Someone Like You (2015)

(accidentally submitted my review via the account I don't use-this is my official one) Phenomenal drama. As a whole, I was completely sucked into this drama. The plot is very melodramatic but strangely addictive. Yes, many people believe it is draggy like usual T-dramas but I think it's a personal preference. Melodramas like Someone like you are either fantastic or terrible. It was very well executed, whether the scenes, plots, actors, or the setting. Like any memorable melodramas, they make you want to visit the filming places. After watching this drama, I now want to go back to Taiwan and visit where they filmed it (Big City department store in Hsinchu, Taiwan).

The first 10 episodes were amazingly well developed and I loved watching the character development and the initial friendship between Yu Xi (Lorene's character) and Zhan Cheng (Kingone's character) when he was blind. As their friendship developed into love, they became a super compatible couple. Their kissing scenes were also very cute. I think they're a great OTP for sure. Another reason why I liked this drama so much was because of the department store rivalry scenes/element. Unlike other romance dramas where the male lead is a CEO and they don't talk much about it other than the fact that he looks great wearing suits and has a lot of money, this drama plays out the rivalry scenes. They continue with the department scene rivalry side story throughout the drama and I really enjoyed these scenes because they were intense and nerve wracking to watch and they added to character development of Zhan Cheng. It wove seamlessly into the main plot and didn't distract from the romance.

Kingone really carries this drama. His portrayal of a blind man was seriously amazing. His acting was flawless and I couldn't see any flaws in his portrayal. I wasn't initially a fan of him because I usually like idol drama actors (read my other reviews) , but his character is really the ultimate perfect boyfriend. I actually liked Lorene's acting. Although her acting seemed a little fake in the beginning, her acting got a lot better. Like I said, Kingone carried the drama and he guided her through the romantic scenes well. Many think her crying scenes were fake, but I thought it was realistic because realistic crying isn't pretty. In terms of the supporting actors, I loved William's camaraderie with Zhan Cheng, and Yu Xi's relationship with her family. The supporting couples between Zhan Cheng's sister and Yu Xi's brother was adorable, as well as William's relationship with Yu Xi's best friend. Lorene was good at her dual roles as well.

The music is so heartwarming and emotionally provoking. I think this is one of the best soundtracks as a whole for a drama. Bii did most of the soundtrack, and I liked his songs a lot. They perfectly match the tone of the drama and the scenes.

For those of you who are unsure if you want to watch it because you're not sure if you can handle the various tragedies of this drama from the summary you just read, trust me, it is worth watching. It took me 2 weeks to finally decide to watch this because I selectively pick dramas to watch since I don't like dropping dramas; I feel the need to finish a drama once I start it. I'm glad I watched this drama; after all, it has now become one of my favorite dramas. Re-watch value is definitely high. In fact, I'm re-watching it right now! If your taste is anything like mine (read my other reviews for T-dramas), you will definitely love this drama. Give it a try. You won't regret it.

***edit*** As I said earlier, I'm watching it for the second time and after watching it for the second time I came to appreciate the beautiful cinematography of this drama even more. The BTS videos were also very entertaining and showed the chemistry between the leads. I recommend watching the BTS if you fall in love with the characters like me! I'm starting to like all the characters after watching it for the second time because I can start to understand some of their actions even though some of them were unforgivable. This might sound crazy, but I think I might watch it for the third time in the future. I really hope Kingone and Lorene collaborate on a drama again! (10/9)

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Phenomenal drama. As a whole, I was completely sucked into this drama. The plot is very melodramatic but strangely addictive. Yes, many people believe it is draggy like usual T-dramas but I think it's a personal preference. Melodramas like Someone like you are either fantastic or terrible. It was very well executed, whether the scenes, plots, actors, or the setting. Like any memorable melodramas, they make you want to visit the filming places. After watching this drama, I now want to go back to Taiwan and visit where they filmed it (Big City department store in Hsinchu, Taiwan).

The first 10 episodes were amazingly well developed and I loved watching the character development and the initial friendship between Yu Xi (Lorene's character) and Zhan Cheng (Kingone's character) when he was blind. Another reason why I liked this drama so much was because of the department store rivalry scenes/element. Unlike other romance dramas where the male lead is a CEO and they don't talk much about it other than the fact that he looks great wearing suits and has a lot of money, this drama plays out the rivalry scenes. They continue with the department scene rivalry side story throughout the drama and I really enjoyed these scenes because they were intense and nerve wracking to watch and they added to character development of Zhan Cheng. It wove seamlessly into the main plot and didn't distract from the romance.

