Nothing but You (2023)

Loyalty, Trust and Respect are the base of a strong relationship

This is on my Top Ten High-Valued Rewatch Drama. I haven’t watched many dramas as of late because of how long most dramas are. Quite time-consuming. Movies are a quicker solution to entertainment and thrill. So when a drama has a second, third rewatch value, that drama has to be top-notch in my E-collection. This drama is one of a few.

I need to apologize first if my words seem stumble and chaotic as I stay up from 10pm to 7am to reach to the final ep. For 3 days straight, I get up, do house chores, study, house chores, make dinner, study and spend the rest of the evening from 11pm to 6-7am mowing this drama. My brain is temporarily fried but I need to write my reviews now while the passion, the love and the excitement still in my blood streams. Otherwise, if I go to sleep, I might not come back to this. I get lazy. I want to support the cast, the crews especially, the intelligent screenwriter Zhang Ying Ji, the producer Zhang Xiao Bo and talented director Chen Chang for this beautiful, exciting drama, which I haven’t seen in the market in a long while.’

My mother and I were watching this drama and Amidst the Snowstorm of Love back to back however; I dropped half way and my mother were 20 eps in then jumped to the last ep.. I admire Leo Wu for his professionalism, he is great in both physically active dramas, which both are produced in 2023. How is that possible? He must have trained days in and days out for these two, hence, the juicy biceps…excuse my drools. Though, I find these two have almost identical plots, a genius with a brilliant athletic ability struggles with childhood trauma, which has him stuck in life. Lost parents at a younger age. Psychological challenges (both ego and self-confidence). Meets the light at the end of his tunnel, falls in love at first sight. Those two grows through various stages of life, supports each other through each failure, injuries, win medals, secret love, challenge from the FL’s parents, ML received support, admiration from his teammates, and adopted parents (teacher, step dad), etc. Many more but it will become a spoiler. With all of these similarities, my love leans towards this drama because of its maturity in acting and how the cast’s emo-intelligent growth are showed each passing stage. I find some of myself in FL’s decision in life: a career driven woman but has self-doubts and is played by her own boss, who she gives her all for 6 years (of her career and received nothing but a kick out of the company), because of her mother’s failure in marriage, she shoves hate, projects her own negativities onto her daughter …but FL is determined to live her life, to share her light with others, lives with dignity and thirst for a meaningful life.

As woman in her 40’s, I can understand her decision in works, hesitation in love and how happiness is put in a corner, but is scared to ask for. Sometimes you want to speak up, to scream for the unfairness but for the sake of others, you can’t. You go home and blame it on yourself. That guilt can eat up anyone. Fortunately, God or the screenwriter sends Song San Chuan to light up her life and she gets to open a new door for him. These two love and support each other in a level of respect, maturity-not though common jealousy type you see in drama lately.

The leads are wonderful. I don’t care how others say they don’t have chemistry…what else you want.? Their age difference is 20 years, they can’t be lovey-dovey always. Career. Goals. Financial stability. Health. Are put before all that cute huggings, kissings and nonchalant. Although, I laugh silly watching these cp kiss and being playful (finally gosh, kiss some more). Leo Wu is wonderful at showing his vulnerability, a slight shaky lips, nose when he tries to cover his tears. The goofy, silly boy in love then to a determined athletic, who works hard for his dream, takes on responsibilities and admits to his shortcomings Wonderful!

The rest of the supporting cast is on par with their characters. Another point I adore this drama, character development-you can see the why, when and how, not a sudden change or a stiff bad guy-good guy role. The portray of cold big fish eats small fish is accurate to the bone. Smart dialogues.

