It is good legal melodrama with not too much legal jargons. Deal with human stories.
Fearless is a legal melodrama about a housewife who passed the judicial examination through self-study, starting Rayzha Alimjan, Wang Yang, and Chuai Ni.The Synopsis: Luo Ying Wei was initially an office worker who passed the judicial examination through self-study; however, she suffered multiple blows: her marriage fell apart, and what's worse, her husband Liu Ming took on huge loans, leaving her deeply in debt. Luo Ying Wei is not one to give up, as she chooses to fight back using legal means.
I like Wang Yang a lot because he is a very talented actor who can act in a variety of roles. In this drama, he plays a sleazy lawyer who seems to care about making money and does not appear to have compassion for his clients. He met his match with Luo Ying Zi (played by Rayzha Alimjan), who is opposite him. She is a strong and confident young lawyer who puts him in his place.
This is my first time watching anything with the FL, and I like her acting ability. She did a great job playing Luo Ying Zi, and Chuai Ni did a good job playing her legal partner as well.
I enjoyed this drama, and its flow was good as well. I gave it a 7.5 rating.
Mediocre drama with mediocre plot and acting skills from the entire cast.
"You From the Future" is a RomCom drama with a total of 24 episodes and 30 minutes in length per episode.The Synopsis: Xia Mo is a recent college graduate who dreams of becoming a popular blogger and gets into a girlfriend living together contract with a cold and arrogant tech company CEO Shen Jun Yao. Their romance blossom while living together in the same house with the help of an AI robot named "Starlight."
Lou Zheng is definitely being typed cast in playing the same cold, arrogant, and into contract-romance with FL in so many. Modern dramas that it is repetitive. His acting ability is one-dimension with no range. Ji Mei Han seems like a newcomer to the entertainment business since 2020; let's hope she has better potential than Lou Zheng.
Overall, it is a mediocre drama with decent but predictable flows. I give it a 6.0 rating because the plot is okay, the acting is mediocre, and the production quality is not great. Too white. The ending was no good and the lost brother story was an unnecessary filler.
It was funny and charming for from ep 1-15, but was boring and stupid afterward.
Royal Rumours is a historical RomCom about an ice-cold Crown Prince, Ji Yuan Shu, and his love interest Hua Liu Li, a general's daughter.The drama was interesting and funny for the first 15 episodes and got boring afterward. I fell asleep watching it. I believe Jeremy Tsui is being typed cast on the same cold, ice-cold, arrogant, yet soft in most historical dramas.
His onscreen chemistry with Meng Zi Yi is much better than Yang Chao Yue in "The Journey of ChongZi," which I dropped because of the horrible acting of YCY, and the dubbing was unbearable.
Meng Zi Yi is a better actress than YCY, and the plot for this drama is better than TJOCZ. I didn't like episodes 16 to 24 and didn't bother to rewatch them because I fell asleep.
Overall, I am giving it a 6.0, and if you have not started, I would not bother with it.
Don't waste your time with this dram - So Wrong on many levels and it cringed me.
Twilight is a drama that has gone wrong in so many ways, the plot is stupid, too many unnecessary fillers, and the acting was horrible by the main CP.So Wrong on many levels:
- Allen Ren and Angelababy are pretty to look at on screen but cannot act. They are one-dimensional actors who can't show or express emotions during the most dramatic scenes. At least, I think Angelababy did a better job than Allen Ren.
- Their onscreen chemistry sucks, and no romantic or even kissing scenes between the two, and they are a couple.
I understand that Qi Lian Shan is a scriptwriter. Still, every episode has to fill in with what story he was writing when he got the inspiration to write the scripts.
- Some supporting roles were unnecessary to be added, like Yang You Li, Lian Jing Yun, and many others, like Professor Wan, were useless and not helping Liu Xia improve her PTSD problem.
- I fast-forwarded so many episodes, and I should have dropped it. Still, I stuck around because the character of Jia Zhen (played by Jia Jing Hui) made the story more interesting. He was a nostalgic selfish person who was incompetent on many levels but never saw it as he was at fault, like asshole Donald Trump.