Kingone really carries this drama. His portrayal of a blind man was seriously amazing. His acting was flawless and I couldn't see any flaws in his portrayal. I wasn't initially a fan of him because I usually like idol drama actors (read my other reviews) , but his character is really the ultimate perfect boyfriend. I actually liked Lorene's acting. Although her acting seemed a little fake in the beginning, her acting got a lot better. Like I said, Kingone carried the drama and he guided her through the romantic scenes well. Many think her crying scenes were fake, but I thought it was realistic because realistic crying isn't pretty. In terms of the supporting actors, I loved William's camaraderie with Zhan Cheng, and Yu Xi's relationship with her family. The supporting couples between Zhan Cheng's sister and Yu Xi's brother was adorable, as well as William's relationship with Yu Xi's best friend. Lorene was good at her dual roles as well.

The music is so heartwarming and emotionally provoking. I think this is one of the best soundtracks as a whole for a drama. Bii did most of the soundtrack, and I liked his songs a lot. They perfectly match the tone of the drama and the scenes.

For those of you who are unsure if you want to watch it because you're not sure if you can handle the various tragedies of this drama from the summary you just read, trust me, it is worth watching. It took me 2 weeks to finally decide to watch this because I selectively pick dramas to watch since I don't like dropping dramas; I feel the need to finish a drama once I start it. I'm glad I watched this drama; after all, it has now become one of my favorite dramas. Re-watch value is definitely high. In fact, I'm re-watching it right now! If your taste is anything like mine (read my other reviews for T-dramas), you will definitely love this drama. Give it a try. You won't regret it.

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Watched it twice one of my favorites

I really liked this show. Did it have some flaws? Yes, but I can over look them for this one because it was one of my first Chinese/Taiwanese dramas. The first drama outside of the US that I watched. And it hooked me from then on. I have watched a lot of the Cdramas and Kdramas. I got tired of Hallmark and other boring US shows. Call me a traitor but Hollywood sucks! These shows amaze me in how the actor/actress can show real emotion. You feel their pain. This one is the same. I felt his pain of losing his fiancé. And WOW! That part got me by surprise!

I really love the story. I thought it was beautiful. I also really liked Kingone Wang! He has an amazing voice that you could melt listening to!🙃

This one I will keep watching over and over!

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When I first read the description about story I was already sold and gone looking for the first episode straight away. I like the traditional rich man-poor girl kind of dramas and this had unique story so it picked my interest right away. And I have to say this was propably the best taiwanese romance drama I have ever seen. Don't hang on too much to that "rich man-poor girl" part though because eventually it didn't even show much, they did a good job with scripting.

But why did I rate it 8.5 if I thought it was so phenomenal? Let me explain:
There was one part in the drama where writers made a mistake of falling into a very cliche plotline. It was like straight out from text book and I was so close hitting my computer screen because I was so frustrated with the character in question who created whole scene... Lucky for me it didn't last that long (thank god) because some dramas can drag quite a bit. Apart from that one problematic scene, I really really loved this drama.

So, story was that through some events Zhang Chen and Yu Xi end up working together, Yu Xi being a caretaker for blind Zhang Chen. At first they start off with wrong foot but eventually grow up close. This drama centers their relationship of how it becomes from work related to romantic. Zhang Chen has to deal with trauma related issues from losing his fiancee. Yu Xi also has her own troubles even though she seems to have cheerful easygoing character at first.

Main leads had great chemistry, like seriously! I was drawn into their story and I was always waiting for new scenes about them in it. If main leads won't have chemistry, all they do is make viewer cringe when they're doing something romantic. But in this drama I was doing 'wow's in my head because it really worked between these two leads. Usually I tend to have bad second lead syndrome but in this drama I fell so hard for the main couple that I almost skipped every second lead scenes xD Don't get me wrong, second leads did a very good job and were so cute together. But I thoroughly enjoyed watching main couple.

Other side roles were important too apart from main leads best friends (they had surprisingly few scenes). Zhang Chen's parents were funny, especially his step-father.

So my conclusion is that this is a must watch for every taiwanese romance drama fans. I'm definetly going to rewatch this sometime later.

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This was a very interesting drama. I enjoyed it immensely up until a point, after which my interest seriously waned and the drama’s rating dropped a few points in my eyes. But the ending made up for that short period of abysmal-ness, leaving this drama with a solid 8 rating.