Before ending this long review, I wanna note another extra plus plus plus points for this drama, pls note this is extra but not necessary the sweet spot to me liking this drama: Them Sweat on bare skins, Them Shorts, Them sweaty boys running in shorts…Lord, help me! Uhmmm, very hot….I mean, very professional :))

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One overcame 18:18, one overcame age differences

LIKE

The two different sports badminton and tennis - how Song San Chuan managed both pretty well

DISLIKE

That scene where Song San Chuan did not understand Liang You An - he was not thinking from her perspective trying to resolve the team's issue

I teared at that scene and was quite upset - age gap really have a big difference in certain way of doing things in life

MUSIC - personal fav

反客为主 Fan Ke Wei Zhu - 刘宇宁 Liu Yu Ning
夜空 Ye Kong - 李紫婷 Li Zi Ting
狼狈 Lang Bei - 余佳运 Yu Jia Yun
闪耀 Shan Yao - 水果星球 Shui Guo Xing Qiu

REWATCH VALUE

Probably will re-watch some day

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Their development as a team and individuals.

This drama deserves 10/10 from me. It’s so refreshing to watch. I don’t find those cringey scenes that I sometimes get in another drama which is rare I guess. I started this at first because I miss seeing Wu Lei on my screen but I told myself if this turns out to be bad I would still drop it but I didn’t, because it was good. This drama sometimes made me laugh and sometimes made me cry. Most of all, the characters made me proud. Their growth as a team and individuals touched me like nothing else. Wu Lei’s character also motivates me to be a better version of myself. Like, he has been through a lot but he never gives up. If anything, he grits his teeth and get through it! I’ll be rewatching this whenever I need comfort, definitely.

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From Great Sport To Great Love

The only reason I watched this drama is because of Leo Wu. I was looking forward to watch him in a non-historical costume drama and hoped to see him in a more current environment depicting a gentleman of his age. I am glad to say that Nothing But You role of Song San Chuan fitted him like a glove. His physique is also perfect in personifying a sportsman in his early 20's vying for a position in the professional sports arena, starting as a badminton player to a tennis pro.

Starting a professional sports career from age 20 + is pretty late in the game by sports standards, but he fights his demons and clear old baggages, pushing along. And right by his side is Liang Young An, his promoter, manager and eventually his girlfriend, who is 10 years older than him. She is cautious at first, but as she strives in her career, he in turn, is also by her side. Their attraction is strong.

This couple of young San Chuan and devoted Young An is really compatible. Leo plays San Chuan the way he should act and behave for a 23 year old guy, wanting to love the woman the way a man should, by taking responsibilities, sharing problems and wanting to take care of her financially. Whilst Zhou Yu Tong's "Young An" is nurturing, stable and totally a dedicated woman to her man.

The casting of all the actors in this drama is also really good and everyone had a story to tell. This drama did not give me that anticipation to watch momentum, but I took away a really feel good vibe. There is so much positivity and warmth that I am still swooning from all that love and determination. Hmmm... that Leo Wu's boyish charm is totally mesmerizing...just saying.

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Another Great drama from Leo Wu

As usual, Leo Wu gave a very good performance, I think this is the first time he did a scene with a deep kiss like that. very impressive.

I always give a perfect score to Leo Wu's acting, even if you've watched his other dramas. he can bring a new character without being affected by the image of his old character. very extraordinary.

The love story is also funny, how the age difference can still support each other, age does not guarantee maturity and seriousness. that's what I caught. Leo Wu's chemistry with his co-stars is also always good.

It's a light drama that doesn't require us to think or guess the next scene. but I think it's worth watching.

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A lot potential but fell flat.

This should not have been 40 episodes long. 20 episodes would have sufficed.

I enjoy watching both the leads, but I’ve seen them have better chemistry with their on screen partners. So the romance part was a little disappointing for me and I could have totally enjoyed the show without it. Had the writers chosen to just focus on the „underdog - tennis aspect“.. we would have had a great show. So in this sence the the writers failed.

Also the side couples/ characters were so meh and their acting aswell.

However watching eye candy Leo be all athletic was worth it. Basically if you have nothing else or want something to play in the background.. you can watch this.

So overall it was meh ? and I confess that I skipped a lot of episodes because the story became boring and very repetitive.

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Cute drama about older woman and younger man. Wu Lei and Zhou Yu Tong are awesome in this drama

Nothing But You is a good romcom about an older woman (10 years gap) and a young tennis player starting, Wu Lei and Zhou Yu Tong.