- Qi Lian Shan is so stupid and clueless. He never questioned Jia Zhen, did not confront him about his conniving, and took advantage of Qi Lian Shan in many ways.
- Yuan Yuan (played by Li Yi Ru) is another stupid person who saw the evil in Jai Zhen but did not have the gut to stand up for herself and Qi Lian Shan until the last episode. Her character was another unnecessary one.
- This drama may be better in 20-24 episodes instead of 40. I give it a 2.5 rating, don't waste your time with it, like I did with mine.
Good acting but unrealistic story and it is too long
The production quality of this drama is not bad; however, I don't like the storyline of this drama.Yang Mi's character is a lawyer, but there was no courtroom scene where it showcased her professional skills. The entire premise of this drama was on her professional relationships with co-workers, her boss, and her fake husband (not many scenes between them).
If the focus is on them, then I rather that the drama have more scenes as their characters unfold. However, of all the Xu Kai's dramas that I watched and dropped, I don't think he is a good actor. The only thing that he has going for him is his good look.
Nevertheless, I think he did his best work as an actor in this drama because he used his voice and showed some vulnerability that I did not see in other dramas. A big improvement; Yang Mi's acting in this drama is mediocre, not great.
I am giving it 5.5 ratings out of 10. I think the flow of the drama would be better if it was 30 episodes instead of 40. It became draggy, and the supporting cast did not act well.
A decent and watchable drama and the dishes and presentation of the food makes my mouth water.
Fry Me to the Moon is another women-centric drama about three female friends who rely on each other in the cruel business world of restaurants and their competition to stay afloat through investors and acquisitions.Synopsis: Three women who wouldn't have known each other without a fight go against the routine and stand side by side in facing life's challenges. They never give up their persistence towards love and pursuit of ideals. Lu Zhen Zhen, who takes her career very seriously, returns to Chengdu while disregarding everything for the sake of love. Gu Man Ting, who married her childhood sweetheart very early on, wants to escape her marriage. She invites Zhen Zhen to join her business, "Chuanbailou." The sudden appearance of catering entrepreneur Liang Qing Ran disrupts their trajectory, and the crisis at "Chuanbailou" allows the three very different women to truly get to know each other. As their love, career, and ideals are tested at every level in the city of Chengdu, what choices will they make?
My Reviews:
1. The story progresses nicely in terms of the lives of three women and how they cross paths.
2. They worked together to avenge the takeover of Gu Man Ting's dad's restaurant.
3. They not only worked on their own problems but also became good friends and supported each other in business and personal lives.
4. The dishes and presentation of the food in this drama make my mouth water, and I want to try some of the dishes.
5. I enjoy it. It is not a fantastic drama, but it is watchable.
I give it a 7.0 rating for decent script and decent acting from the cast.
It is decent drama about marriage, and teaches ones to set boundaries with in-laws.
Simple Days is a melodrama about a couple who did not set boundaries with their in-laws, were spoiled by their parents, and allowed their parents to interfere in their lives. Even though they love each other, they end up having a fake divorce to realize that they must grow up and set boundaries.Synopsis: Gu Mo Li and Zhu Jin Cao struggled in their hometown to take root in Shanghai and start a family. However, marriage brought another problem that should not have been a problem - how to get along with their parents. The young couple's life was riddled with crises, from losing personal space to disagreements with each other's parents to differences between them. When things got out of hand, the couple discovered that the problems were of their own doing and decided to divorce and sort out their family relationships.
With the arrival of the divorce certificate, the challenges for the young couple and their families have just begun. Setbacks always accompany growth. After the divorce, the two encountered various problems, such as trust and financial crises, which helped them better understand their family responsibilities. As each issue was resolved, both parents understood they had to learn to let their children grow up.
My Reviews:
- The acting from the entire cast was good, and the storyline is okay.
