Akuma to Love Song (2021): A Review
Gu Man is a young Chinese internet novelist, who writes modern-time romance novels with a slight Cinderella theme. Her published works have become extremely popular online, which has led to the recent drama adaptions.
As an artist who's well-versed in her craft, Gu Man creates engaging storylines that remains in your unconscious mind long after the last lines are read. She has redefined the terms epic, poetic, imaginative and simple with her novels 'Boss & Me', 'My Sunshine' and 'Love O2O'.
Her novels and dramas have enchanted audiences with storylines both captivating and modest, ingeniously written and with a whimsical touch. Her deeply moving writing style has been continued by the scriptwriters into the live-action adaptations. The characters she has written are never one-dimensional, their multi-layered personalities do not become forgettable, and their actions are never portrayed as cynical or with a lack of purpose, which make you question their actions or motivation as time passes. Instead, they are constructed creatively, with a significant depth to their shape and knowledge. Some may argue that Gu Man’s work is far too artless, however art is also said to be at its best when it, at its core, is unassuming and the artist is unpretentious. Therein lays the beauty of understanding a story for what it is, independent from whatever preconceived opinions that may arise.
Indeed, the stories do come to life in modern fairy-tale environments involving business, law or technology. Indeed, they do involve Cinderella stereotypes that meet Dante’s Beatrice - his ideal of beauty and grace. Indeed, Prince Charming is the breadwinner, the young high achiever whose, in most cases, middleclass background makes him relatable to modern day entrepreneurs that do not have the aristocratic pedigree that is essential for modern day princes. And indeed, they do fall in love.
That is what makes these stories so appealing to modern women in a time where they are no longer considered weak, who embraces being taken care of by a dependable man because they choose to do so, rather than having it be a condition to lead a happy life.
The plots: Boss & Me, My Sunshine & Love O2O
'Boss & Me' is the story of Xue Shan Shan. She is a food enthusiast who have the same rare blood type as the sister of Feng Teng, the owner and CEO of the company she works at. As a thank you note for Shan Shan’s help in a crisis, Feng Teng provides her with daily nutritious lunch boxes. Love develops.
'My Sunshine' describes the love story of Zhao Mo Sheng and He Yi Chen, about how they met, how they separated and how they met again, years later.
'Love O2O' portrays the blossoming O2O love between Bei Wei Wei, a computer science student and brilliant online game player, and Xiao Nai, who's the university’s golden boy, computer science major, president of Zhi Yi technology and online game high-ranking player.
The male leads: Feng Teng, He Yi Chen & Xiao Nai
Feng Teng (Zhang Han) is a very stylish man, covered in expensive brands from head to toe, which made him look really nice. The character is breathtakingly handsome, and although he has a slightly bland personality, he is highly intellectual. This is consistent throughout Gu Man’s work, where practically all of her male leads are jaw-droppingly handsome, like Greek sculptures.
He Yi Chen (Chung Wallace) is an interesting chap. He is a very sentimental person who rarely smiles, contrasting with Xiao Nai of 'Love O2O'. He does not know how to cook, but this one flaw takes him one step closer to being human as opposed to being a projection of a male ideal that does not exist.
Xiao Nai (Yang Yang) is both handsome and smart, like a proper Mr. McDreamy, and he smiles a lot.
Out of the three, He Yi Chen is the most flawed character and he carries a lot of baggage. He’s like a scalded cat afraid of cold water, cautious until he has a reason not to be. He feels real in essence which makes his character interesting. Yi Chen is handsome - although not as gorgeous as Xiao Nai, nor as rich as Feng Teng - and therein lies his appeal. Yet, as a reader and drama enthusiast, I find myself drawn to Xiao Nai because of his personality, his skill at computer science and his determination to achieve both his professional and personal goals.
The female leads: Xue Shan Shan, Zhao Mo Sheng & Bei Wei Wei
Xue Shan Shan (Zhao Zanilia) has a simple personality, no high aspirations and no high motivations. She can be really simple minded and naïve, and while she sometimes comes across as independent, she’s completely dependent on others in many situations. It seems like she exists without really living, and when she does start living, it is only after being told to do so. She is portrayed as a girl who needs to be told what to do, what to wear and how to act by Feng Teng. She doesn’t instinctively know how to act so, like a puppy, she obediently follows her "owner". In other words, she is a doll that Feng Teng plays with in love.
Zhao Mo Sheng (Tang Tiffany) has not gone through life unscathed. She has loved, made decisions for herself and had to live with her decisions. Despite the curveballs life has thrown at her, she managed to move on with her life together with the man she loves.
Bei Wei Wei (Zheng Shuang) is both beautiful and intelligent. She is a good friend and has a great personality.
The couples
All three of these drama couples match each other well and complement one another brilliantly. Feng Teng likes control and manipulation whereas Shan Shan doesn’t mind being controlled and manipulated, Yi Chen has a hardened heart while Mo Sheng has a soft one, and Xiao Nai and Wei Wei are both very smart and beautiful.
So should you watch them or not?
Boss & Me
Why should you watch it? It is a cute story with convincing performances by the leads, the supporting cast delivers a steady performance and the story flows naturally.
Why should you stray from it? It feels repetitive and slow paced at times, like flipping a record to the other side, only to find that the music is still the same, the pace doesn't change and the developments are slow. There are also a few to many episodes for such a simple storyline, which tends to make you want to use the fast-forward button a bit too often.
My Sunshine
Why should you watch it? Wallace Chung performing as He Yi Chen is spot on. The story might be reminiscent of that first love that wasn't meant to be, and explores what might have happened if there was another chance. The second leads interactions are fun to watch, the story has substance and it feels like a slice of real life.
Why should you stray from it? It is rather slow paced at times, Wallace Chung's facial expressions are pretty much unchangeable throughout the drama and the female lead may come across as a rather boring character.
Love 020
Why should you watch it? The concept is original which is rare nowadays, it is visually beautiful - especially the colour contrasts between the online and offline parts, and the game graphics are exquisitely designed. The drama also portrays great friendship, including cute bromance, in addition to the romantic storyline.
Why should you stray from it? The childishness of some characters can become rather exasperating as the episodes move forward. Some secondary characters are unnecessary to the development of the plot which makes you wonder why they are in the story at all. Lastly, there are no big twists and turns in the story, and as such, it is predictable from the very beginning.
What can you take away from these three dramas?
Because all of life's possibilities may seem as confusing as Shibuya Crossing, the best way to reach happiness may not always be to actively pursue it, but instead daring to take a step back and, while trying to not think too much about possible outcomes, still managing to remain confident and true to yourself.
As all the chaos of options and possibilities in life piles up, it may be necessary to just have a moment, space out, and boost your mood as well as your psychological immune system, for which these three dramas based on Gu Man's novels would be perfect as a vitamin booster.
