ShangHaaai
This review may contain spoilers
Cliche plot, questionable acting, and subpar production
Let me start off by saying that I really tried to give this drama a fair chance and that everything in this review is based on my subjective and personal opinions and viewing experience and in no way is meant to slander anyone involved in the production of this drama.
I forgave the tiresome OST and overplayed sparkle sound effects but am still left frustrated and disappointed by this drama. I liked the casting of the main female lead, but the acting was nothing refreshing and sadly exactly what I expected from a cliche rom-com. This goes for the male lead as well. The dialogue was delivered with the stereotypical conveyance of tone and facial expressions that I have seen time and time again from early 2010 dramas, even though this was shot in 2018. The friends of the main female lead were the boring cookie-cutter male and female friends with nothing to give that really added to the plot.
The main soundtrack was boring, overdone and I sighed every time it came on, which was probably a good handful of times every episode, even felt like every time the main leads made so much as simple eye contact. The sound quality of production was not on par with other dramas from the same era - echoey and hollow, with louder background and action sounds than the dialogue at some points.
The two second leads were entirely uninspiring. Their storyline was never not problematic and the acting was really not what I would have expected. The intensely emotional scenes felt empty and hollow, and each delivered with the same facial expressions and tones as the previous one. After episode 13, I started skipping past any scenes that included the 2nd leads. The casting of the 2nd lead male did not work in my opinion. I was more interested in the 2 producers of the reality show storyline than the second lead storyline.
Something I enjoyed was the idea of the reality show, but this part was not done as well and explored as much as I thought it could have been. The wardrobe was passable and thankfully not completely outlandish or unrealistic, and the set designs were also more realistic than some other dramas.
All in all, I enjoyed some of the moments between the 2 main leads, but felt the drama as a whole could have been better executed. The best actor was by far the main male leads manager.
I forgave the tiresome OST and overplayed sparkle sound effects but am still left frustrated and disappointed by this drama. I liked the casting of the main female lead, but the acting was nothing refreshing and sadly exactly what I expected from a cliche rom-com. This goes for the male lead as well. The dialogue was delivered with the stereotypical conveyance of tone and facial expressions that I have seen time and time again from early 2010 dramas, even though this was shot in 2018. The friends of the main female lead were the boring cookie-cutter male and female friends with nothing to give that really added to the plot.
The main soundtrack was boring, overdone and I sighed every time it came on, which was probably a good handful of times every episode, even felt like every time the main leads made so much as simple eye contact. The sound quality of production was not on par with other dramas from the same era - echoey and hollow, with louder background and action sounds than the dialogue at some points.
The two second leads were entirely uninspiring. Their storyline was never not problematic and the acting was really not what I would have expected. The intensely emotional scenes felt empty and hollow, and each delivered with the same facial expressions and tones as the previous one. After episode 13, I started skipping past any scenes that included the 2nd leads. The casting of the 2nd lead male did not work in my opinion. I was more interested in the 2 producers of the reality show storyline than the second lead storyline.
Something I enjoyed was the idea of the reality show, but this part was not done as well and explored as much as I thought it could have been. The wardrobe was passable and thankfully not completely outlandish or unrealistic, and the set designs were also more realistic than some other dramas.
All in all, I enjoyed some of the moments between the 2 main leads, but felt the drama as a whole could have been better executed. The best actor was by far the main male leads manager.
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