Boss & Me (2014)

Zanilia Zhao's portrayal of Shan Shan is really what makes this drama. The female cast members all do a better job in my opinion than the male cast, but Zanilia WAS Shan Shan. Anyone that has seen Zanilia's other dramas will also know that some times it's hard to believe that she's the same actress from one show to the next because she makes her characters so real. Most dramas of this type (rich guy/poor girl) focus on getting the main characters together, but this story was not just about that. It was more about Shan Shan not only meeting and getting together with Feng Teng but also how she would handle being part of his world and everything that comes with it. I think they did a very good job of expressing how a young woman like her would feel in various situations and how Shan Shan grew and matured because of it. The supporting story lines were also well done, although I think a couple of things could have been shortened. I have not read the novel this was based on so I don't know how close it was, but I'm thinking it was pretty close.

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Overall really enjoyed!

Solid story for me! I enjoyed it a lot.

A couple of things:
1) I was NOT impressed that the first time he kissed her was after he got her forcibly drunk.
2) He insisted that she was coming to his office because she liked him, but we saw she only went because he forced her too. She was oblivious to his feelings for her so she had never had time to consider her own towards him.
3) We see so many proposals but not the marriage. That was so disappointing. Because their engagement was so rocky, I kind of felt like the ending was incomplete. What if something else came in the way again?

Otherwise, I really enjoyed the story. I liked that she grew as a person and became a better person because of her relationship with Feng Teng. She clearly became way more confident in herself by the end of the story.

What I really, really enjoyed about this story is the characters got together SO early on. We truly got to see them fall in love and then navigate a relationship. We saw them at their happiest moments and we saw them at their most challenging moments. So many dramas don’t let the characters get together until the end of the story, but in this case they were together for 2/3 of it. And it didn’t feel like drama was thrown in for the sake of drama. The problems they faced seemed to be reasonable problems that a couple in their situation would face.

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This drama is a simple storyline that delivered.
At first glance, it seems like every other typical poor girl- rich guy drama. BUT IF YOU THINK SO YOU ARE SOOOOO WRONG. I stumbled upon this drama on youtube a few years ago, before I fell in love with C dramas and before I even knew who Zhao Li Ying and Zhang Han was. THIS SHOW IS AMAZING.

Starting with the plot, it is simple: A countryside girl building a career in the city and eventually falling for the rich male lead. However, what makes this drama shine among the rest is the script. The conversations are funny, witty, cute, and BASICALLY a joy to watch!
WARNING: IT MAKES YOU GIGGLING AND SMILE LIKE AN IDIOT AT YOUR SCREEN FOR EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.

Of course, this show is nothing without the amazing cast. Every single cast did such a great job with their roles!! Zhao Li Ying was awesome. Every. Single. Frame. was done so well and she even acts with her eyes! Really one of the best actresses in China. She pulled off the whole process of Shan Shan maturing and growing throughout the show. Even scenes without lines, she managed to deliver with just facial expressions. Zhang Han was great too!! I read the novel after watching the show, and admittedly he did well. A cold boss to everyone but you can tell Shan Shan is important to him through his subtle actions. As mentioned, everyone ( Feng Yue couple, Qi Shuai, etc.) adds flavour and fun to the drama!

Honestly, the music is not amazing. And it doesn't make you wanna google the song after watching. BUT. For some reason, as I was giggling to myself while watching, I ALWAYS start humming and singing along to the music HAHAHA.

As for rewatching value, I have honestly watched this show at least 5 times and I'm still not sick of it. I have no idea is it the simple yet interesting plot, the actors, or some sorcery this drama has on me. It is not the kind of drama you will fall hard for like Love 020 that makes you want to rewatch it a million times right after finishing, but it is a slow but steady love, that makes you often look back and rewatch all 33 episodes whenever you want something light and funny.

Sorry for the long post. But I have been wanting to write a review for it for a very long time!! This drama is a HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you are looking for a solid, all-rounded lighthearted drama to make life a little happier :)

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Boss & Me is a great romance drama. If you're looking for something cute and light this one's great. There are two or three expected scenarios (cliches) of a romantic drama but it's done right. It isn't over the top and it feels like you're watching a good drama happen in real life - like the love story of your favourite old neighborhood couple after knowing they've been married for like 60 years. It's fluffy and cute. You can overlook the flaws of the drama with just how cute the two leads are together.

