Kotori
Singapore
A romance drama with pretty people - but that's about it
Overall, I rate this drama a 3/5, ★★★☆☆, a pass. I got into this drama because I loved Ding Yu Xi in the Romance of Tiger and Rose. But I was a bit disappointed.
Let's take a closer look at Intense Love based on my seven criteria (see below for a detailed explanation of the criteria - Intense Love is my first trial to use these criteria).
1. Emotional rollercoaster: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: Intense Love is a simple, almost superficial, romance drama targeting young female audience. The drama has countless tooth-aching sweet scenes between the leads, but I did not feel a lot of emotions because of the lack of chemistry between the leads. The start was compelling at the start, with the female lead being very bold, creative, and a bit cunning, but this soon faded. Her personality became kind, some times even naive, well-behaved, and just helpless in love with the main lead. Dr. Zhou's character is even more boring and only a fraction as interesting as Han Shuo's character in The Romance of Tiger and Rose. This is also reflected in his acting (not sure if I need to blame his role or the fact he was less experienced at that time), which is a shame cause he is such a talented actor. The only watchpoint was these sweet loving romantic scenes between two beautifully looking people; some are beautifully shot (e.g., coffee shower?!).
2. Fantasization: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: I adore Ding Yu Xi, but I didn't feel much of a chemistry between him and Zhang Yu Xi. This might be the reason because both main leads have almost perfect personalities. Zhou Shi Yun: doctor, perfect-looking, kind most of the time, but takes charge when he needs to, can cook well... Bei Bei: actress, beautiful, soft-hearted, but has a cute temper! Like where in the world do you find these people? Why would these two already be engaged since birth and fall in love almost right away? I also find ZYX's acting a bit over.
3. Sleepless night: 1/5 ★☆☆☆☆: the story was never particularly dramatic at any point or particularly sorrowful at any point. I enjoyed watching it, but there was never an urge to want to know what's next.
4. Natural and intelligent Storytelling: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: The story was told fluently without many question marks. I guess the only problem I have with the drama was the setting. Except for some misunderstanding and roadblocks from female rival 2, it was smooth most of the time. To create some drama, the writer created a bit of out-of-character behavior misunderstanding between the main leads towards the end. This was a bit annoying but nothing to be too be angry about given the fluffy setting.
5. Loveable supporting Roles: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆: The best friend couple Wu Di and Xiao Yuan Song were the opposite of the "perfect main lead couple" - down to earth, real and funny. I really like them, yet, their story was not that interesting. I don't understand why XYS has fallen head over heels in love with Wu Di after spending just one night with her. I also don't comprehend why Wu Di would reject him this much. The main critic that their story seems to be just a parallel love story next to that of the main leads, as it has almost nothing to do with the main storyline. Supporting roles need to have a "supporting" function (that's why they are called this way!), yet this was not executed. If you are very strict, you could see them as fillers, a different type of couple to romanticize with.
6. Proper Pacing: 4/5 ★★★★☆: drama has only 24 episodes, just enough episodes to tell the story. There is some-slowing down in the middle, but I did not feel like pressing the fast-forward bottom.
7. Solid Finale": 4/5 ★★★★☆: I was satisfied with the ending. It was a predictable finale given the type of drama it was and the type of audience it was targeting. On the other hand, there was also no forced turn or artificial creation of dramatic, which would have been redundant. There is a 30min extra of this drama, which showed a parallel world in which the two main leads switched roles, jobs, and even personalities (the last one was not very clear). I found it quite refreshing a great add-on to this drama. I wish they could have made a few more episodes.
Overall, if you like pure romance drama, with not much thinking and plenty of pretty looking scenes with two beautiful people, this is the drama for you. Otherwise, I would suggest you spend your time elsewhere.
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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:
After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.)
2. "Fantasization": the degree of how much I care about the fate of the main leads, how often I have to think about them in my everyday life, how much I wish the characters are part of my real life: I call this
3. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
4. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers are taking us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
5. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to support the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have proper motivations behind their actions.
6. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that starts to lose its grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.