- The drama's flow and progression were good, but there were too many crises and mistrust between the families and the young couple.
It is a bit old-school for parents to interject their viewpoints into their children's marriages. This creates conflict and adds stress for their children.
- If I were in that situation, I would divorce, too. The husband is so weak he can't stand up to tell his dad to back off and confront him about his abuse of his mom.
I enjoy the drama and give it a 7.5 rating for good acting and decent script.
Good acting from Yang Zi. Good story about friendship from childhood to adulthood
Love Endures is a melodrama about a group of childhood friends who were there for each other and extremely close from high school to adulthood.The Synopsis:
Huang Ying Zi, Jiang Yi, Fang Ming Yu, Zhuang Yuan, Lan Yi Fei, and Guan Chao grew up together in Hangtian City, becoming known as the "Hangtian City F6". The good friends had promised to be together for the rest of their lives. Still, they were forced to abandon their promise because of an accident in the year of their Gaokao college entrance examination.
Twelve years later, at 30, each walked alone on their respective life paths, working hard and growing up in the adult world. Suddenly, one day, they received the news that their good friend Guan Chao was about to get married. With the help of Huang Ying Zi, the old friends reunited during the wedding, and their memories of youth slowly unfolded.
Only then did they realize that the feelings that had sprouted when they were seventeen had never dissipated. Many misunderstandings were behind the accident; in fact, the friendship that stayed in the past had never ended.
My Reviews
1. When it was first broadcast, It was unavailable on my personal YOUKU App, where I am a paid VIP member.
2. I have to watch on YouTube under the Kukan channel, where the audio is silent in every episode, and the auto-translation for English subtitles is inaccurate.
3. There are too many flashbacks. I am watching 18 episodes already. It is frustrating to see Ying Zi and Jiang Yi go back and forth, and no one is forthcoming about liking each other.
4. They are now in their adulthood and still behave childishly instead of being honest about their feelings for one another.
5. Episodes 25-32 got interesting as Jiang Yi and their friends try to help Ying Zi overcome and accept the reality that Yi Fei died via suicide, but how they go about helping her from PTSD through a virtual reality game is not realistic.
6. I think it would be better if they help her go through a psychologist to overcome her PTSD instead.
7. The acting is good, especially Yang Zi's; her onscreen chemistry with Fan Cheng Cheng was okay but could have been better. She has better onscreen chemistry with Xiao Zhan in the Oath of Love.
Overall, it was a decent drama, and I enjoyed it; because of the silent audio from Kukan, I gave it a 7.5 rating instead of 8.0
Short and binge-able web drama about rekindling love.
"Just Spoil You" is a short web drama with 10 minutes per episode with 20 episodes in total. I binged watch it in one sitting.Synopsis: A Young and beautiful manhua artist Zhong Ling, to treat her son Kele's congenital diabetes, returns to the city she left six years ago due to her breakup with her ex-boyfriend Han Donglai. Unexpectedly, when Kele gets lost, he coincidentally encounters a man who resembles Han Donglai. This character consistently appears in his mother's manhua. Mistaking him for his father, Kele is taken to Han Donglai's office, leading to their reunion and the beginning of a tumultuous love-hate relationship. The intertwined destinies of the two unfold once again as they confront Kele's origin and health condition.
On the one hand, Zhong Ling's departure over the past six years has turned her friend Chu Mo into a popular superstar. The opportunity to adapt her manga into a film recommended by Han Donglai stirs jealousy in his heart, leading him to investigate secretly. On the other hand, Zhong Ling's return drives Lin Xiaxi, who has always deeply loved Han Donglai, to madness, resulting in repeated acts of secret revenge. Who is Kele's biological father? Will there be a chance for a reunion in the former lovers' relationship?
Review: It was a short and decent drama to binge-watch. No new good dramas were recently announced, and this one pop-up on iQiyi, so I watched it.
Mediocre acting and the script is decent, so I give it a 7.0 rating.