The story presents itself as the typical rich man pursuing the average lady but it's more than that. There's depth to the main characters which makes the story much better. We see a man who knows that this love is not well looked upon amongst the society so he doesn't know how to approach the situation and his emotions. We see the girl who's honest with what she feels but she doesn't exactly act on it because she knows that things like this only happen in dramas. I want to say it's a realistic approach to a highly impossible situation. For example: when we ask questions like (How did he get there? or Is he just going to let her walk away like that?), there aren't moments like that. We are given segments where our questions of the realism in the drama world are answered. It's like they matched the drama world to ours. We are greeted with welcoming characters, instead of an arrogant rich family we see a friendly but cautious family. They don't flaunt their status but they do use it to their advantages. There are no over the top characters that throw you off track. We get what we're expecting. I think that's what made this drama so enjoyable. We are given a toned down and sweet approach to an overused and exaggerated theme of the rich man and average lady story. The side stories are perfect side stories - they don't overshadow the overall plot. But the side stories are really just there to create more depth to the characters around the main couple. I could see why they are necessary. It created a good balance so you aren't overwhelmed by the whole theme of the story.

The acting was perfect for this theme. The female lead was not annoying. Although she was presented to be a cute lead she wasn't the cringe worthy cute. She wasn't innocent and pure, she was honest. I really admire her acting. She gave a perfect representation. To play a refreshing and honest personality is often hard because viewers tend to get annoyed and criticize - good - characters. The male lead's acting was good. I don't know if I'm admiring his acting or the character itself. He played a stoic person. The writing gave the viewers space to understand that he had other emotions kept under his calm visage. Or maybe it was the way he held the female lead that made us believe in their love. Their chemistry was amazing. I felt like they had been together for years and although his lack of expression - she didn't mind it cause that's just how he is and it was just how they'd always had been. There were never awkward moments.

The OST was good. The opening was nice but the ending sometimes threw me off from the whole setting of the story. It sometimes felt out of place. There was a really cute song that played every so often at the right moments. I personally really liked that song and when I listen to it I can imagine myself walking in the park on a breezy summer day or eating ice cream with a bunch of friends.

Rewatch value @ 8/10 cause it was so cuteee! I just love the two together. But sometimes there were unnecessary parts so I'd literally be just clicking around looking for the leads and not watching the full episodes.

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“I am not perfect. I have never thought of making my girlfriend perfect. I only hope she is happy. In fact, she doesn't need to be under so much pressure. She can rely wholly on me.” ~ Feng Teng

I was not expecting to love this drama so much. This is my first Chinese drama. I usually watch Korean dramas. Initially, I had many complaints. But now writing this review, those issues seem unimportant. MDL friends tell me that you can't compare Korean dramas to Chinese dramas and at first I couldn't understand that at all. But now I do. They are different. And you just have to appreciate them for their differences. That said, I still included a list of comparisons at the end of this review. =)

This is also my longest drama to date. It was a good introduction to the idea of dramas longer than 16-18 episodes. I found I could watch it easily and didn't get tired and the story continued to carry. I now feel more confident with trying out more lengthy dramas.

REVIEW

My main problem with this drama was that the important scenes left me disappointed that I wasn't captivated by the emotion and the intensity that was obviously trying to be conveyed. I couldn't connect.
The second half of this drama is fun. Feng Teng and Shan Shan are adorable and we get to see the ups and downs of an uneven relationship. I liked seeing how they navigated it. Feng Teng clearly adores Shan Shan so you can forgive the drama for a lot of things. It gets fun to see what new obstacle will arise so the pair can be all cute and cuddly and demonstrate how much they care for each other. Of course they also explore the difficulties of professionalism and workplace issues in their romance.
As the drama goes on, Feng Teng gets kinder and more possessive.
Shan Shan gets more and more independent. YESSS! I love that she stops trying to please him so much and starts working on her own goals. My favourite part was when she said, “Do it yourself.” Hahaahahah. And the look of shock on his face was priceless.

Feng Teng

Feng Teng, throughout the drama, consistently bored and annoyed me with his inaction. There's not enough explanation to his cold facade. The way he just stares for ages is discomforting. Feng Teng presents his conceit in a straight manner. There's no joking about it which makes it bearable in Kdramas.
Feng is pretty stolid and robotic. The first time he comes to life is when his sister's best friend returns to Shanghai and he actually smiles in conversations and jokes. It was hard to connect and empathise with him because you never know what he's thinking. His face is stone. He honestly is his most animated self with his sister's best friend.
I was also offended that he'd joke about threatening Shan Shan's when he knew she was taking him seriously.

