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The comedy here is also golden. I tried to find a gif or a screenshot to show you all, but it’s so hard because the comedy is so *situational*. What that means is the jokes build on the knowledge you have from watching a previous scene, episode, etc. That’s smart comedy. There’s also cheap comedy – tongue in cheek poking fun at romcom tropes (that they also fully uitlize), quips, puns, slapstick, etc. I’m pretty sure I had laughed every single episode for 12 eps so far – and as a big loyal fan of comedy TV (of all kinds, from Western to Asian styles), I know how hard it is to sustain laugh even as plots develop and get more complex, with some dose of drama thrown in.
Speaking of plot, there is one, and it’s good! Often with “silly idol romcom”, the plot is on life support, which is usually the rom part. Here, there is an actual plot, and there are a few key high stakes that we are invested in, because we already care about our lovely characters. All of them are working towards their goals (most of them life and death!), in multiple steps, and the steps are met as we move through episodes. Nothing is stretched out for too long, no misunderstanding dragged on for dramatic purposes. Things that make sense to get resolved, do. Will I watch a drama with no plot just to see the romance? Yes (e.g. Her Private Life…) But when there is a plot, it makes it that much more exciting! How will our smart characters get out of their predicaments? How will get attain their goals, while still being together (some of their goals conflict, and also with their romance), since they gotta be together!
In any case, as you can see, I love romcoms, and I love them even more when they are smart, well executed, and have that magical “it” factor created by a synergy of actors, directing, and script. Though, let’s be clear, this is on the lower budget side, and it is an idol drama. It doesn’t try to be any grand historical drama, nor does it slack off and forget that a story, no matter how cheap, needs sense (we all been there, haven’t we?) I just love it when a drama makes clear promises, and delivers on them, with fireworks. I have a lot of chip on my shoulders on how romcoms, and just comedies in general, tend to be looked down upon because it’s “simple” or “silly”. “Simple” is not “simplistic”, and “silly” is not stupid. A well-done story is a well-done story, and that’s that.
And that is what Romance of Tiger and Rose is – a well-done story
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This review may contain spoilers
Infinitely relatable even if you're not 30
What a well-written, powerful, and fully satisfying show. I am the target demographic of this drama, and I relate so strongly to all of these characters despite not having gone through their exact experiences. Even if you're not the main target demo, I'd hope the main message of, "Know yourself, and do what you think is best for you, whatever that is, whenever that is" still resonate. and 30 really is just a convenient milestone used to discuss this idea. If these women were 35, 40, 45, I could still see the message resonate the same way.What I love most is the character growth in this show, for almost everyone. Well, for XHS you can say it's reverse growth? Some dramas hook you by the plot, some by the OTP, and some, like this one, with its characters and their journey. I've never been this invested in characters' life since Ming Lan. They grow like real people - as in, they don't change 180. They're still themselves, just more/less [something], as the consequence of the journey that they went through. It's the journey that got me invested as a viewer, and it's the growth that made me feel rewarded for my investment. Even the supposed "perfect" character, Gu Jia, had her growth, even though she paid dearly for it. I love how her existing capabilities helped her through her crisis, but she also realized it was her focus on her capabilities that made her blind to the troubling change in her husband (not an excuse for him in any way; I just agree with her own reflection about her part in the end of her marriage: with or without LYY, they would have suffered conflict, and what she learned was she cannot and shouldn't solve problems for everyone).
What I really appreciate is how all the men in the show are extremely, extremely flawed - some redeemable, some not. There's no prince charming on a white horse anywhere, no "overbearing CEO" hot guy who's actually really perfect inside. Just men, with their personal and socialized burdens they put on women :)
What I wanted more of was how they becamethis ride-of-die trio. I know we had all those crossed paths that brought Manni together with XiaoQin and Gu Jia, and I LOVE their friendship chemistry. But if we think about their personalities, lifestyle, and hobbies, there's not a lot of overlap. Maybe that's the point - they just like one another for who they are :) I do find it hard to believe though that someone as kind as Manni didn't make any other close friends in her 8 years in Shanghai.
My favorite quote (among many), was, "Our marriage didn't fail. It just ended." (Gu Jia)
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Success Story of a Stalker Girl
Ok I know I'm being a bit harsh on Sakura Nanase. She didn't technically stalk Tendon, she only obsessed over him for 5 years, then went to work at the same hospital as he does, lived (accidentally) right next to him, etc. Cute, right? Yes!...mostly :)Sakura is an interesting character. I don't mean she's interesting as a person, I mean she's frustratingly incompetent and incomprehensibly simple, but Mone the actress is so likeable, she somehow sold this character for me. With her charm, I can kind of see why Tendou fell for her. But if she was a real person, she's exactly that annoyingly bubbly incessantly lively coworker who is liked by everyone and fails at everything and needs help every time and you even feel bad for getting mad at her even though it would be justified to be mad at her. I don't know about you, but this kind of coworker gives me stress.