I loved Zhou Yu Tong and first watched her in Begin Again with Simon Gong, and I have followed her ever since. Although her recent dramas didn't do quite well, in my opinion, due to bad scripts (i.e., The Coolest World, Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Silent Evidence, where I ended up dropping them), She is a good actress.

I first watched Wu Lei in "The Long Ballad," and I did not think he was a good actor, and I did not like his acting ability in Love Like the Galaxy. Zhao Lusi is a better actress than Wu Lei in that drama. However, in this drama, he did a decent job playing a young guy who falls for an older woman.

His onscreen chemistry with Zhou Yu Tong is not bad, and the supporting cast is also good. I have watched about 24 episodes already and will finish it. I would recommend this drama because of the flow of the story, it is believable, and the acting is not bad for the entire ensemble.

I am giving it an 8.0 rating. I wish there were more intimate scenes between the main CP, and I am content with the ending.

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Realistic characters with muted chemistry

Overall, I enjoyed this drama thoroughly. Personally I don't like noona romances (I can never really "get" the chemistry in them and the vibes always feel kind of off to me) so I was planning to skip this one. However it seemed like all the drama reviewers had good things to say about this one and how it had very "normal" and non-icky vibes, plus I have a soft spot for Zhou Yutong in contemporary dramas since Remembrance of Things Past, so I decided to check this out.

Like many people, the thing I loved most about this drama is how realistic the characters were. Liang Youan's character (played by ZYT) was so relatable, especially with her frustrations with her job. There is one line that she said which is so unbelievably on point: she worked so hard to ensure that her boss could never be without her, but she now admits that she was wrong, because if your boss can never be without you, then you will never graduate (i.e., get promoted). As a single, working woman who is almost 30, I can relate so much to her frustration with being stuck in the corporate hamster wheel, working an all-consuming job but going nowhere fast, while also sacrificing your personal life and youth in the process (but you're almost too busy to really care or do anything about it). Throw in a couple of failed relationships when you were younger resulting in you still being single while your friends are already having kids, and it is just the perfect storm which was so well-portrayed in LYA's character. One reason I never liked noona romances was because the older woman was always either some kind of "high-powered CEO" or she was in her 30's but still acting like the typical "sweet but dumb" young girl. Both tropes are so unrealistic and cringey to watch and I am so happy that this drama showed how an actual, normal 30+ year old woman would act like and respond in various situations.

For the record, I also liked Song Sanchuan's character and thought WL did a great job. He was sweet, had that youthful optimism and energy, but was also grounded and mature when it mattered. I think this really helped the noona romance feel more palatable to me. I almost feel the characterization of the ML matters even more than the FL in these dramas, because when the ML is super immature, I have such a hard time reconciling why any real life grown-ass adult woman would want to waste their time in such a relationship or even why they would be attracted to the ML. To be honest I'm not sure if it is realistic for a boy in their early 20's to be as mature as he was (in his first relationship too), but I guess I don't hang out with a lot of 20 year-olds so maybe I'm underestimating them hahaha.

For the romance - the best thing I could say was that it was fine. I may be biased because I have never been able to get behind a noona romance before, so I'm not terribly surprised this one didn't really work on me. I enjoyed their scenes together and thought they were pretty cute at times, but the chemistry was not there for me. However, I loved the main leads so much as individuals and was super invested in their own stories, and I didn't really come here expecting to "get" the romantic chemistry anyway, so it didn't affect my watch experience negatively.

I thought the story was generally very well-written and well-paced. It didn't suffer heavily from mid-series drag (probably because it felt like the problems came one after another after another, but were also resolved quickly and cleanly) although the pacing did slow down a little in the last few episodes which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I also didn't mind most of the side characters and though there were a couple arcs I wasn't super interested in (Liang Tao and Jiang Jiaojiao's relationship, Zhang Jie's family drama) it didn't get to the point of annoying me or making me want to fast forward either. Just wanted to throw a quick shoutout to the Coach and Liang Nian's relationship, which got very little screen time but they were absolutely hilarious and I wished we could've seen more of their development.

