Charlie_xo
New Zealand
This review may contain spoilers
Let me start off by saying that you're either going to love or hate this drama. There's not really an in-between feeling with this one.
The good stuff:
Casting - I feel the casting team did a great job. I actually started watching because of Shen Yue but found that casting of Darren Chen, Caesar Wu and of course Dylan Wang pretty much nailed it in terms of outer appearances.
Soundtrack - I actually really enjoyed the music that was played throughout that drama. I think they choose the right songs for the right moments and I loved how they subtly used the original songs in some scenes.
Original tropes - Aside from the obvious fact that Daoming Zhuang is played by Barbie Hsu's real life sister, there are many more tropes, linking it to the original that is super cute.
Chemistry - Again chemistry between leads were on point. The only reason why I made it to the finish line was actually the chemistry. Not just the main lead couple but all of them as a whole. I usually don't have second lead syndrome but I was rooting for Hua Ze Lei more than Daoming Si in this version. The main lead still had a lot of chemistry but I enjoyed the screen time between Shen Yue and Darren more for some reason.
Emotional Scenes - Shen Yue cries like an absolute angel. It's super natural and i'm a sucker for emotional scenes. In particular, the hot pot break up scene and their last date in London still lingers in my heart even now. Both main leads nailed the crying scene there. The scene where Shancai walks to Daoming Si's room after standing in the rain and collapsing due to exhaustion was a killer one as well although I wish it was a little more extended.
The bad stuff:
Acting - To be honest there were some scenes that really highlighted the young cast's acting ability but overall i'm sorry to say, their acting was pretty bad. I am no acting expert and yes it's harder than it looks and these guys are all mostly rookies but if no one is going to speak up about this, how are they all meant to get better? I'm sorry to say that the acting was very stiff and sometimes you could actually see them glimpsing directly at the camera.
Story - I appreciated the fact that they toned down the bullying and adapted into a way that is more relevant to today's generation which is centered around the internet. What I did not enjoy was the fact that the story moved rapidly at the start and became stagnant in the middle. Obviously the story is nothing new and we all kinda knew where the train was heading but there were parts that really had no relevance to the original story or adding depth to the current one. For example Mei Zuo's strange love triangle. Like WTF? I can understand that they wanted to give this character more screen time as he hasn't received that in any of the other previous versions but that stupid love triangle was the biggest wast of time.
Dubbing: Why? Just WHY? I understand when period drama's need dubbing to be more accurate to the time and place but modern drama? Really? Shancai's voice was soo annoying that it actually still irks me now. Shen Yue's voice is actually quite nice as it is and it was not dubbed in A Love So Beautiful so I don't really understand why they had to use dubbing here.
Setting - Considering that it is set in university, the whole drama feel was VERY childish. They either should have used the same cast in a high school setting or a more mature cast in the uni setting and made it a tiny bit more mature while staying true to the original story line.
The downright ugly:
Product placement - Okay so at some points I actually had to check to see if I was still watching the drama or was I watching a commercial? Absolutely absurd the way products were shot and used in this drama like how clear do you want to make it that these brands are sponsoring you? Product placements here is the worst I have ever seen in any drama to date.
Ending episodes - Just WTF? The final episodes were the most ridiculous, laughable and down right stupid scenes I have ever had the misfortune of seeing on any drama. His mum conceding because of a video he made detailing how he's grown up but does piece signs and checks his hair at the end? The weird as fuck wedding with no parents and the worst ever dance from his sister? Their weird star gazing in London where Hua Ze Lei is hard core third wheeling? I could literally go on for hours about how the ending was a disgrace but I think you get the gist of it.
So on that note, it concludes my review. All I can really say is that i've seen it, it was below average but with good chemistry and a terrible, terrible end.
The good stuff:
Casting - I feel the casting team did a great job. I actually started watching because of Shen Yue but found that casting of Darren Chen, Caesar Wu and of course Dylan Wang pretty much nailed it in terms of outer appearances.
Soundtrack - I actually really enjoyed the music that was played throughout that drama. I think they choose the right songs for the right moments and I loved how they subtly used the original songs in some scenes.
Original tropes - Aside from the obvious fact that Daoming Zhuang is played by Barbie Hsu's real life sister, there are many more tropes, linking it to the original that is super cute.
Chemistry - Again chemistry between leads were on point. The only reason why I made it to the finish line was actually the chemistry. Not just the main lead couple but all of them as a whole. I usually don't have second lead syndrome but I was rooting for Hua Ze Lei more than Daoming Si in this version. The main lead still had a lot of chemistry but I enjoyed the screen time between Shen Yue and Darren more for some reason.
Emotional Scenes - Shen Yue cries like an absolute angel. It's super natural and i'm a sucker for emotional scenes. In particular, the hot pot break up scene and their last date in London still lingers in my heart even now. Both main leads nailed the crying scene there. The scene where Shancai walks to Daoming Si's room after standing in the rain and collapsing due to exhaustion was a killer one as well although I wish it was a little more extended.
The bad stuff:
Acting - To be honest there were some scenes that really highlighted the young cast's acting ability but overall i'm sorry to say, their acting was pretty bad. I am no acting expert and yes it's harder than it looks and these guys are all mostly rookies but if no one is going to speak up about this, how are they all meant to get better? I'm sorry to say that the acting was very stiff and sometimes you could actually see them glimpsing directly at the camera.
Story - I appreciated the fact that they toned down the bullying and adapted into a way that is more relevant to today's generation which is centered around the internet. What I did not enjoy was the fact that the story moved rapidly at the start and became stagnant in the middle. Obviously the story is nothing new and we all kinda knew where the train was heading but there were parts that really had no relevance to the original story or adding depth to the current one. For example Mei Zuo's strange love triangle. Like WTF? I can understand that they wanted to give this character more screen time as he hasn't received that in any of the other previous versions but that stupid love triangle was the biggest wast of time.
Dubbing: Why? Just WHY? I understand when period drama's need dubbing to be more accurate to the time and place but modern drama? Really? Shancai's voice was soo annoying that it actually still irks me now. Shen Yue's voice is actually quite nice as it is and it was not dubbed in A Love So Beautiful so I don't really understand why they had to use dubbing here.
Setting - Considering that it is set in university, the whole drama feel was VERY childish. They either should have used the same cast in a high school setting or a more mature cast in the uni setting and made it a tiny bit more mature while staying true to the original story line.
The downright ugly:
Product placement - Okay so at some points I actually had to check to see if I was still watching the drama or was I watching a commercial? Absolutely absurd the way products were shot and used in this drama like how clear do you want to make it that these brands are sponsoring you? Product placements here is the worst I have ever seen in any drama to date.
Ending episodes - Just WTF? The final episodes were the most ridiculous, laughable and down right stupid scenes I have ever had the misfortune of seeing on any drama. His mum conceding because of a video he made detailing how he's grown up but does piece signs and checks his hair at the end? The weird as fuck wedding with no parents and the worst ever dance from his sister? Their weird star gazing in London where Hua Ze Lei is hard core third wheeling? I could literally go on for hours about how the ending was a disgrace but I think you get the gist of it.
So on that note, it concludes my review. All I can really say is that i've seen it, it was below average but with good chemistry and a terrible, terrible end.
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