon's evil brother had to hire the human ( who's evil) to try to set up his brother? The evil people who did evil things was actually pretty successful... I mean if you want the special scale, you can just killed the female lead? why go through so much to frame the male lead when he doesnt even have the special scale anymore...
4) romance was not very believe able, did not have much chemistry. Dont get me wrong the male lead is good looking but the chemistry between the leads was just lacking... although they did have this one cute moment of kissing ( pretty passionate) and then they went underseas....
5) towards the end it got so messy... like cramming in a lot.. It should of ended at like 21 ep, then it just dragged. She sacrificed for him to get back into the water... Male lead tries to do something to save her...

I liked the music though!!! very nice. sad that 24 episodes did not meet my standard :(

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Happy Ending & For those who want only sweet romantic parts and only sweet romance

My true rating: 7.15/10
*The review may contain details that you would not understand if you did not watch the drama since it's vague, but not spoiler-worthy.
This drama was actually pretty good for one of these typical lower budget rom-com "period" dramas, and I think the main leads dubbed their own parts, which is always great.
Fantasy elements are always a plus for me, and this synopsis was semi-new compared to the other gods/celestial being or material arts type of drama when it includes fantasy or "power" aspects.
I feel like this drama could have had the potential to become an 8 or higher if they filled in more gaps instead of having the viewers make assumptions by increasing the budget and making this 32 episodes or even just making the first few episodes (which were only around 20 minutes each) longer.

Story/Plot:
The romance aspect was decent, but the non-romantic parts were skimmed over too often. For instance, there was the "crime"/"murder"/"detective" bit in the drama, which was not really focused on much and I think it would've added more to the story if some parts were actually explained, but maybe it's just me that enjoys the crime-murder-mystery genre and wanted more of it.
I also would have liked some logical reason or explanation to better understand the side characters. Some questions that were left to be guessed or assumed: why did the brother become so greedy, why is the emperor so lonely, what did Su Wu Quan (Su Yin Yin's father) write during the exam that made him better (since this was a major catalyst for the events that followed), etc.

Characters/Acting:
The acting for each individual character was great, but the chemistry was just okay.
To elaborate:
The female lead: got annoying quickly since she was the typical stubborn girl in these types of dramas, was not anything extremely special, but I was able to put up with her since the drama was focused on the romance more than other parts. If they focused on the other stuff, then I would most likely drop the rating for this drama.
The male lead: poor dude :'( if you watch it you would know why but I liked the fact that he was able to become a scholar in the imperial court by assisting the emperors and crown princes of the family, but I would have liked more explanation on how it happened
ML+FL: Separately the characters were believable, however, the chemistry together was passable, but not amazing.

Notable supporting characters:
Tang Lin Lin: Her character was the only one that had some explanation for why they did seemingly odd things at first and could have been developed into a more complex character and focused on "worldly" (as in pertaining to the world without taking time periods into account) issues (sexism) and we always love a girl who has martial art skills.

Emperor (Li Si, played by An Xiao Ge no MyDramaList page yet): I just feel bad for this emperor, he is the only emperor in C-dramas ("real" emperor as in one that is actually ruling/governing the land and not focused on a girl) that is legitimately alone and lonely as in not even a concubine lonely, but this is also what makes him one of my favorite characters because he was loyal in that sense by making his brother the Crown Prince. I wish they could have dived more into his character instead of making theories about everything. His (and the Crown Prince Li Ji) admiration for their master (male lead) is cute and this emperor is one of the most human emperors in cdrama-land so far.

Mo Cheng Feng: He was actually the reason I started this drama (which was already on my list but got pushed up) but a bit disappointed to find out that he was not the main lead. His development was interesting, but I think a few minutes about him before everything happened would have made it more understandable (or less depending on the producers/directors/screenwriters). There is a love-hate-hate feeling towards him, but it might just be the unrealistic character, but I guess karma worked out.

If you read all this, sorry for being vague or confusing, but I did not want to spoil anything.

Music: Usually I don't say much about music, but I really liked the songs in this, especially the main one 傾世谷雨来 used in the drama and it's different from typical Chinese drama songs since usually, they all sound similar/familiar to each other, but this one was different.