Shan Shan

I really like how the drama develops Shan Shan. By the end of the drama she is dumbfoundingly mature. I was seriously impressed.
Shan Shan starts as the doe-eyed, altruistic Cinderella. She does have some sarcasm and she's not terribly clueless and I liked that she is quick to catch on to social issues even if it's a bit too late. She is most sassy in her mind. Sometimes it feels a bit suffocating with the constant voiceovers. I also like that she takes some lengths to avoid Feng Teng's highhandedness. But she's only indirectly defiant until later on in the drama.
I think she's an interesting person but it takes a while to see it.

Friends

“This prince who is used to eating without worry must want to try out a plain dish like you.” ~ Shuang Yi

Shan Shan's best friend scenes never really won me over till about Episode 13. They are full of “advice”. Also, what happened to Shuang Yi? She just disappeared?

Sister – Feng Yue

Feng Yue is cheeky and very pretty. She and her husband are an adorable couple and kind of stole the prize for most heart-winning romance.

Romance

Feng Teng and Shan Shan's romance develops over a lunchbox. Sometimes this is cheesy and stalkerish and other times it is quite cute to see how invested this “big boss” is over lunch.
I was really curious to see how Feng Teng and Shan Shan would get together and what they'd be like together.
I couldn't understand why Feng Teng liked Shan Shan at first. I could imagine him falling in love with her personality if she ever actually opened her mouth to have a conversation but it's just those big eyes and stuttering sentences.
I think if you can make it to Episode 12 then you're sorted. Episode 12 is THE episode. All the happiness, everything comes together, it all makes sense. More importantly, Feng Teng and Shan Shan make sense. It's all wonderful sunshine and roses and I could finally root for them.
I do get a bit worried when a heroine is worried about angering her boyfriend. There are definitely moments when I was concerned about the powerplay of the relationship. The way Shan Shan would search for an answer to please him and he would just remain stolidly blank until she gave in to what he wanted. I didn't like seeing Shan Shan bow to this kind of manipulation. And just because the heart is good, doesn't mean you can snatch someone's phone out of their hand while they're looking at it.

Chinese Dramas vs. Korean Dramas

I feel that the below points are a bit harsh now. But I must admit that watching this drama has made me appreciate Kdramas a whole lot more.
Compared with Kdramas, this drama looks very amateur. I can see what people mean by the lower quality of acting, delivery, and filming. As a result, it's easy to skip over and miss things just to get the general feel of the story because each second that passes by is not so important or well-thought out.
First thing I noticed, was that the men stand very close to the female when talking instead of the polite distance that you would expect from not only Korean culture but general Western personal space etiquette.
Another thing is that voiceover that indicates what the character's are thinking. This results in a blank facial expression with an intangible voice speaking over top which really is sort of distracting and takes you out of the moment of the drama. In Korean dramas, characters tend to “think out loud” and them actually having to voice their thoughts makes the feeling more expressing and brings me into the moment with them.
On the topic of facial expressions...these Chinese actors seem to be a blank wall compared with Korean actors who are so animated and expressive. Their favourite look is the “huh?” face.
The story telling is disjointed. I was relieved to see some themes emerge. Actually, I'm surprised at how I've come to rely on themes to make me think and invest myself in the plot.

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Cute Storyline with misplaced scenes

This is a cute drama. The cliche's have been done time and time again, however, it was done well. The cast was solid. Commnication issues between the ML and FL became tiresome after a bit. However, there were scenes and situations that seemed to either repeat themselves or seem like fillers. This could have been a solid rewatch drama if some of the 'extra; scenes were cut. After reviewing a lot of dramas, the layout and pace of this drama makes sense once consideration is taken as to when it was produced. Overall, it is a good weekend watch, if you don't take it too seriously.

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Let't me start out by saying this was my very first Chinese Drama I watch...It did not take me long to fall in love with each character of the drama and the actors/actress's.

It has taking me a while to write a review because I would not have been able to do so without putting spoilers in it.. If you are looking for a semi-Cinderella drama then this is it.. I laughed and I cried..with each and every episode..This drama made me want to watch more Chinese drama's and I have been hooked on them every sense..

