Tyun
Down Under
This review may contain spoilers
A wholesome drama about first love, friendship, family and youth. There are already 40+ reviews saying how good this drama is and.......... just like them, if you are reading this, please watch this drama! Read below why I am also promoting this show.
My score of 10 is really from the deeper connection I made while watching this drama. The main selling point for me was from the very beginning in episode 1, the audience are immediately told, "Hey this is my husband and we are married" which is the BEST since most Chinese Romance drama always either give you a cliffhanger as to what will happen in like the final arc or if some 'accident/misfortune' happens which results in an unhappy ending. By already telling us the story will end in a happy ending, the audience will shift from watching the show for the ending, to observing how the characters interact with each other throughout the story/ their life which is the main engagement.
Also as noted in the Drama Summary, the drama is based off a true real-life story from a Chinese Novel based off the author's relationship with her husband which gives the drama another level of intimacy.
Story/Plot
The initial story revolves around the characters' high school life. The story closely follows Qiao Yi's experiences during high school while also coping with her family's situation. The audience gets to know about the other characters' backstories and their current family situation which creates depth and understanding. The story focuses on relationships and how or why their bonds were so strong from the beginning. IMO the highschool arc was done well as the main focus was first love, family and youth. The second half the drama focuses on their adulthood and Qiao Yi trying to find Yan Mo once again. The main attention shifts to rekindling the lost love between the characters and embracing their feelings for one another. A few reviews stated they didn't like the flashbacks, IMO the story is still very solid and only a few flashbacks were missing which is why I think the drama released a special episode to make up for the 'missing' scenes. A few side story arcs were glanced over, but that is alright IMO (e.g. Wu Yi's mother). The drama should just be renamed to "My First Love".
Also hats off to the production team for adding in 30 second snippets of Yan Mo and Qiao Yi's married life at the start of the early episodes to engage (and remind) the audience that the couple are having a happy ending. Great tactic.
Acting/Cast/Characters
All characters are well protrayed and acted out perfectly. For once, each notable character has their own well-developed backstory + a role in the drama even if they are a supporting cast. Below I will only summarise the characters when they were still in high school since their adult life is also shaped from their youth.
- Yan Mo is the smart, top of your class, know-it-all introvert who doesn't like interacting with others. He is the one who sits in the corner of your class, earphones in listening to classical music (in this case The Beatles). He is likeable because once he interacts with Qiao Yi more and more, he comes out of his shell a little more each time. Eventually, once he falls for Qiao Yi, oh he is not an introvert anymore, he charges headstrong and is always talking/thinking about Qiao Yi.
- Zhao Qiao Yi is your not-so-smart classmate who is ranked bottom 5 of her year. Even though she knows she is not smart, she still tries her best and finds a career path she wants to do in the future. Knowing she needs help, she asks Yan Mo to home-tutor her which begins the start of their friendship (wink). The audience mostly falls for Qiao Yi due to her family's situation of being poor and how she copes with school life. Later on, it is about finding Yan Mo again and how she can be close with him again.
- Zhao Guan Chao is Zhao Qiao Yi's older twin brother. Guan Chao is a 'bird without feet', he is a playboy who likes to flirt and move between different girlfriends, but IMO he really only fell in love once and that is with Wu Yi. Being the older brother, Guan Chao is like the shield and protector of Qiao Yi. Whenever, Qiao Yi is having a hard time, he will always be there for her, the man of the house.
- Hao Wu Yi is Qiao Yi's best friend. In plain-text, Wu Yi has mummy-issues so that is why Qiao Yi is like her only family member and she yearns for a relationship. Even when Wu Yi grows up, she still holds onto her teenager mentality which is not frustrating to watch and actually quite likeable. It is cute to watch how she handles 'adult-life' since she does not have a family to ask for guidance.
