Sincerity & Pureness of heart.

I plunged right into the drama without much thought and I’m glad that it turned out all right.

What I liked:
- The FL and the ML have good chemistry. I really liked that ML was sincere in his affections and love for the FL right from the start. He wasn’t a player.
- The female characters in this drama are likable. No one is a full on bitch (other than 4th mistress) which is so great. The female characters support one another and help one another.
- I like that this drama focuses on overthrowing dated stereotypes and ridiculous ‘norms’. Eg: women should not show their faces outside. Women should stay home and be dutiful wives and mothers. Women should this. Women shouldn’t this. I, personally, don’t think it’s a woman or a man thing. It’s a person thing. Avoid gender stereotypes and look at a person as a person (not just as female or a male). Don’t have erroneous preconceived notions of what men / women should be like. No such thing! I like that the show tries to overthrow these unreasonable and outdated ‘norms’.
- The drama also talks about post partum depression and about how to take care of an expectant mother. Women don’t have easy lives and it’ll be so much better if women had supportive partners/ men/ family members etc. People should support people. Lift one another up with love and courage and compassion.
- Yuan Ying turned out to be so cute. I loved how she was so capable and so by-the-book. She was so cute!
- I liked the relationship which formed between Yuan Ying and Li Wei. So cute! There was no fighting over the same husband. They became sisters.
- The butler Su Shen and the maids were so cute too. I especially love to see Su Shen fussing over Yin Zheng. He’s earnest and comedic.

What I didn’t like:
- Insecure and crazy and incompetent second master.
- Vicious fourth mistress.

Overall, I enjoyed this ‘feel good’ drama with a happy ending. This moved quickly and issues were resolved pretty fast. The first 20-25 episodes were very interesting but it sort of watered down afterwards. Still a good watch. I loved that Yin Zheng was powerful in terms of his martial arts and he loved his wife so much. Pls watch!

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Ambitions and Aspirations

I enjoyed watching this drama from the get-go! I found this drama engaging and riveting. I wanted very much to "chase show".

What I liked very much:
- From the start when Chi Yan Nei appeared, I didn't dislike him. He was a petty person. He was a spoilt brat and wanted things his way. He was the "chaebol" in this drama too. He had lots of money to be the "mover and shaker". He and his gang were comic relief. Towards the later part of this drama, Chi Yan Nei became my favourite character and I would laugh out loud at this antics that were childish and yet, quite adorably hilarious. I really liked his character (towards the end) in this drama. I liked how he admitted his mistakes and how he tried to make amends by kowtowing four times to Zhao Pan Er in order to apologise for humiliating her for his own entertainment. I liked how he had so much money that he didn't mind wasting it on a restaurant simply because he wanted it and liked it. I liked his hedonistic insistence. I liked that he was authentic (in that he was not devious and not scheming on the whole). I liked that he was his petty self throughout and didn't try to hide his pettiness and his true self. He was humorously child-like.
- I liked Zhao Pan Er despite her flaws and Liu Yi Fei really brought this character to life. Zhao Pan Er wasn't perfect. She had her flaws and her pride. But, she was strong and intelligent. She had ambitions and aspirations which she tried hard to accomplish. She depended mainly on herself and not on others or a man to improve her own situation. I liked how she held her head high and tried her utmost despite her unfavourable circumstances. I liked how she was resourceful and shrewd. She was also a beauty who knew when and how to use her good looks to get her ways. I liked her feminine wiles.
- I liked the sisterhood. San Niang was another female character whom I liked a lot. She was not the best in terms of brains but she could cook! Song Yin Zhang was a pipa genius and with the power of the three women combined, they could overcome challenges and lift one another up. I liked that this drama shows that "with our powers combined, we can do great things together".
- I liked Gu Qian Fan as he was a man of his words. He was dependable and he loved as well as cared truly and deeply. I liked how he turned all "cute puppy" with his lady love and yet, he could be cold-hearted and brutal when dealing with crooks. Swoon! I liked Chen Lian because he seemed naughty and cheeky but oh boy, when "heavy-lifting" was required, he was manly and capable. Swoon too!
- I liked the chemistry of the two leads - Zhao Pan Er and Gu Qian Fan. They had chemistry as lovers and their romance was rather slow-burn yet realistic. I liked that Zhao Pan Er knocked some sense into him by telling him that he did not do anything that he had to feel sorry for as the bad deeds were done by the older generations - their fathers - and had nothing to do with them, the younger generation. They were free to love as long as they loved!
- I liked how wrongs were made right. For instance, Du Chang Feng was a horrific prig at the start of this drama. However, he later became more empathetic and more manly. His romance with San Niang felt warm and believable.
- The King was an intelligent man who wasn't overtly fearsome and power-hungry. He was a little bit of a joker at times. I liked how he truly loved and pampered the Queen and softened her heart and allayed her fears with his comforting words.
- I liked the stellar cast and their acting. Everyone played his/her part very well. I really enjoyed watching the cast showcase their fine acting chops!
- Crooks were dealt with and in general, there was a happy ending. :) Everything panned out well and there was closure.