But there's always someone for everyone, and Sakura has 3 suitors pining for her, including our ML, handsome tsundere doctor Tendou. Now he is an interesting character, and by interesting I mean I don't understand him. He's nice and gentle to his patients, but curt and sometimes outright rude to everyone else, and especially to our FL Sakura. It does help to highlight how good of a doctor he is, but it wasn't until episode 10 (the last ep) that I believed he felt anything genuine for Sakura. Usually tsundere characters are swoony because we get to see the soft side that they hide from the world, but we very rarely get to see things from Tendou's perspective, so he's more or less a mystery, a walking fanservice, till the end (that face! Those kisses!)
Speaking of kisses, I wish the director helped Mone with her dead fish/Park Shin Hye syndrome, because it felt like Sato was kissing her all by himself without any reciprocation...
This drama is the first jdrama that feels like a kdrama to me, in the sense that they learned all the good and all the bad from kdrama about romance. Self sacrificing second male lead? Check. Shameless second female lead? Check. (Thankfully both arcs were brief). Noble idiocy? Check. Truck of doom? Check. Random "one year abroad" separation? Check. But all the great push and pull typical of kdrama is there as well, so maybe I shouldn't complain too much.
In short, I don't regret watching this drama, but I also don't know why or how I finished it. That's actually how I would describe the drama core story/relationship as well: neither of them probably knows why or how they end up together, but they probably also won't regret it.
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Sweet but random
Do I enjoy watching this drama? Absolutely.Is it a good drama? Absolutely not.
Am I crazy for giving it a rating of 8? No! Hear me out:
This drama is greater than the sum of its parts. And its parts consists a very sweet couple, and randomly strung together scenes that serve no plot or purpose.
This drama could have been a very sweet 20 episodes drama. The main couple has amazing chemistry, and the characters are absolutely sweet to each other. Except...after the first 10 episodes, we only see them together 3 minutes per episode. EVEN THEN, they make it worth it for me. They're 90% of the reason why I gave the drama the rating I did. At its best, the drama reminds me of The story of Ming Lan (my absolute favorite), in the way both of the leads are smart and in love with each other. The plot is dumb, but the characters are smart, if that makes sense.
To enjoy this drama like I did, you have to put on a special lens: you either ff through all scenes without the main couple, or watch them in 3x speed. Characters who are not related at all to any main overarching plot - of which there was none - show up and disappear randomly (like a "monster of the week" structure). Events happen, and you have no idea why. On the upside, there's a lot of humor, most of it unintentional; and you're always on the edge of your seat because you literally cannot predict what happens next. Will it be another loser acquaintance? Another failed scheme by the SFL? Unrelated love lives of characters you don't care about? There's plenty to choose from and you can never guess!
You probably can't tell from my review above, but I genuinely enjoyed this drama, except maybe not for the reason the producers intended. Don't watch this drama if you can't fast-forward or are unwilling to speed it up (WeTV app lets you so why not??) I look forward to seeing Joseph and Kiku in another drama again, one I can love for all the right reasons.
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This drama has a unique premise, which reminds me of Kill me heal me (one of my favs!). However, the "drama" part of this drama (the "scars" mentioned in the synopsis) requires a lot of suspension of disbelief: forget the whole multiple personality disorder as a result of PTSD thing (I'm a psychologist, and I can tell you....this is not what happnes), there are still many things that made me go "huh?" First off, how can a kid have such severe PTSD from an accidental blow & a scar? Why do you need liquid foundation to cover up scars when you have concealers?? And how can a scar not fade about 10 years?? Also that scar looks really easy for plastic surgery to fix if it's so traumatizing for the FL?
Besides the issues above, the characters are both actually very interesting: they're your usual romcom tropes, with fun twists. The ML is a CEO, but he's super stingy (a major source of comedy in the show). The FML is a Candy, but she also has multiple personality disorder, and her other personalities tend to cause her trouble. One of her personality is a badass confident hilariously delusional alpha girl that I wish was the "main" personality. The actor & actress are very cute and charming, but neither of them has enough charisma to fully realize these really interesting characters. The chemistry is also hampered by the fact that later in the episodes, we lose track of the internal-to-the-drama logic of when or why the FL switches personality, and how many she has. When she switches, she becomes very forward, and considers herself the ML's girlfriend. The ML, being the nice sweet guy he is, just goes with it (and later on, as the synopsis indicates, for business gains). Which, depending on how you see it, can be cute, or perplexing.
In any case, this drama could be a cute easy watch; I just wish they handled the story in a more believable way, the directing a bit crisper (many moments drag on 5 beats too long), and the acting a bit more nuanced.
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