- Fei Da Chuan is everybody's 'best' friend. Even though he looks rough and acts like a bully, he is actually kind-hearted and will be there for you. He will be the first person to come out and stand up for you in time of need and be there for you when you want to have a chat.
-Cheng Yu Mei (Alicia) is Yan Mo's alleged 'fiance' which is in fact just his childhood friend. Yu Mei was there for him when Yan Mo was suffering from the heartbreak after graduation. Rest assured, Yu Mei doesn't really make a move on Yan Mo, she is more like an old friend silently watching over him. She appears more when everyone moves to university and she has a funny love line with Fei Da Chuan.
- I also want to give a massive shoutout to the family members and school collegues as they acted out their roles quite well.
Music
The music/ OSTs really marries with the scenes in the drama. The OSTs on their own are great to listen to, but the production crew really did a good job selecting appropriate songs for specific scenes. It is as if the singer themselves are there singing specifically for the couple at that point in time. Furthermore, the mood the singer sets in their song also perfectly protrays the character's emotions. For me personally, the Songs: "Never Let you Go" IS Qiao Yi's emotions and "Most Loved Friend" is Wu Yi's life (Everytime I hear Most Loved Friend, I cry for Wu Yi, that is how deep of a connection the songs made on me, Queue Episode 34 13:00 -17:30, Wu Yi's Proposal Scene).
Rewatch Value
I would definitely watch this drama again in the future and would recommend to others too. The entire drama gives off such a wholesome, happy atmosphere which will put a smile on your face or cry your eyes out (not due to sadness but how happy you are for them).
Why I gave the drama my current rating? (10)
Having not read the novel, I cannot say how accurate the drama followed the book. Nevertheless the story, characters and production were superb. I may not have stressed this above, but the drama also strongly focuses on family ties which is another form of love. Forgot to mention in 2nd half of the drama, there are some obvious product placement. I don't mind too much since it is not affecting the story and its funding the drama. It has been a while since I cared so much for a show that I have cried my eyes out on multiple occassions and putting my hand up to write this review. This drama is definitely one of my top 5 best shows IN MY LIFE currently. So what are you waiting for, GO WATCH IT NOW@!
My score of 10 is really from the deeper connection I made while watching this drama. The main selling point for me was from the very beginning in episode 1, the audience are immediately told, "Hey this is my husband and we are married" which is the BEST since most Chinese Romance drama always either give you a cliffhanger as to what will happen in like the final arc or if some 'accident/misfortune' happens which results in an unhappy ending. By already telling us the story will end in a happy ending, the audience will shift from watching the show for the ending, to observing how the characters interact with each other throughout the story/ their life which is the main engagement.
Also as noted in the Drama Summary, the drama is based off a true real-life story from a Chinese Novel based off the author's relationship with her husband which gives the drama another level of intimacy.
Story/Plot
The initial story revolves around the characters' high school life. The story closely follows Qiao Yi's experiences during high school while also coping with her family's situation. The audience gets to know about the other characters' backstories and their current family situation which creates depth and understanding. The story focuses on relationships and how or why their bonds were so strong from the beginning. IMO the highschool arc was done well as the main focus was first love, family and youth. The second half the drama focuses on their adulthood and Qiao Yi trying to find Yan Mo once again. The main attention shifts to rekindling the lost love between the characters and embracing their feelings for one another. A few reviews stated they didn't like the flashbacks, IMO the story is still very solid and only a few flashbacks were missing which is why I think the drama released a special episode to make up for the 'missing' scenes. A few side story arcs were glanced over, but that is alright IMO (e.g. Wu Yi's mother). The drama should just be renamed to "My First Love".
Also hats off to the production team for adding in 30 second snippets of Yan Mo and Qiao Yi's married life at the start of the early episodes to engage (and remind) the audience that the couple are having a happy ending. Great tactic.
Acting/Cast/Characters
All characters are well protrayed and acted out perfectly. For once, each notable character has their own well-developed backstory + a role in the drama even if they are a supporting cast. Below I will only summarise the characters when they were still in high school since their adult life is also shaped from their youth.