What I didn't like that much:
- Oh, I detested Ouyang Xu. What a crook! He was a bad seed from the start and he just became worse and worse. There was no positive turning point. He sank deeper and deeper into "the dark side" and instead of being introspective, he blamed others like Zhao Pan Er for his awful fate (which he had actually brought upon himself with his terrible decision-making skills).
- I didn't like Song Yin Zhang that much. I think Jelly Lin suits modern day shows more and she seemed quite out of place in this drama. She became a "better watch" after she suffered more and learnt to depend on herself (and not on unreliable men with no morals). After she had more of a backbone and "found herself and her self-esteem", she was more tolerable.
- I disliked Ouyang Xu's butler. He was a bumbling idiot.
- I disliked San Niang's husband and son. Thankfully, later on, her son redeemed himself.
- I disliked how women were faulted simply for being women. (Still happening till today, sadly.) I disliked seeing how women were at a disadvantage simply for being women. I am all for female empowerment.
- It was torturous to watch Zhao Pan Er going around looking for money when Gu Qian Fan already gave her the money in the form of a bank (pawn) note. Well, there had to be drama (I guess) but it was painful to watch the misunderstanding and the suffering.

What could have been better:
- The happy ending would have been happier if Zhao Pan Er and Gu Qian Fan could have had their wedding too, just like San Niang and Du Chang Feng.
- Explain what happened to Song Yin Zhang's elder sister. Chi Yan Nei wanted to know and I wanted to know to.

Takeaway from this drama:
* Everyone has different sides and not all sides are shown at all times. Some sides are shown only to selected people. Some sides are vulnerable while some sides are tough etc.
* Women should lift one another up and men play a huge part in helping women to achieve equality/ power.
* It is important to play up and play to our strengths. Everyone has different gifts to share with the world. Yin Zhang has her beautiful music while San Niang has her scrumptious cuisine. Zhao Pan Er has a smarts while Zhao Di is a hard worker... ... ... By working together, we can achieve even more than if we work solo.
* It is important to have self-esteem and dignity. It is important to have the will and perseverance to achieve one's goals. It is important to have resilience because life has down and we need to pull ourselves back up. It is important to be real to others for we are all flawed individuals. It is most important to grow and become better versions of ourselves.

I really liked this drama a lot! :)

My verdict: WATCH!! It's 40 episodes of engaging antics and drama and ups and downs and tears and laughter! :)

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Cute Couple!

I was surprised by how watchable this drama is. It popped up on my YouTube and I thought I’d give it a go! What a cute as well as entertaining short ride! :)

What I liked:
- The FL turned out to be cute and yet not annoying. This drama was the first time I saw her and I was pleasantly surprised by how adorable she was and how natural her interactions with ML was.
- ML seemed to be a newbie actor (I’m not sure) but he acted very well and was manly!
- FL and ML have good chemistry.
- I liked the shenanigans! FL constantly wanted to go to Cold Palace to the bewilderment of everyone else especially the ML.