Rewatch: I never rewatch dramas so this is just used to make the desired "Recommended score"

Overall: This is a very romance-focused, maybe one of the most romance-focused dramas I've watched, which took away a lot of the potential this drama had. It's a nice refreshing difference compared to other Chinese dramas in the same category as this based on the setting of the story, which is what kept me going.

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2020 drama underdog that I surprisingly found entertaining!

I was surprised and actually delighted by this short C-drama. Eternal Love Rain is 24 episodes which move along really fast. With that being said, you will notice some editing problems that may seem like you missed something but if you have been watching c-dramas you can fill in the gaps. Of course, this drama has the usual romance drama with basic conflicts and villains for 2020.

This will be a pleasant break if you have binged any long complex and tragic c-dramas.
The actors seem underwhelming at first, but they start to grow on you, I mean really grow on you. I found myself getting into the characters after a few episodes.

What I really like!

There are some laugh out loud funny moments in this drama. Things that other expensive dramas seemed to miss. the FL is energetic and annoying in a good way. The ML is the typical young actor they do not give many lines to because of the inexperience but he gets better as time goes by and you start to genuinely like him. The second FL (side kick) Her character is sweet and likeable and is bad ass with a capital "A". Which brings me to the martial arts. I loved it! The martial art action scenes are done in a spectacular way within interesting spin and make the cinematography look great. The fight scenes are fast paced with some really unique moves that made me hit the replay button a few times. I have seen a lot of wuxia dramas and I was a little impressed. One "Con" to this is, you can tell there is a stunt double.

The second ML was so, so not impressive but he grows on you. Some of the other side characters are really funny and likeable they could have used more scenes. Probably budget problems but it does not get boring.
The special effects well for a low budget film they did an ok job. I have seen worse on bigger budget films. So the fighting and the dragons are not bad. The make-up for the dragon horns well, use your imagination it is fantasy after all.

This drama is simple and uncomplicated don't take it too seriously and I think you will like it. Some things are never explained, just go with it.

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Not Bad But....

24 episodes is quite fine with me, but there parts that were seemed to be hurried. Everyone's got their own opinions about dramas but here's mine:

STORY
I gave it 4 stars, simply because dramas like these are totally my thing. Not too much complications, fast-paced and a bit of enough romance to enjoy it. I just didn't like how they portrayed the ending, cause it left everyone confused if it's just Su Yin Yin's dream that she reunited with Ning Xiu Rui or some higher god rewarded the second prince for his noble deeds that he allowed him to regain a fixed form. Would have also been nicer if they showed a bit of what happened to Li Ji and Lin Lin after they got married. And I had to also guess that Li Si died soon after 3 years because of his heart complications and depression.


ACTING/CAST
I really don't like the fact that they chose Camille Hua for this. She seemed older than the male lead, and her voice irritates me every time she speaks. I just had to ignore her acting in this drama all throughout the 24 episodes. She doesn't fit the role of being a bouncy and joyful young mistress cause it gives me the cringes every single time. Sorry to Camille's fans out there, but this is my opinion. Maybe she's better for other roles, but not this one. Wang Run Ze's acting is lukewarm at the beginning, but at least it got better from middle to end. He was able to show the right facial expressions and emotions and that's progress. And damn, he's reallllllllyyyyy good-looking... I enjoyed Li Ji / crown prince's character, he's such a comedian. As for Tang Lin Lin, I loved the scene where she fired funny questions to Yin Yin about her and Xiu Rui and about the latter being a dragon.


MUSIC
Oh...No question about this, I like the soundtracks! Good thing they chose the right ones.


REWATCH VALUE
Not sure if I'd be willing to rewatch this cause of the FL.


