Best coming of age drama

Loved the storyline, loved the honesty, love the believability. Sometimes dramas can have elements where it's so unbelievable, it's cringy. I like this one because every scenario is done well. There's no over the top situation. It's very relatable.

I like how you see growth in Sang Zhi, especially in her relationship with her parents. There comes a time when every parents needs to realize their daughter has grown into a woman, and that was done well in this drama.

Loved the actors and actresses, not just the mains, but the whole cast. Casting was done well.

The music, I can listen to on repeat FOREVER. I don't think I've liked a soundtrack so much since A Walk To Remember.

Read More

The best parts of cdrama rom coms without the annoying bits

I don't give out many 10 ratings. Here's what I liked about "明天也想見到你" (I Want To See You Tomorrow Too...better translation of title.)

1) I like 70% of your typical cdrama romantic comedy. This drama has that 70% without the annoying 30%. Sometimes, I even think 24 episode dramas are too long. Unnecessary parts can be taken out and might even make the drama better. This drama does not have unnecessary parts. It is not slow. It doesn't feel too fast paced either. (By unnecessary, I mean things like disapproving parents repeating the same lines every 3rd episode that they are against their child's choice of girl/boyfriend.)
2) Relatively new actors and actresses. For most of the leads, this is their first main role. It brings a certain freshness to the drama that is often times missing with seasoned actors and actresses.
3) Character consistency. Often times, the male lead (and sometimes the female lead) changes so much from the beginning to the end of the drama that it's not believable that it's the same person. There should be character growth and maturation, but not complete personality change. The male lead does indeed grow, and yet he retains his personhood to the end. Everyone changes, sure, but their essence should stay the same.
4) Unexpected relationship pacing. For the sake of not putting spoilers into this review, this drama breaks the typical relationship development pacing...and it's what I prefer.
5) Realistic chemistry. I feel like the interactions between the actors/actresses were more true to life than other dramas. No over-acting, no absurd misunderstandings, "normal" jealousy reactions, and reasonable conclusions/decisions. Basically, it's believable. But then again, I grew up in rather conservative circles, so perhaps I'm more used to reserved relationships.

Anyway, there wasn't anything I disliked about this drama, so it gets a 10. And, I liked it a lot!

Read More

Best short

Sometimes short dramas have strange gaps and the pacing is all wrong. I felt this drama got the flow and tempo right. They filled in information without feeling like scenes were skipped.

Plot is good, nice ending.

Love the mains. Secondaries also did a great job.

Really funny at times, heart wrenching at the right times. Good chemistry.

Love the music.

My favorite short thus far. The ML is in "The Killer Is Also Romantic" and he's great in that one as well.

If you're looking for a drama that doesn't replay the same flashbacks over and over again to take up time (the flashbacks in this one were important!) and is well developed and won't ruin your schedule, this is a great one to watch.

Read More

Solid drama to start 2023

1) I really appreciate how the focus was on character and professional development. When a drama tries to do too much, it just becomes a jumbled rushed mess. This one was not jumbled or rushed. The purpose and storyline were clear, pacing was good.
2) I learned a lot about the commercial airline industry. Wow, kinda sucks to be female and trying to be an aviatrix. In the future, when I travel via plane, I will make it a point to thank pilots, flight attendants, ground crew, whoever I meet. It's hard work.
3) Family relationships were spot on! As an American born child of Chinese immigrants, I learned a lot about how I'm SUPPOSED to respond to family members, and how I've failed miserably at it. No wonder my grandmother and mom gave me such funny looks when I responded the way I did concerning professional career! Oops. Well, in the end, I guess I'm quite Americanized.
4) The music is gorgeous! To me, music is super important. If I don't like the music for a drama, I tend to not finish it.

Read More

Wow.

Is it a perfect drama? No. But I give it a 10 because it averages a 10.

The first 20 episodes were hard for me to watch because I had a hard time figuring out what was going on and why so many seemingly unnecessarily long scenes were there. I felt some things could have been truncated. BUT, when you get to the last 10 episodes or so, you understand why they did the first 20 episodes the way they did. Thus, the later episodes justify the beginning ones.

I would put this drama on in the background just to listen to the music. It's that good. I play both the zither and the flute, so listening to music was especially touching. Love, love, love the arrangements and duets. Love how much they emphasize music is important. (Haha, shameless music teacher here making a plug why everyone should learn at least one instrument.)

Superb acting, especially from the two male leads. You can't imagine anyone else playing their roles.

While I don't prefer the danmei genre, I must say MXTX is an amazing story teller. She doesn't waste words. The plot from beginning to end fits so beautifully. It's almost as if she is the mere scribe of a story unfolding. The consistency of the characters she creates is mind boggling. After reading her novels, I find it hard to focus on other translated wuxia works. But then again, 1) it's hard to find English translations of wuxia/xianxia novels and 2) I simply need to read more of them to make a more compelling judgement.

In short, while I have this drama a long break, I'm glad I came back to it and finished. I like dramas that make me ponder, and this one definitely definitely does that.

Read More

Walk down memory lane

I don't generally prefer high school dramas because they often are over the top and somewhat unrealistic. However, I really liked this one because it's pretty honest.