It was a fast and entertaining ride! I liked it so much that I moved on to the second season. :)

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A very enjoyable short ride!

This drama is a very entertaining little filler drama of sorts. It’s very short at 4 episodes on YouTube and just about 50 minutes per episode.

I found this drama a fun joyride because:
- It was super fast-paced. I thought that I was watching the drama on 1.25 speed or even 1.5 speed at the rate the drama was unfolding and progressing.
- The FL and the ML had good chemistry. I liked that they liked each other from the time that they had set eyes on each other.
- It was fairly low on angst and it was more about laughs and feeling good.
- The plump fellow - Da Wan - was total comic relief and so funny. Very cute.
- Happy Ending. Sweet. :)

In short, this drama is a very easy watch. The actors and actresses seem quite green and so, aren’t the most polished but everyone has to start somewhere and through this drama, they showed their earnestness in acting. Watch this for a quick joyride! It’s pretty fun!

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the woman is so flawed (just like everyone else in real life I guess)

The rating for this drama is 8/10 which to me, means that this drama is good enough to be watched / enjoyed.

I felt that the drama was fairly good in that the plot moved along. Things wete pretty fast-paced. The storyline was watchable.

This is the first time I am watching the female lead act and while she’s a fairly good actress, I didn’t like her very much. She seemed very fake in her interactions with others. Her smile looked very artificial and was rather irksome to watch. She didn’t seem to have a very good eye for men and she didn’t seem to know what she wanted for herself and her life. Perhaps, the drama wanted to show us that we are quite like her—bungling through life. Most of us, perhaps all of us, don’t have our lives all sorted out and we make plenty, I repeat plenty, of mistakes.

Episodes 1-19 are quite good. Episode 20 was a ‘nothing’ episode in that it tried to tie up everything - that was about it.

Overall, decent drama to watch. O-K.

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3 BFFs

I chanced upon someone’s comment about this drama being very nice indeed and so, I decided that I’d give it a go. After all, it’s just 12 episodes and about 35 minutes per episode. I’m so glad I watched this!

What I liked:
- the 3 girls were crazy but still very relatable
- the tight friendship amongst the three where they could count on one another
- friendship where their individuality is recognized and they don’t have to pretend to be someone else
- every episode deals with one thing and every episode feels complete
- slice of life drama which shows that life has up ups and down downs
- leads who are easy on the eyes
- story is fast-paced and actually, rather moving and even meaningful at times
- I was drawn into the show and really wanted to go on from episode to the next

What I didn’t like:
- nothing much other than Choi Si Won’s awful beard - thank goodness he shaved clean later on

Overall, I highly recommend this drama. It’s a slice-of-life fun ride of sorts which, despite some episodes being heavy (about death and serious illness), is a great watch! Watch it!!

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Good acting and actors/ actresses.

I saw the rating (7.5 at that time) and read the reviews. Although the rating of 7.5 over 10 isn't high in my opinion, I thought I'd give this drama a go since the reviews were generally positive. Having completed the series, this is what I have to say.

What I liked:
- I wanted to watch one episode after another to find out what was going to happen next. The plot was quite engaging.
- Acting was good. The actors and actresses were in character and suited their roles.
- Happy-ish plot where nasty stuff does not get dragged out for too long save for Ma Yong's fiasco and the parts with the two irritating gold-digging girls.
- Complex characters were engaging and fun to watch. For example, I enjoyed watching the relationship between Hou Zhi Rong and Qian Qian because it seemed so believable. Each had his or her concerns about the relationship and their concerns were real.
- Happy ending! Everything was wrapped up nicely.

What I didn't like:
- 40 episodes is rather long for this show. It could have been completed in 30 episodes. Some episodes were rather draggy.
- The male lead was seriously annoying in the beginning but I guess that was his role.
- The male lead and female lead have very little chemistry. There was nothing sizzling going on and the relationship did not seem very romantic or lovey-dovey.
- Music was forgettable.