- Yan Mo is the smart, top of your class, know-it-all introvert who doesn't like interacting with others. He is the one who sits in the corner of your class, earphones in listening to classical music (in this case The Beatles). He is likeable because once he interacts with Qiao Yi more and more, he comes out of his shell a little more each time. Eventually, once he falls for Qiao Yi, oh he is not an introvert anymore, he charges headstrong and is always talking/thinking about Qiao Yi.
- Zhao Qiao Yi is your not-so-smart classmate who is ranked bottom 5 of her year. Even though she knows she is not smart, she still tries her best and finds a career path she wants to do in the future. Knowing she needs help, she asks Yan Mo to home-tutor her which begins the start of their friendship (wink). The audience mostly falls for Qiao Yi due to her family's situation of being poor and how she copes with school life. Later on, it is about finding Yan Mo again and how she can be close with him again.
- Zhao Guan Chao is Zhao Qiao Yi's older twin brother. Guan Chao is a 'bird without feet', he is a playboy who likes to flirt and move between different girlfriends, but IMO he really only fell in love once and that is with Wu Yi. Being the older brother, Guan Chao is like the shield and protector of Qiao Yi. Whenever, Qiao Yi is having a hard time, he will always be there for her, the man of the house.
- Hao Wu Yi is Qiao Yi's best friend. In plain-text, Wu Yi has mummy-issues so that is why Qiao Yi is like her only family member and she yearns for a relationship. Even when Wu Yi grows up, she still holds onto her teenager mentality which is not frustrating to watch and actually quite likeable. It is cute to watch how she handles 'adult-life' since she does not have a family to ask for guidance.
- Fei Da Chuan is everybody's 'best' friend. Even though he looks rough and acts like a bully, he is actually kind-hearted and will be there for you. He will be the first person to come out and stand up for you in time of need and be there for you when you want to have a chat.
-Cheng Yu Mei (Alicia) is Yan Mo's alleged 'fiance' which is in fact just his childhood friend. Yu Mei was there for him when Yan Mo was suffering from the heartbreak after graduation. Rest assured, Yu Mei doesn't really make a move on Yan Mo, she is more like an old friend silently watching over him. She appears more when everyone moves to university and she has a funny love line with Fei Da Chuan.
- I also want to give a massive shoutout to the family members and school collegues as they acted out their roles quite well.
Music
The music/ OSTs really marries with the scenes in the drama. The OSTs on their own are great to listen to, but the production crew really did a good job selecting appropriate songs for specific scenes. It is as if the singer themselves are there singing specifically for the couple at that point in time. Furthermore, the mood the singer sets in their song also perfectly protrays the character's emotions. For me personally, the Songs: "Never Let you Go" IS Qiao Yi's emotions and "Most Loved Friend" is Wu Yi's life (Everytime I hear Most Loved Friend, I cry for Wu Yi, that is how deep of a connection the songs made on me, Queue Episode 34 13:00 -17:30, Wu Yi's Proposal Scene).
Rewatch Value
I would definitely watch this drama again in the future and would recommend to others too. The entire drama gives off such a wholesome, happy atmosphere which will put a smile on your face or cry your eyes out (not due to sadness but how happy you are for them).
Why I gave the drama my current rating? (10)
Having not read the novel, I cannot say how accurate the drama followed the book. Nevertheless the story, characters and production were superb. I may not have stressed this above, but the drama also strongly focuses on family ties which is another form of love. Forgot to mention in 2nd half of the drama, there are some obvious product placement. I don't mind too much since it is not affecting the story and its funding the drama. It has been a while since I cared so much for a show that I have cried my eyes out on multiple occassions and putting my hand up to write this review. This drama is definitely one of my top 5 best shows IN MY LIFE currently. So what are you waiting for, GO WATCH IT NOW@!
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