4
KingC
Unique and Fascinating.
It's rare for Chinese Dramaland to steer clear off tropes and are often in favour of recycling identical storylines with little to no new twists. Which is why such Urban Fantasies are rare to come by. Strange, funny, and emotional, all rolled into one, Dear Diary is the perfect drama for binging during an extreme drama slump or if you are in the mood for something refreshing with solid substance.
☆ To get a gist of the drama, I suggest listening to the opening OST. (There are no spoilers in both the opening and closing soundtracks.) They perfectly capture the vibes of 'Dear Diary'.
Calling the plot "solid substance" might be a long shot furing the first few episodes. Considering that 3/6 of the characters and the basic plot revolves around a 12-year-old girl's impromptu fanfiction that she was inspired to write while visiting a Babylonion Exhibition. I still do not understand how she oh-so romantically scribbled down a love story after hearing a bloody legend that was far from lovely. What makes this drama a delight is that the now 24-year-old Chen Mei Ru comes face to face with the characters as an adult, leading to hilarious scenarios as she tries to figure out what to do with her sudden "Babylonion Prince, Murong Jie Lun" who as written by her 12-year-old self, is pretty obsessed with her. (The first few episodes are some of the most funniest stuff I've seen in a long time. It wasn't cringey, but genuinely made me laugh.) Worse, her Prince also brings along the two main supporting characters of her story. Her best friend, Jian Huai Zhang and former classmate Duan Shi Lui, all get wrapped in this unexpected adventure.
☆ The beauty of 'Dear Diary' lies within the almost seamless flow of the plot. As the story progresses, the writers manage to flesh out the three fantasy characters into more than just cartoonish caricatures in Chen Mei Ru's diary. What's more, the seemingly silly piece of fiction by an adolescent turns out to be much more deeper than we expect it to be. I appreciate how the writers managed to avoid unnecessary conflicts and subplots. They stick to the main characters and their adventures. The plot slowly gains momentum with each episode and I love how the all the characters have their own distinct identities that are much realistic and relatable. Moreover, there is a constant mystery underlying beneath the Diary and it kept me curious. The story attains it's peak and becomes dark and intense after the first half. But, every episode was worth it.
☆ The Cast, for such a short drama, are on point with their acting. The production crew went as far as hiring people from Iraq to teach the actors Akkadian (language spoken in Babylonia) and adjust their postures. Plus, nobody was overdubbed. When it comes to characters, I particularly enjoy Duan Shi Lui's scenes: he is the perfect mix of comedy and seriousness. I loved his twisted relationship with Jiang Hui Zhen and Mei Ru. I liked how Mei Ru was potrayed; she manages to maintain her personality even after going through changes. Jiang Hui Zhen, her best friend and co-writer/supporting character in her diary, is more complex than her care for nothing facade. Mu Rong, Ou Yang Wen Shan, and the Dragon Lady are initially portrayed as assertive beings, but they slowly grow out of it. Character growths were not abrupt. It tempts us into slowly getting attached to the characters. Chen Mei Ru, Mu Rong Jie Lun, Ou Yang Wen Shan, Jiang Hui Zhen, Duan Shi Lui and Dragon Lady, all have equal screentime. So, there are plenty of scenes for us to get familiar with them. As a bonus: we have three side couples, all of different variety.
I admit, I wasn't invested in the ships in the beginning. But, by the end, I wanted everyone to be happy.
☆ I was impresssed with the CGI, which by common low budget CDrama standards, is pretty good. I also liked how intricate the sets were, particularly the Babylonion ones. Being one of the most ancient civilizations, the Babylonion Empire was known for its advancements in several fields, including law. (The Code of Hammurabi. I had previously heard the name before as it was the title of a legal Korean Drama, Mis Hammurabi. I did not know its significance until now.)
Apparently, the production crew spent their resources to shoot at Morocco and Paris; collected actual sources and artifects from Babylonion Period to bring originality to the story and this is clearly evident as we watch the drama. Post Production took two years and I can tell that the team took extreme care of their craft.
☆ The soundtrack was perfect and befit every scene. It had the right timing and captured the essence of the story: from cool, fun and kiddish tunes to absolutely epic music and choruses that reminded me of the Elves of Middle-Earth.
My favorite Songs were:
▪ Give You All My Empathy (當傾盡所有感同身受) by Jiao Mai Qi/Mickey Jiao (焦迈奇).
▪You Deserve Love (你值得被好好爱着) by Jin Wen Qi/Vanessa Jin (金玟岐).
☆ I have to warn that characters listed as 'supporting' play a major role in several arcs. But, they were reasonable and effectively avoided unnecessary scenes. With 24 episodes, they've done exceptionally well in the 'no filler department'. The ending was predictable, but felt too jumbled and predisposed, particularly the final episode. It should've made me emotional, but the choice of arrangement of scenes looked odd. And there were a rather large number of characters that we focussed on (6) so, some episodes may appear to be lagging behind. The duration of episodes were really something: roughly 20 - 30 minutes, minus the opening, recap and the ending credits that is a solid four minutes long. The
All in all, it reminded me a lot of the American Movie 'Enchanted', but with more intensity and mystery. It's a standout for me among the many dramas I've seen and is definitely worthy of a watch. Something unique and distinct with it's very own magic is what Chinese Dramas lack and for that, I will gladly give this an 8.5/10 for now.
