XiaoQing
One of the best in its genre
Another solid work by Sugarman Media, that keeps living up to its reputation as one of best production teams in the industry following the success of Hikaru no Go.
Hikaru no Go is also the reason I decided to check out this drama, but Dear Missy stands on its own as one of the best life-in-the-big-city, female-centered, contemporary-romance dramas I've seen, for me only comparable to the Ode to Joy series.
What I liked:
- The cast/acting is excellent, as is the character writing. The characters feel like real, actual people; some are likable, some are annoying, everyone makes mistakes, everyone goes through ups and downs. And your perception of them changes along with the story as they grow and develop.
- The writing is solid and never insults the viewers' intelligence with cringy situations or overused drama tropes
- The cinematography is movie level. I especially love the lighting and the color grading that give this drama a very sophisticated look.
- Everyone uses their own voice (which is always a bonus point in c-dramas) and there are characters that speak with a strong accent just like people in real life Shanghai would. There are also scenes where cantonese is heavily featured.
- I liked the choice to use English songs for the soundtrack because it suits the "global city" feel of this production.
- The Hikaru no Go cameo is a must see for everyone who's watched and enjoyed that drama :')
What could have been done better:
- I think this drama could have benefitted from trimming down a few subplots and scenes involving secondary characters, that in many cases felt too fillery and prominent as if they were taking away screentime from the leads (yes, I'm thinking about Guan Yue). This is the reason I'm only giving the story an 8. A 24-episode formula would have suited this story better. Nowadays, 36 episodes for this kind of slice-of-life contemporary drama is already too long for me.
- A personal wish: I was hoping to get more flashback scenes with the two leads about their time in high school (same Fang Yuan high school from Hikaru no Go btw!). Instead the flashbacks were mostly limited to the first few episodes. I think it would have given the two leads' relationship even more depth, plus the two actresses playing their younger version are really good.
- It's a minor thing but I need to mention the Chris character. I know I just said that the characters feel real, but Chris is an exception that sticks out. He's too much of a foreigner stereotype and doesn't really fit in a drama like this. Thankfully he was only there for a few episodes.
Hikaru no Go is also the reason I decided to check out this drama, but Dear Missy stands on its own as one of the best life-in-the-big-city, female-centered, contemporary-romance dramas I've seen, for me only comparable to the Ode to Joy series.
What I liked:
- The cast/acting is excellent, as is the character writing. The characters feel like real, actual people; some are likable, some are annoying, everyone makes mistakes, everyone goes through ups and downs. And your perception of them changes along with the story as they grow and develop.
- The writing is solid and never insults the viewers' intelligence with cringy situations or overused drama tropes
- The cinematography is movie level. I especially love the lighting and the color grading that give this drama a very sophisticated look.
- Everyone uses their own voice (which is always a bonus point in c-dramas) and there are characters that speak with a strong accent just like people in real life Shanghai would. There are also scenes where cantonese is heavily featured.
- I liked the choice to use English songs for the soundtrack because it suits the "global city" feel of this production.
- The Hikaru no Go cameo is a must see for everyone who's watched and enjoyed that drama :')
What could have been done better:
- I think this drama could have benefitted from trimming down a few subplots and scenes involving secondary characters, that in many cases felt too fillery and prominent as if they were taking away screentime from the leads (yes, I'm thinking about Guan Yue). This is the reason I'm only giving the story an 8. A 24-episode formula would have suited this story better. Nowadays, 36 episodes for this kind of slice-of-life contemporary drama is already too long for me.
- A personal wish: I was hoping to get more flashback scenes with the two leads about their time in high school (same Fang Yuan high school from Hikaru no Go btw!). Instead the flashbacks were mostly limited to the first few episodes. I think it would have given the two leads' relationship even more depth, plus the two actresses playing their younger version are really good.
- It's a minor thing but I need to mention the Chris character. I know I just said that the characters feel real, but Chris is an exception that sticks out. He's too much of a foreigner stereotype and doesn't really fit in a drama like this. Thankfully he was only there for a few episodes.
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