On the whole, I'd say this drama is watchable because the actors and actresses did their job well. However, if you have other better options, you can skip this. If you don't have better options, this is a pretty good time-filler. It is a 7/10 to 7.5/10.

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Relatable! Highly addictive, touching, enjoyable!

I watched A Girl Like Me starring Neo Hou as Rong Xia and I wanted to see more of this handsome lad. He’s very cute! So good-looking! So, I decided to watch this drama. A bonus point was that the reviews for this drama were very good.

What I loved/ Watch because:
-Casting is good and all the actors and actresses acted their parts well.
-Many scenes tugged at heartstrings.
-This drama has many meaningful quotable quotes / lines. I liked what they said about persevering, about believing in miracles, about accepting unfairness in life, about the need to work hard …
-I genuinely liked the characters in the drama. There wasn’t a single villain or awful schemer which was pleasantly refreshing and relaxing.
-The characters are, in general, well-developed and relatable. The parents weren’t perfect people but simply people who were trying their best to raise their kids. The kids weren’t perfect kids but youths trying to find their way at 18 years of age.
-The drama featured a time I knew and was nostalgic.
-The puppy love featured was sincere and tingly sweet.
-I liked that the characters in the show were genuine friends who looked out for one another and stayed steadfast in their friendship. I’d love to get myself a gang/ clique that’s loyal and tight like that!
-I found Yang Xi adorable in her silly way. She wasn’t the brightest of sparks and she had a temper but she’d a good heart. She showed a lot of growth in the drama as the female lead. Of course, I liked Hua Biao. He was very cute! I’d have loved to sit beside this monitor. I felt for this plight and his relationship with his grandma tugged at heartstrings.
-Music is good and fits.
-Rewatch value is good.

I just completed this drama in a short period of time as it’s addictive and easy to watch! I highly recommend this drama. It’s a gem. I miss it already. It has Reply1988 vibes and I loved Reply1988. But, this drama is its own drama in its own right.
Enjoy the ride with these youngsters. I did!

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Engaging! Intriguing!

I went with vibes for this drama - what I meant was that the vibes exuded by this drama were positive and the reviews were good too.

I highly recommend this drama!

Watch because:
- the show is fast-moving
- there are plenty of ‘solving problems’ parts which I find very engaging as it keeps me wondering how Ning Yi will solve the different problems that keep popping up
- Ning Yi isn’t tall and handsome like other male leads out there but he suits his role very well and is likable as the male lead (he is a complex character though)
- the female lead is very pretty and the other female actresses are good lookers too
- the plot is engaging on the whole
- the other four matrilocal husbands are cute in their own ways too and watchable

What I don’t like:
- Su Tan Er’s male cousin and uncle are Dumb and Dumber - so annoying
- putting women down as incapable and overlooking women’s skills and abilities (just because they are women is unreasonable and sexist) (good that women thrive and overcome the odds in the drama and are the ones who call the shots by marrying the men instead of men marrying them)
- some parts were a little confusing (to me)
- some characters were extremely annoying

But, the good overrides the bad by leaps and bounds. WATCH! It’s a fun ride!

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Ha Ji Won

I am not a fan of hospital / medical dramas because I get squirmy easily and I don’t want to feel disturbed during and after watching such dramas.

However, I chose to watch this show because of Ha Ji Won. I am a fan of this female actress as in my opinion, she doesn’t disappoint.

I enjoyed this drama even though there were heartbreaking moments. There were many lovey moments between the male lead and female lead. The whole cast acted well. The story was pretty good. There were tense moments. There were sweet moments.

I have rewatched the sweet moments because the female lead and the two hot male leads have good chemistry.

I’d say: watch this because it isn’t too heavy on the hospital / medical side. It’s more on the human / humane side if you get what I mean. Also, watch because of the leads.

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Complex and somehow swoon-worthy King

It is 2021 and I have just watched this drama after it came highly recommended by an acquaintance. Said acquaintance gushed so much about this drama that I decided that I should watch it to find out whether it was truly great.