☆ To get a gist of the drama, I suggest listening to the opening OST. (There are no spoilers in both the opening and closing soundtracks.) They perfectly capture the vibes of 'Dear Diary'.
Calling the plot "solid substance" might be a long shot furing the first few episodes. Considering that 3/6 of the characters and the basic plot revolves around a 12-year-old girl's impromptu fanfiction that she was inspired to write while visiting a Babylonion Exhibition. I still do not understand how she oh-so romantically scribbled down a love story after hearing a bloody legend that was far from lovely. What makes this drama a delight is that the now 24-year-old Chen Mei Ru comes face to face with the characters as an adult, leading to hilarious scenarios as she tries to figure out what to do with her sudden "Babylonion Prince, Murong Jie Lun" who as written by her 12-year-old self, is pretty obsessed with her. (The first few episodes are some of the most funniest stuff I've seen in a long time. It wasn't cringey, but genuinely made me laugh.) Worse, her Prince also brings along the two main supporting characters of her story. Her best friend, Jian Huai Zhang and former classmate Duan Shi Lui, all get wrapped in this unexpected adventure.
☆ The beauty of 'Dear Diary' lies within the almost seamless flow of the plot. As the story progresses, the writers manage to flesh out the three fantasy characters into more than just cartoonish caricatures in Chen Mei Ru's diary. What's more, the seemingly silly piece of fiction by an adolescent turns out to be much more deeper than we expect it to be. I appreciate how the writers managed to avoid unnecessary conflicts and subplots. They stick to the main characters and their adventures. The plot slowly gains momentum with each episode and I love how the all the characters have their own distinct identities that are much realistic and relatable. Moreover, there is a constant mystery underlying beneath the Diary and it kept me curious. The story attains it's peak and becomes dark and intense after the first half. But, every episode was worth it.
☆ The Cast, for such a short drama, are on point with their acting. The production crew went as far as hiring people from Iraq to teach the actors Akkadian (language spoken in Babylonia) and adjust their postures. Plus, nobody was overdubbed. When it comes to characters, I particularly enjoy Duan Shi Lui's scenes: he is the perfect mix of comedy and seriousness. I loved his twisted relationship with Jiang Hui Zhen and Mei Ru. I liked how Mei Ru was potrayed; she manages to maintain her personality even after going through changes. Jiang Hui Zhen, her best friend and co-writer/supporting character in her diary, is more complex than her care for nothing facade. Mu Rong, Ou Yang Wen Shan, and the Dragon Lady are initially portrayed as assertive beings, but they slowly grow out of it. Character growths were not abrupt. It tempts us into slowly getting attached to the characters. Chen Mei Ru, Mu Rong Jie Lun, Ou Yang Wen Shan, Jiang Hui Zhen, Duan Shi Lui and Dragon Lady, all have equal screentime. So, there are plenty of scenes for us to get familiar with them. As a bonus: we have three side couples, all of different variety.
I admit, I wasn't invested in the ships in the beginning. But, by the end, I wanted everyone to be happy.
☆ I was impresssed with the CGI, which by common low budget CDrama standards, is pretty good. I also liked how intricate the sets were, particularly the Babylonion ones. Being one of the most ancient civilizations, the Babylonion Empire was known for its advancements in several fields, including law. (The Code of Hammurabi. I had previously heard the name before as it was the title of a legal Korean Drama, Mis Hammurabi. I did not know its significance until now.)
Apparently, the production crew spent their resources to shoot at Morocco and Paris; collected actual sources and artifects from Babylonion Period to bring originality to the story and this is clearly evident as we watch the drama. Post Production took two years and I can tell that the team took extreme care of their craft.
☆ The soundtrack was perfect and befit every scene. It had the right timing and captured the essence of the story: from cool, fun and kiddish tunes to absolutely epic music and choruses that reminded me of the Elves of Middle-Earth.
My favorite Songs were:
▪ Give You All My Empathy (當傾盡所有感同身受) by Jiao Mai Qi/Mickey Jiao (焦迈奇).
▪You Deserve Love (你值得被好好爱着) by Jin Wen Qi/Vanessa Jin (金玟岐).
☆ I have to warn that characters listed as 'supporting' play a major role in several arcs. But, they were reasonable and effectively avoided unnecessary scenes. With 24 episodes, they've done exceptionally well in the 'no filler department'. The ending was predictable, but felt too jumbled and predisposed, particularly the final episode. It should've made me emotional, but the choice of arrangement of scenes looked odd. And there were a rather large number of characters that we focussed on (6) so, some episodes may appear to be lagging behind. The duration of episodes were really something: roughly 20 - 30 minutes, minus the opening, recap and the ending credits that is a solid four minutes long. The
All in all, it reminded me a lot of the American Movie 'Enchanted', but with more intensity and mystery. It's a standout for me among the many dramas I've seen and is definitely worthy of a watch. Something unique and distinct with it's very own magic is what Chinese Dramas lack and for that, I will gladly give this an 8.5/10 for now.
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