All in all, this was a good drama and well-worth watching. I especially recommend it if you think you could relate to either of the main characters, because I think the real strength of the drama lies in the very realistic, "normal" characterization of our main leads.

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So so Cdrama..lacks romantic feeling

Watched this show because of thr casts and the genre of age gap relationships. You can watch this to kill time but not totally being into it every episode. Same as others review here..its an okay drama prolly because of the casts and decent storyline. However the feel good vibe that would make you smile while watching isn't on here. There was a moment of bed scene which is awkward because they were not even in a relationship and the chasing of the ML was so dragging that its almost at the end when they became a couple. They should have skipped that bed scene part as it doesn't make sense and doesn't make the audience feel the sizzle. If anyone is reading this..better watch Zhou Yu Tong the female lead other drama "begin again" which is way better than this..and gives that feeling of good vibes and romance that would make you smile. Also recommend another sports romcom with the same age gap relationship from Gina Jin "Falling into you".

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Two things kept me watching this: (1) the fun tennis scenes, which make me want to grab a racquet and run out and practice and (2) Leo Wu’s (Wu Lei’s?) acting, which is completely different from his role in Love Like the Galaxy, but just as compelling. I’m impressed by how an actor who played Mr. Killing Machine Ling Bu Yi could be just as convincing in the role of goofy, immature Song Sang Chuan.

There were a couple of irritating characters, such as the sister. The romance between the main leads was okay but my favorite scenes were the ones between Song Sang Chuan and his stepfather.

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A very nice series with Leo Wu (still excellent, but here, absolutely remarkable <3 <3<3)

I like Sports dramas and Leo Wu. Thus, I've watched this series, and I liked it very much !!

The good sides:
- well-constructed, intelligent story: meeting between 1 "failed" badminton player and 1 sports company assistant. She will manage, then create her own tennis club, and help him "transfer" to tennis to pursue a brilliant career there.
- consistent character development,
- Very credible CL, with slow burn romance, linked to the FL's understandable hesitations because of many obstacles: manager/player status, age gap, disappointing previous experience, bitter mother, etc.
- Natural interactions within the CL,
– Leo Wu is really GREAT in his sports scenes, both badminton and tennis.
- Team's friendship is well-developed and valued,
- funny but realistic CL2 and CL3 relationships,
- coherent Sports/training parts, with credible actors and scenes. The unseen side, the commercial aspects are exposed clearly but without melodrama.
- well-developed family aspect (both the FL family and the ML family) including the experience of divorce.

The lesser:
- Lots of screentime on the club's construction.
- Scenes in Spain less credible (I am European and I find the vision of Europe always simplistic in dramas :(

=> Excellent series, a gem for Leo Wu fans ;)
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Très jolie série sport- noona romance avec Leo Wu (toujours excellent, mais ici, absolument remarquable <3 <3<3)

Les bons côtés :
- story bien construite, intelligente : rencontre entre 1 joueur de badminton "raté" et 1 assistante ds Cie de sport. Elle va mener, puis monter un club de tennis, et l'aider à "muter" vers le tennis pour y poursuivre une brillante carrière.
- développement des personnages cohérent,
- CL très crédible, avec slow burn romance, liée aux hésitations compréhensibles de la FL car bcp d'obstacles : statut manager/joueur, age gap, expérience précédente décevante, mère aigrie, etc.
- Interactions naturelles au sein du CL,
- Leo Wu est GENIAL dans ses scènes de sport, aussi bien badminton que tennis.
- amitié dans l'équipe bien développée et mise en valeur,
- relations CL2 et CL3 drôles mais réalistes,
- partie Sport/entrainement cohérente, avec des acteurs et des scènes crédibles. Les dessous, les aspects commerciaux sont exposés clairement mais sans mélo.
- aspect familial bien développé (aussi bien la famille de la FL que celle du ML) y compris la vision du divorce.

Les moins bons :
- Bcp de screentime sur la construction du club.
- partie en Espagne moins crédible (je suis européenne et je trouve la vision de l'Europe toujours simpliste dans les dramas :(

=> Excellente série, un bijou pour les fans de Leo Wu ;)

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