Obviously, many other criteria could be important as well, such as unique story setup, visual elements, camera work, music, costumes, etc. Some of the points are indirectly included in the criteria, and others are not this important for me.
Let's take a closer look at Intense Love based on my seven criteria (see below for a detailed explanation of the criteria - Intense Love is my first trial to use these criteria).
1. Emotional rollercoaster: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: Intense Love is a simple, almost superficial, romance drama targeting young female audience. The drama has countless tooth-aching sweet scenes between the leads, but I did not feel a lot of emotions because of the lack of chemistry between the leads. The start was compelling at the start, with the female lead being very bold, creative, and a bit cunning, but this soon faded. Her personality became kind, some times even naive, well-behaved, and just helpless in love with the main lead. Dr. Zhou's character is even more boring and only a fraction as interesting as Han Shuo's character in The Romance of Tiger and Rose. This is also reflected in his acting (not sure if I need to blame his role or the fact he was less experienced at that time), which is a shame cause he is such a talented actor. The only watchpoint was these sweet loving romantic scenes between two beautifully looking people; some are beautifully shot (e.g., coffee shower?!).
2. Fantasization: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: I adore Ding Yu Xi, but I didn't feel much of a chemistry between him and Zhang Yu Xi. This might be the reason because both main leads have almost perfect personalities. Zhou Shi Yun: doctor, perfect-looking, kind most of the time, but takes charge when he needs to, can cook well... Bei Bei: actress, beautiful, soft-hearted, but has a cute temper! Like where in the world do you find these people? Why would these two already be engaged since birth and fall in love almost right away? I also find ZYX's acting a bit over.
3. Sleepless night: 1/5 ★☆☆☆☆: the story was never particularly dramatic at any point or particularly sorrowful at any point. I enjoyed watching it, but there was never an urge to want to know what's next.
4. Natural and intelligent Storytelling: 3/5 ★★★☆☆: The story was told fluently without many question marks. I guess the only problem I have with the drama was the setting. Except for some misunderstanding and roadblocks from female rival 2, it was smooth most of the time. To create some drama, the writer created a bit of out-of-character behavior misunderstanding between the main leads towards the end. This was a bit annoying but nothing to be too be angry about given the fluffy setting.
5. Loveable supporting Roles: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆: The best friend couple Wu Di and Xiao Yuan Song were the opposite of the "perfect main lead couple" - down to earth, real and funny. I really like them, yet, their story was not that interesting. I don't understand why XYS has fallen head over heels in love with Wu Di after spending just one night with her. I also don't comprehend why Wu Di would reject him this much. The main critic that their story seems to be just a parallel love story next to that of the main leads, as it has almost nothing to do with the main storyline. Supporting roles need to have a "supporting" function (that's why they are called this way!), yet this was not executed. If you are very strict, you could see them as fillers, a different type of couple to romanticize with.
6. Proper Pacing: 4/5 ★★★★☆: drama has only 24 episodes, just enough episodes to tell the story. There is some-slowing down in the middle, but I did not feel like pressing the fast-forward bottom.
7. Solid Finale": 4/5 ★★★★☆: I was satisfied with the ending. It was a predictable finale given the type of drama it was and the type of audience it was targeting. On the other hand, there was also no forced turn or artificial creation of dramatic, which would have been redundant. There is a 30min extra of this drama, which showed a parallel world in which the two main leads switched roles, jobs, and even personalities (the last one was not very clear). I found it quite refreshing a great add-on to this drama. I wish they could have made a few more episodes.
Overall, if you like pure romance drama, with not much thinking and plenty of pretty looking scenes with two beautiful people, this is the drama for you. Otherwise, I would suggest you spend your time elsewhere.
----------------------------------
Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:
After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.)
2. "Fantasization": the degree of how much I care about the fate of the main leads, how often I have to think about them in my everyday life, how much I wish the characters are part of my real life: I call this
3. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
4. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers are taking us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
5. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to support the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have proper motivations behind their actions.
6. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that starts to lose its grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.
Obviously, many other criteria could be important as well, such as unique story setup, visual elements, camera work, music, costumes, etc. Some of the points are indirectly included in the criteria, and others are not this important for me.
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