Slice of Life, Sweet, Warm, Cute, and Hilarious without being Stupid
I don't know who came up with the drama description, but I almost skipped this one because of it, and boy would that have been a loss for me! To clarify, FL is NOT some indecisive buffoon who doesn't know what to do with her life. Quite the opposite, actually; she is very proactive, motivated, and methodical about how she wants to pursue life after college in terms of her career. This isn't some genius guy falls in love with dumb bimbo sort of story. In many ways, FL is smarter than ML; she just happened to not be a science major. What the description should actually say is that the FL realized towards the end of college that she actually wanted to pursue a career outside her major, and due to having to amass the credentials to apply for job positions once she graduates, winds up living in the same apartment as the ML. Now that we've gotten that cleared up, let's go over what's great about this show.
1. Plot
The show is about fourth-year college students who are on the cusp of entering the adult world. They are young enough to still be innocent in some areas, but mature enough that they don't pull childish moves on each other out of spite. There are no dramatic twists, no angsty deaths or injuries, no catfights out of petty jealousy. The drama lies in how people who are in love figure out how to show it, and honestly? That's interesting to watch, because if you think about it, even though this seems very straightforward, if someone were to ask you to give them advice on how to approach someone they like but don't know if this is reciprocated, how easy would it be for you to teach them? Interspersed between this is the college life of preparing for a future while indulging in the present as long as it lasts. Characters have fun. Characters get stressed about the future. All things that anyone who's gone through college ought to sympathize with. The romance feels clean and despite the weird premise (in the real world I don't think any parent would set up their children to live together if they're of different genders, at least not in China) it actually feels realistic, and I can see a real couple going through something similar. At no point did I get frustrated with how intentionally dense someone was, or feel like we've taken a step backwards. Everything was smooth and logical and all the characters reacted reasonably to their situations. Watching this drama feels like skating on freshly smoothed ice, or sledding on undisturbed snow.
2. Music
I came across a lot of dramas where the music wasn't great. It wasn't even that the music itself was bad; sometimes the songs were great songs. They just weren't used well. Most of the time, they can be intrusive, and jar you out of the immersion instead of pulling you in deeper. The music in this drama features a rotating queue of a limited soundtrack list, however they all fit well with what's happening onscreen, and enhance the often playful, optimistic tone of the show.
Also, the sound effects. Puppies barking, kittens meowing, frogs ribbiting. On point, and just the cutest.
3. Side characters are enjoyable
And they don't steal time from the main couple! In many dramas, I've generally fast-forwarded any secondary character scenes (I'm looking at you, Dilraba Dilmurat from Eternal Love. Why were you even there? You added absolutely nothing! Just stick with the Pillow Book and stop stealing screen time from Yang Mi!) but in this drama, all of the characters contributed in some way to the main arc, even when they had their personal arcs. And the editing was such that when we did focus on their stories instead, it functioned as a much-needed change of scenery. They were also built up well; as secondary characters, they shouldn't be as fleshed out as the main couple, and the show doesn't try. These characters felt solidly like a supporting cast, until the plot introduced a question that only they could answer, and only then did the show flesh them out, in a quick, efficient way that was both sufficient and satisfying. It really felt like they enhanced the story without detracting from it, which is something many shows struggle with (like you, Sunshine of My Life, with freaking THREE romances going on at once. I saved so much time fastforwarding and I still didn't miss a thing.)
4. Good to relieve stress
This isn't a show that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Go watch Game of Thrones if you're in the mood for that. There are no adrenaline highs and no cathartic lows here. In the end, this is just a show about reasonable people with common sense who are good to each other because they love each other. Though seriously, how many (good) shows like this can you name?
1. Plot
The show is about fourth-year college students who are on the cusp of entering the adult world. They are young enough to still be innocent in some areas, but mature enough that they don't pull childish moves on each other out of spite. There are no dramatic twists, no angsty deaths or injuries, no catfights out of petty jealousy. The drama lies in how people who are in love figure out how to show it, and honestly? That's interesting to watch, because if you think about it, even though this seems very straightforward, if someone were to ask you to give them advice on how to approach someone they like but don't know if this is reciprocated, how easy would it be for you to teach them? Interspersed between this is the college life of preparing for a future while indulging in the present as long as it lasts. Characters have fun. Characters get stressed about the future. All things that anyone who's gone through college ought to sympathize with. The romance feels clean and despite the weird premise (in the real world I don't think any parent would set up their children to live together if they're of different genders, at least not in China) it actually feels realistic, and I can see a real couple going through something similar. At no point did I get frustrated with how intentionally dense someone was, or feel like we've taken a step backwards. Everything was smooth and logical and all the characters reacted reasonably to their situations. Watching this drama feels like skating on freshly smoothed ice, or sledding on undisturbed snow.
2. Music
I came across a lot of dramas where the music wasn't great. It wasn't even that the music itself was bad; sometimes the songs were great songs. They just weren't used well. Most of the time, they can be intrusive, and jar you out of the immersion instead of pulling you in deeper. The music in this drama features a rotating queue of a limited soundtrack list, however they all fit well with what's happening onscreen, and enhance the often playful, optimistic tone of the show.
Also, the sound effects. Puppies barking, kittens meowing, frogs ribbiting. On point, and just the cutest.
3. Side characters are enjoyable
And they don't steal time from the main couple! In many dramas, I've generally fast-forwarded any secondary character scenes (I'm looking at you, Dilraba Dilmurat from Eternal Love. Why were you even there? You added absolutely nothing! Just stick with the Pillow Book and stop stealing screen time from Yang Mi!) but in this drama, all of the characters contributed in some way to the main arc, even when they had their personal arcs. And the editing was such that when we did focus on their stories instead, it functioned as a much-needed change of scenery. They were also built up well; as secondary characters, they shouldn't be as fleshed out as the main couple, and the show doesn't try. These characters felt solidly like a supporting cast, until the plot introduced a question that only they could answer, and only then did the show flesh them out, in a quick, efficient way that was both sufficient and satisfying. It really felt like they enhanced the story without detracting from it, which is something many shows struggle with (like you, Sunshine of My Life, with freaking THREE romances going on at once. I saved so much time fastforwarding and I still didn't miss a thing.)
4. Good to relieve stress
This isn't a show that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Go watch Game of Thrones if you're in the mood for that. There are no adrenaline highs and no cathartic lows here. In the end, this is just a show about reasonable people with common sense who are good to each other because they love each other. Though seriously, how many (good) shows like this can you name?
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