The music is awesome..
The story line oh my god you just got to watch it.
The cast and directors awesome.

I have watch this drama several times over the past couple of years..its actually getting harder to find it but their are still a few places that have it posted.

music links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9ZDM93tlzg&list=PLsJyNLZf3Zev8CkLo7FEVBc7hW3Vro42V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0FA1y5oD30&index=2&list=PLsJyNLZf3Zev8CkLo7FEVBc7hW3Vro42V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUjSHgOTZJ4&index=4&list=PLsJyNLZf3Zev8CkLo7FEVBc7hW3Vro42V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxlXJNnTlpE&index=2&list=PLairxX6eL_M9f-_VRi3FhUXMkbdfhS8yx

place to find the drama
http://kissasian.sh/Drama/Boss-and-Me

you can still find it on youtube

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The premise started promising of an ordinary girl capturing the attention of the CEO of a very large corporation. However, the story arcs became repetitive, the damsel in distress became less endearing and the expressionless CEO became less attractive. As the story wore on, it reminded me of "It Started With A Kiss," a story which I find very annoying: a seemingly useless girl and an all-talented boy. The leads from this drama also looks and feels eerily similar to the leads in ISWAK. The conflicts in the drama also come across as lackluster. I find the side characters, such as the friends of the main couple, more endearing.

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I watch this drama because related to love 020. But after watch it yeah not really, only because the name feng teng (FT) related. But still in the end a good drama to watch. ;)

Is this a typical Cinderella story that poor employee fall in love with the boss and get the lucky because her boss also fall in love with her? Well... Not really... :)

I really like the story because it show the struggle of ordinary girl who fall in love and became couple with the big boss of a very big company. We can see Shan shan (SS) struggle when she think she too ordinary for FT & how in the end SS fix her issue. I also love that FT in the end really understand SS struggle and try to support her in his way.

We also can see SS having a really good parent who think how hard the future SS will be since she just ordinary girl from ordinary family. When we dream getting a prince for ourselves we often forget how hard it will be for us going into that level.

I really love when FT in a way happily say 'the debt make them equal...' Yeah uniquely in this drama the debt make SS became equal level with FT not make SS became lower level. :D

What makes this drama a little bit just dreamy is... FT not having any parent or elder who will against them together. Because you know SS just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family...

Overall: love the story. After watch several of Zanilia Zhao other drama, never i've watched her so pure & loveable as SS here. So yeah really worthed watched this. But finally getting a little bit bored after re-watch it for several times... :P

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Repeatative

I didn't like this drama tbh I thought it was way to long, they could of told the same exact story in much lesser episodes, I had to give it up as some of the story lines were same old same old. The female lead just got on my nerves the whole way through they say in the tags naive and childish ha those words are being kind, I wouldn't hire her to clean tables let alone as an assistant, wow she was something else lol it came to a stage I found myself muting whenever she came on the screen, male lead just seemed robotic with no emotions apart from the odd smile and acted like he can get whatever he wants though felt no way to string along his girl mate for years without the sense of just telling her as it is , absolutely loved his best mate found him thoroughly entertaining proper Jack the lad ? didn't like the sister or her girlfriend at all they were living in totally differ worlds so spaced out lol, husband seemed cool I guess he was just there, also loved her cousin, mum and dad couldn't stand the aunt she seemed like a beggar to be fair, didn't really like her house mate or the housemates bf they seemed fake to me.
Work colleagues were just blah to chatty but I suppose that's office life eh, the girl on her course just seemed desperate as did the lady with the black hair who tried to seduce her bf.
All in all I thought it was just like any other love your boss drama, where they make the girl seem like a fool which is very often in Chinese love dramas I might add, would I watch it again, yeah that's a definite no.

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Another story that has to throw another woman into the mix. It would've been a great story without love interests or secrets! I guess that's part of life, isn't it? I'm glad Hans Zhang's character, for the way it was written, was very loyal to Shan Shan. The visuals were great, small little town, Big City... I loved the Fireworks and the countdown for New Year. I love the Happy Ending!

I want to give a shout-out to the writers for bringing awareness to transfusions in an emergency situation. Rare blood types are very rare but these days we have to be careful about donating blood if you are not healthy or you have a blood disorder that can't be seen by tests.

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