Loved and enjoyed this drama, but was disappointed with the last 4 episodes.
Love Heals (a.k.a. Have a crush on you, personally, I like Love Heal's title better) is a medical melodrama that I found enjoyable to watch.This is my first drama where Wang Chu Ran plays FL, and I can't wait to see her playing the same (doctor role) in her upcoming drama with Yang Yang in "My Fireworks on Earth."
I like Peng Guan Ying, and I think he is a good actor with a good range. I watched him in (To Dear Myseff, Two Conjectures About Marriage, and Unexpected Falling) and liked him in all of them.
The pairing between him and Wang Chu Ran is quite good; they have awesome on/off-screen chemistry. The characters that they play in this drama are perfect, and the supporting cast is not bad either for the 2nd and 3rd CP.
The young actor (Ling Chen) who plays Ning Xiang, the adopted son of Dr. Ning Zhi Qian, is adorable. No dubbing in this drama, too, so definitely a plus.
I enjoy their teacher/student dynamic, where he helps her grow and build her into a confident neurosurgeon. It is good to see that they rekindle their love for each other after 6 years of divorce.
I am giving it an 8.0 rating, and it has high rewatchable values. Again, Tencent's production quality is not good; too many bright white lights. I would give higher rating if it was ended in episode 32 because the last 4 episodes were unnecessary and stupid. To have him had an amnesia was so dumb. It discredited the previous 32 episodes.
Typical story about older woman younger man love, nothing special.
Sunshine by My Side is a melodramatic Cdrama about an older woman and younger man's relationship. The story wraps around Jian Bing, a well-known divorced advertising director, and her relationship with Sheng Yang, a newcomer in the industry.Sheng Yang met Jian Bing 10 years ago when he was in high school. He admired her and has secretly had a crush on her since. However, challenges in life are inevitable. Faced with their differences in identities and experiences, objections towards their relationship within their families, and rumors in the workplace escalating, Jian Bing and Sheng Yang finally decided to let their future play out over time. Three years passed, allowing them to grow and change for the better. Many of their firsts were spent with each other, and this trust they held and the experiences they shared back then went around and finally found them, making them gravitate towards each other again.
The story is nothing special, but I like the comedy aspect of this drama, especially the supporting cast, particularly Sheng Yang's parents, played by Yang Hao Yu and Wang Lin. This dynamic duo did a great job as supported parents who frequently bickered at each other but had a deep love for one another.
Xiao Zhan and Bai Bai He did a decent job playing the main CP; however, the plot is nothing special, and I think Xiao Zhan's acting ability was underutilized. I didn't like the ending of this drama, so I gave it a 7.5 rating.
Not as good as I expected
The production quality of this drama was awesome. iQiYi production quality is much better than Tencent and MangoTV.I like the first 10 episodes of this drama because the acting skills of the lead actors are good and quite comical. The entire ensemble is good too.
However, I got so bored as the story unfolded about the fighting among the brothers, and it got draggy; hence I got bored and found myself fast forward some of the scenes.
Bai Jing Ting and Tian Xi Wei did a good job as the main CP, and their onscreen chemistry is quite good. I like Bai Jing Ting a lot and have watched many of his dramas and mostly modern dramas. I watched this first costume of his, and he did a decent job. It is a drama where he had multiple kissing scenes where he had not had many kissing scenes in the past, like Irreplaceable love, The ordinary Glory, etc.
This is my first drama with Tian Xi Wei, where she played the lead role and did a good job. I will give it a 7.5 or 8.0 rating if the drama is cut short to 30 episodes instead of 40. As it is because it was draggy, so I am giving it a 6.5 rating out of 10.
I don't like Republican Era drama, but this is an exceptional one with great acting.
War of Faith is the Republican Era drama about the rise and fall of the Koumingtang Central Bank during the 1930s in Shanghai. Led by Wang Yibo, Wang Yang, and Li Qin.I don't like the Republican Era dramas because most of them have the same theme and a lot of propaganda about the rise of the communist Party and the patriotism of the Party during the Japanese invasion of China from the 1930s to 1945. War of Faith is a bit different, with good script and exceptional acting by Wang Yang, Wang YiBo, and LiQin.
