Better than I anticipated. I went into it half expecting to drop it eventually or skip a lot of scenes, but neither occurred. The series did start off to a slow start, but picked up pace once the main leads went steady in their relationship. Perhaps some viewers may actually prefer ML pursuing the FL and the constant back and forth between them in the beginning episodes (let's say, ep 1 - 20), but I don't like when the inevitable is unnecessarily drawn out. We know they're going to end up together so get on with it already, is my view. Sure, I do love the chase as well, but it shouldn't overstay its welcome. Those dramas where the leads only get together at the end of the show are the worse.

Thankfully that didn't happen here. Once they got on board with each other, they stuck together and I enjoyed the show a lot better. And definitely they were the best thing about this drama. They had incredibly GREAT chemistry (a few decent kiss scenes & some sweet, cuddly moments, though not enough for my tastes) and played massively well off each other. They seemed very convincing as a couple. I think these two genuinely enjoyed each other's company as they were filming because it came through very well on screen.

And can I just say, the ML is sooo hot. I dunno if his voice was dubbed or not, but I loved listening to him speak. His bad boy swagger will have you drooling all over your computer. Can't believe the actor was only 27/28 at the time of filming; he had a more solid, big man vibe to him. I really loved their interactions & dynamic as a couple. This was a mature and strong couple who communicated well and worked out their problems like grown adults. The ML more so than the FL.

ML was the perfect modern gentleman. He was a protector, he doted on the FL (I love how playful & teasing he was toward her), gave her a lot of space & leeway to be herself and do her own thing. Sometimes the FL didn't seem to appreciate how much he cared for her, which was a bit off-putting when considering how chivalrous he was. At times she was a bit on the immature side, a little too self-absorbed and entitled as many modern women are. There were moments that felt like she took the ML for granted, acting in inconsiderate ways without thought or consequence for his feelings. Or putting other people before him. Perhaps there were some cultural codes at play that I didn't fully grasp (guanxi), but I didn't like how she handled certain things. Loyalty is super important in a relationship and at certain times she didn't appear very loyal at all to me.

Her good points were that she was ambitious and capable, but not as obnoxious as some FLs are in western shows. This definitely was a drama geared toward women with a clear feminist undertone, but it wasn't man-bashing and I certainly hope Asian shows never go that route because I really hate how woke culture has destroyed western entertainment. Most western shows have basically become totally unwatchable for me. Overall, FL was a good heroine and I guess both of them can't be perfect.

I wasn't a major fan of the 2nd lead couple. They both seemed too immature to really know what they were getting themselves into. I think both their parents were right to be concerned. The 2ML was particularly earnest, but I just couldn't warm to them as a couple. Qin Qing seemed too spoiled and self-centred to care about anyone but herself in the long term. And maybe because I much prefer alpha male leads than sweet cuddly ones? That's definitely a part of it, but not entirely. I would have much preferred to see more scenes with ML's rival and his wife than these two.

Some of the negative comments against this drama are a bit frivilous (typical on MDL :/). People down voting the drama for product placement and a ring tone ... ::eyeroll::
Sure, the product placement was quite obvious in this drama. You really couldn't miss it, but that's kind of the point, isn't it? And at least they incorporated it well into the story, rather than just randomly placing it in scenes where they don't belong. I've seen worse product placement attempts in K-dramas. As for the ringtone, yes, it was a bit repetitive and quite odd that everyone had the same one, but it wasn't a big deal. Certainly nothing to give this show a bad rating for. Those first 2 reviews on the drama's front page are totally out of line, imo.

Anyway, it's been a minute since I watched a K-drama, but overall, this drama to me is a lot better than half the K-romcoms I've watched over the years and somewhat of a huge improvement on other C-dramas I've seen. While there's a lot of censorship in both C-dramas & K-dramas, I like how C-dramas deal with love, romance and familial matters better. Sometimes K-dramas are just way too conservative and cringey in their portrayal of modern day romance. Moreover, I couldn't imagine a lot of the stuff going down in this drama happening in a K-drama (ie. cohabitation b4 marriage & 2ML telling off his interfering mom & not groveling to her later on). On that alone, Love Designer scores major points.