This drama reflects the high school life of your typical nerdy student and is probably not representative of other types of kids (popular, cool, drama, band, football, etc). Sure, there's a runner but track kids are different than other sports' kids. Sure, there's a singer/actor but again, he's not the main.

ANYWAY, it was a walk down memory lane for me. The story arc of the second male lead especially hit home. That was my life in a nutshell...how he responded to his parents and what his parents expected of him.

This drama isn't for everyone. It's not as exciting or dramatic, but it spoke to me.

Read More

Short, sweet, and silly

I have taken a liking to shorter dramas. They pack in just as much story without so much empty space. As a mother of 3 who homeschools my children, this is probably the best way forward getting my cdrama fix.

Things I liked:
1) This drama was absolutely hilarious! My kids kept wondering why I kept bursting out in laughter.
2) I liked the FL in The Imperial Coroner, which is why I watched this one. She's super cute and plays her role here well. Very innocent and naive.
3) ML did a great job for his debut drama!
4) The ending. It's so real. I'm glad they did it the way they did it. Makes you think a lot. I particularly liked the ML's reflections at the end. There's truth to it.

Read More

Excellent mystery, keeps you on your toes til the end

This drama is well written and well executed. The pacing is just right. Clues are revealed logically and in a way that is sophisticated, yet easy to follow.

I'm not a big fan of overly romantic drama. I like it when something else is the main point. There was just enough romance and it wasn't overly done.

The secondary characters are fun to watch as well. They're quite funny.

It was interesting to watch a somewhat medical drama from the Tang and Song Dynasty. I don't know how accurate it is to the times, but they seemed to have a good grasp of human physiology and disease processes.

A delight to watch. I want to go back now and see if there were any clues missed!

Read More

Funny and delightful

I generally don't like it when the FL has a high annoying voice. HOWEVER, Yu Shu Xin does a great job in this drama and is so funny! She's got some sass to her. Ultimately, the actress is perfect for her role. Her bubbly demeanor suits the character well. Her bantering comes natural and I think she brings out the contrast between the ML and FL well.

Ding Yu Xi is a great actor. Some parts felt a bit over the top, but then again, that's kind of his character.

I think the relationship between Zhou and his father is painful to witness. However, it is very honest. I had a similar mother/daughter relationship. I like how the drama resolves their issues.

Overall, the drama was well paced, well developed, and a joy to watch.

Read More

Another lovely Zhu Yi adaptation

Same author who wrote Hidden Love (Secretly, Secretly, Unable to Hide) also wrote this one.

The novel's title is "She's A Little Crazy." I think that about sums up the drama. The actress does a wonderful job being a little crazy, but not annoying. It's the very typical high pitched nasal cutesy Asian female voice, but I think because she's so positive, it's not annoying.

Lots of comedy, lots of heartwarming moments.

ML did a wonderful job getting into character. He's quite different in "Falling Into Your Smile." Although the FL does 98% of the talking and the ML 2%, his lines are well delivered, perfectly timed. I think it's just as hard to play a quiet role because the acting is completely done by micro facial expressions and getting the right aura. The actor nailed it.

Music is mostly pleasantly retro, sometimes cheesy but really only where it needs to be.

Read More

Watched it for the music

The first cdrama with Z.Tao in it that I watched was Legally Romance. I liked the song that he sang for that drama, which brought me here. A drama that features many of his songs! Especially since he plays a singer in the drama.

What I liked about this drama is its brutal honesty about the music industry in Asia. I have a friend who used to be a C-pop singer. She got out of the it for the very reasons why the ML and secondary ML didn't like the industry: being seen as a product instead of a person. I also liked all of Z.Tao's songs (and Z.Tao himself), the FL's cuteness, the ML's older sister, and certain pretty crazy scenes.

I DIDN'T like the head of the music company. His character is just...bleh.

The first half of the drama felt more like the backstory to the rest of the drama. I guess that's okay, although it felt long. I think they could have shortened it a bit.

Rewatch value? For me, it's the music that I like so I'd rather stream Z.Tao's music.

Read More

I enjoyed every minute of this drama

This drama is captivating from beginning to end. It's important not to miss details...small things mean a lot. It'd be fun to watch it again to see what I missed the first time.

Things I liked:

1) Female lead. I liked her much better in this drama than in "To Fly With You" (can't seem to get past ep 29 in that skating drama...) I like when she breaks the 4th wall. She does a great job in this drama, playing herself in different ages convincingly.
2) Male lead. At first, I thought it was an interesting casting choice. It's still interesting, but interesting in a very good way. The actor is perfect for this role. He's very natural in it. After finishing the drama, you really can't imagine anyone else playing the ML.
3) Story. I like what if stories, but sometimes they can be done wrong. I like how the overall message reiterates that as much as you might want to live in the what if, reality is where you need to be and where you can make a difference.
4) Good handling of "others." I don't like dramas where the "others" are constantly trying to sabotage the mains' relationship. There might be some competition, but it's not petty.
5) Ending. Justice prevails, and there is hope. I like that.

Read More