Synopsis: Set in 1930s Shanghai, Wei Ruo Lai, an ordinary employee at the Kuomintang Central Bank, rises through the ranks due to his exceptional abilities, catching the attention of the senior advisor, Shen Tu Nan. However, as he confronts the corruption within the Kuomintang's financial realm, his path diverges from Shen Tu Nan's. A chance encounter with Shen Jin Zhen leads him to make different choices.
Transferred to Jiangxi as part of the Party's plan, Wei Ruo Lai became a key player in the non-military battle to break the Kuomintang's economic blockade on the Central Soviet Area. This unfolds his journey of evolving from a Kuomintang insider to a formidable red financier under the unwavering leadership of the Communist Party.
My Reviews:
1. The Republican-era dramas all have the same storyline and are predictable. They took place in Shanghai from the mid-1930s to 1945, with the introduction of the rise of the Communist Party and its triumph at the end of WW2 after it defeated the Japanese with the help of the Americans.
2. I am done with the Republican-era genre, but this one is unique because the main leads' acting is so good.
3. Yibo showed his best acting talents in this drama compared to his other dramas. Exceptional acting from Yibo, Li Qin, and Wang Yang. I adored Wang Yang, he is a seasoned actor.
4. The script is good and focuses less on the Japanese invasion than other Republican dramas. It focuses mainly on the greed and corruption of the Kuomingtang Party and their brutality against people, especially the communist people.
5. The brutal crimes and politics behind the rise and fall of the Central Bank's financial market were luring and engaging.
6. There is no romance between Wei Rou Lai and Shen Jin Zhen, even though her brother wants it to be. They love and respect each other but never confess their love for each other.
7. Sadly, Shen Jin Zhen died in episode 36 due to the ambush of Captain Lin.
8. Zhang Tian Yang was awesome as Captain Lin in this drama. It is his best acting job thus far. He was okay and mediocre in other dramas, but he was good at playing the brutal and bad guy in this drama.
I greatly enjoyed this drama and gave it a 9.0 rating because of the ensemble's exceptional acting.
Chinese version of Mr. & Mrs Smith. Decent Spy drama of a couple from different sides.
Mr. & Mrs. Chen is a spy drama set in the 1940s. Former lovers Zuo Shuang Tao and Chen Jia Ping unexpectedly reunite and rekindle their love in a sea of spies as they pursue the same goals.This is the Chinese version of American Mr. & Mrs Smith (played by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.)
It is not a bad drama with a lot of suspenseful moments. The acting is good from the lead actor and actress (Elvis Han and Guan Xiao Tong.)
I would rate it higher if it showed more romance between the lead actors. It is a good watch, and I enjoyed it. I give it a 7.5 rating.
Fantastic sisterly and family bonding drama - A tear jerking worthy, to watch drama
"Hello Beautiful Life" is a story about siblings and the family bond as they go through life.I am watching about 25 episodes already, and I like this drama, and I think Rachel Mao did a good job in carrying this drama. The character she played, Sun Xiang, was adorable, lovable, passionate about cooking, and innocent. Her sister Sun Xin is a career-driven person who protects her sister but also financially provides for and supports her family.
Zhang Kai-Li is a seasoned actress who played motherly supported roles in many dramas; however, I was not too fond of the character she played in this drama because her character is an overbearing mother who thinks she has her daughter's best interests in mind. She is also a tough and strict mother and wife to her husband. She has no respect for her husband, and I don't blame her because her husband is a weak and useless man.
As the story progresses and they faced adversities but the bond of sisterly and family love unwavering. The acting of the entire ensemble was phenomenal, especially the two FL actresses. Overall, I enjoy the drama, and it is a bit slow and draggy but engaging at the same time. I am giving it a 8.0 rating.