I must say that the drama was excellent. Here are the elements that I liked:
- the OST is brilliant-I love the instrumental music. Beautifully composed.
- the cast acts well (in general)
- the King (Lee Dong Gun) stole the show. He was complex. He was tyrannical. He was insecure. He went quite mad. But, he loved the female lead fiercely. Somehow, he was swoon-worthy. I fell hard for the King. Lee Dong Gun really acted well. I could never hate him. I felt his hurt and pain. I seemed to understand him and why he did what he did.
- the plot was exciting and suspenseful (in general). I could not wait to watch the next episode and then, the next episode.
- ending was not a happily ever after one but show tried to deliver as happy an ending as possible

This drama was well-made. I didn’t like the female lead that much and there were other characters whom I found annoying but on the whole, this show deserves to be watched and ‘savoured’. It’s an excellent show with an excellent OST to match. Thumbs up!! Watch this!!

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Good acting; Good plot.

After reading the reviews on dramalist as well as on other sites, I decided to give this ‘award-winning’ show a go.

From the start, it was intriguing. I am not a sporty person and know basically nothing about sports. However, not knowing anything about baseball did not get in the way of appreciating this drama. As you watch the show, you’ll learn a bit here and there about baseball and you’ll learn more about the sport via googling! LOL.

Watch because:
-acting is very good
-cast fits the show
-show moves fast enough on the whole
-it’s actually quite intriguing for non-sports people like myself because you learn about baseball
-refreshing that it’s not about love lines and skin ship
-heartening to see the players’ love and passion for baseball

The parts that I didn’t like:
-not many scenes in which they actually play baseball but I guess it’s because it’s the ‘hot stove league’
-the middle part became a little draggy imo
-the ‘trying to disband the baseball team’ plot got kind of tiring

Overall, watch this as it’s a nice change from the usual K dramas out there which focus on love lines / skin ship.

I liked it.

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For So Ji Sub

I know I’m late in that I just watched this show (in 2021) when it came out in 2018. This drama is pretty good but there are some things that I don’t really like about it.

Watch because:
-So Ji Sub. He really carried the show. He was very charming and manly.
-There are funny elements in the show that made me lol. Some parts are cute!
-The supporting cast is supportive of the female lead. No backstabbing from the best buddies. Best buddies were the stuff of dreams - supportive, helpful, funny.
-This drama is not too heavy in that it doesn’t leave the viewer feeling troubled, disturbed and perhaps, even frightened.
-There is suspense in the show and the show is quite fast-paced.
-Happy ending!

The stuff that I didn’t like:
-The female lead could be a different actress. I don’t think she fully suited the role. I don’t think she did a very good job.
-The female lead didn’t seem like a very good mother in the show.
-The two kids could be different too. They weren’t cute. They were annoying and I cringed whenever they appeared.
-Some parts of the plot weren’t well-linked / didn’t make full sense. (But well, drama is drama.)

Overall, this show is watchable. It’s just 32 episodes at half hour each or 16 episodes at one hour each. It’s much better than a lot of rubbish that’s out there. If you are searching for a drama and don’t mind an ‘old’ drama while waiting for this year’s releases, you can try this drama.

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Watchable because... Ryan Ding

I decided to watch this because of Ryan Ding and well, no regrets.

Story is fast-paced as there are only 5 episodes. The cast is actually quite a ‘big’ cast as it features Jerry Yan and Wang Da Lu too.

What I liked:
-Ryan Ding is a charmer and a good guy in the show
-Female antagonist aka bitch gets her just deserts and gets it fast
-Story moved so fast
-Only 5 episodes so it’s perfect for those who want something light and easy to watch

The MEH:
-Don’t know who this female lead is - she’s very ordinary
-Female antagonist aka bitch is ugly
-Songs disappeared/ were cut from the streamed video
-Things moved a little too fast and so there is little plot or character development

Can watch. Don’t expect too much.

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