OVERALL
A bit of bore at first, but it decently progresses in the succeeding episodes. I just wish they expanded the characters and showed the dragon palace's court members and royal family more. The inverted dragon scale should have had a background story to solidify it's supposed divine origin and the extent of it's powers. Would have also been nicer if they showed more romance for the leads and if they didn't make a blur of the ending. Confused a lot of viewers if it's just Yin Yin's dream or not. The ending script messed up what they wrote about Ning Xiu Rui's not having a definite form once he casts out the rain. And if he did managed to regain a fixed form in the end, was it enough that it's just 1 year worth of a miracle? Oh dear writer, next time please re-evaluate the story lines and refrain from these kind of endings.

Overall, its not entirely a bad drama. I actually enjoyed some parts of it. Hope to see more of Wang Run Ze. He definitely is fit for wuxia / fantasy dramas.

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Fluff to fill the time

I didn't go into this expecting much, and if you go in with that attitude, you'll enjoy this show. It doesn't wow you, and there are plotholes, and an ending that doesn't really make sense, but it's happy and the romance is sweet and fluffy. This didn't let me down as much as a bigger budget type of drama, where you expect better.
They could've made the story more complex, and honestly the last few episodes is where the show is really let down, where we don't get a big bad build up and finish, but rather a light drizzle of emotional pay-off and a tip of the hat to the villain, who was rather ho-hum.
But I mean, damn, the visual effects of the dragon was a lot better than some other dramas I've seen, so props to that.

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Easy, straightforward, less complicated & straightforward romance

Finished watching this drama in 3 days time. It's a short, less complicated, straightforward, less draggy & not too dry storyline. Each episode last around 30 mins hence for a total of 24 episodes it's easy to binge watching it.
The ML who is Lord Ning is rather cute & cool as he has been living in the land with human for 500 years old while waiting for the little girl to return his dragon scale. The FL is a bit too loud & bold to me as she goes all the way to confess her feeling towards the ML whom initially given her a cold treatment. Then come episode 13 where if you skipped certain parts from episode 1 to 12 - it will give you a slight review on how the whole drama developed.
For a low budget drama - I feel this drama is considered rather good. The make up was not too overdo except the 2 dragon horns (lol) and the CGI effect e.g. the black dragon seems to look convincing too. The OST was also fine too but not something that I can remember after finish watching it.
Overall this drama is above average for me as I find this drama is easy to watch and not that heavy storyline or fully with misunderstanding after which leads to conflicts.

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Story is like a fairy tale

Yes it was like a fairy tale , A dragon in order to help a girl he gave his scales to her which was very important to him because without it he can't be dragon king and can't go to his home . So he waits for her to come but she never come . That scale goes to the another girl . She didn't have heart ,she alived because of scale . ,If he took from her she died and he never wants this because he loves her . So how he solved all the problem this is shown in the drama.
Acting was good . All characters did amazing work . I liked second lead story too. Every characters face looked like child none of them looked like mature person except few (who played their parents role and who did the negative role)
I think this is the reason ,it will be liked by the children more

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Watch at faster speed

My own fault for anticipating this to be at same level as the original Eternal Love drama series. Thou the actors are fairly new, the male lead did a descent job but very disappointing for the female lead. I also can’t understand scriptwriters having FL constantly calling out the ML’s name. If you dare, start counting. Every time there’s a conversation between FL and ML, she called out his name. There’s very poor camera shots in some scenes too wherein FL not done talking yet and it got cut already. There’s scenes that didn’t not smoothly flowed. The costumes used were great. Story could have been better if only there’s a clear distinction of the villains. The female lead has an unusual irritating voice on top of very poor acting skills. Some sentimental scenes came out frustrating because of poor acting. I forced myself to finish watching the series to make an honest review. I fast forwarded a lot and finally watched it at 1.5X speed.

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A good Fantasy Story

I like the story and the main male lead brought a lot of sincerity to the story. The female lead I could do with out. She made the story a joke until the last few episode were she was more serious about what was happening. I know the writer was trying to show that she is young and spoil but it did not come thru that way. I found her character annoying and stupid that did not care for even when her dad was in prison she did not act serious enough. The crown prince characters was also made to look stupid and childish. It became annoying. I wouldn't have married him either. The ending was confusing and not satisficing. But over all I enjoy the drama. The romance was not very strong but still cute and nice sceneries.

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