The best part of this drama was the characters, especially when combined with the acting. Definitely the star of this whole ride was Wang Kingone. His performance as Fang Zhan Cheng outshone all of his co-stars, though I may be a little biased because the character as written is one of my favorite types — someone who’s able to keep calm and in control of their emotions even when everything’s falling apart around them. The character by itself would’ve already scored major points in my book, and Wang Kingone played him excellently throughout the entire drama. Kudos to him.



Ren Lorene on the other hand was kind of a mixed bag of good and not-so-good acting points. But her character wasn’t the most stable, either, so I think she worked the best she could with what she had. Her emotional scenes were for the most part well done and touching, but her... yelling/excited scenes, I guess you could call them, felt a little awkward and overdone. Also, her character didn’t have enough versatility. I get really annoyed with the characters who’re portrayed as saints and can’t do anything wrong just because they are supposedly acting in other people’s interests. You can think you’re doing something for someone else’s sake and still be selfish and in the wrong. I felt her character made some deliberately unwise choices that weren’t fully put in the negative light they should’ve been. And in the end, they were just brushed over because her character is too “good” to deserve any sort of consequences for her actions. I would have also liked to see her having to chase after Fang Zhan Cheng after what she did instead of always having him do all the work to get their relationship back on the right track.



The side characters and romances were pretty interesting and worked into the story in a coherent way as well. I had a fascination with Lee Sean’s character Li Bo Yan for the first half of the drama because he was so bad, yet at the same time so deliciously multi-layered. Points to Lee Sean for not allowing him to be the one-dimensional character he easily could’ve evolved into (though the writing at the end unfortunately ended that wonderment with a firm and unnecessary period on my feelings toward him -.-). Fei-Fei and Yu-An’s story was cute if a bit on the dull side, and Vanessa was a good mature-type character who was very clear-headed and a breath of rational fresh air. Xu Ya Ti I had some issues with because she seemed like a character used mostly for the sake of driving the plot forward when it got caught in its several ruts, but she was okay as a second-lead. A bit too one-dimensional to really strike a cord for any emotional responses, really. At least there were no long, drawn-out love triangles. These characters were very good at sticking to their guns and liking whom they knew they liked and not leading anyone on.



As for the story... well, that’s where my opinion of the drama goes up, down, and weaves around like its perched on a very precarious high cliff that crumbles and cracks with each episode, just waiting to plummet to the ground. When this drama was good, it really was good. It has beautiful scenery, beautiful directing, quotable and thought-provoking speeches, and a refreshing look on how to move on from losing someone dear to you. I liked its pace and its story for the first 16 episodes, I really did. I was about soundly ready to give it a solid 9 before episode 17 rolled around and my opinion fell faster than a baby bird jumping off that cliff and learning to fly. I just... I hated where this drama went. I hated how it felt like they needed to fill these episodes with everything and anything, so they just threw in a hodge-podge of nonsense at the wall and let things stick for as long as they could, then let them fall off the wall never to be mentioned again. The very last dramatic arc in particular left a very bad taste in my mouth and had me looking for anything to divert my attention during those scenes just because I couldn’t stand it. I can’t say what happened without giving major spoilers, but let’s just say it’s something I don’t agree with and think should never happen in drama-land, god forbid it ever happens in real life.



But, nevertheless, the ending more or less makes up for that mess. Like I said, the writers were good about just dropping things that happened like they never took place, so by the last minutes of the final episode, things got back on track and we were back to the storyline that made the drama so memorable and wonderful in the first place — how Fang Zhan Cheng and Chen Yu Xi learnt to find solace in each other’s company to such an extent they could never do without the other. Their chemistry is wonderful, and the scenes where they barely say anything and let their actions — in particular, their eyes — speak for them are just so well done (a large part of those scenes being so good being because of the directing, as well).



Overall, Someone Like You is a good drama. I’d recommend someone who's looking for a 2015 TW-drama to watch to give it a try, because it’s at least better than the other dramas that’ve been showing this season (in my opinion, of course). Especially if you like stories dealing with healing and moving on from tragedy, this is the drama for you. It has a pretty good pace (if a bit slow at times), a good soundtrack (if a bit repetitive at times), and good acting. Oh, and watch the opening credits, too. They really are lovely, and they will give you a feel for how beautiful the drama is shot and how the story lays itself out.

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i have watched this drama more than a couple of times, and each time I bawl my eyes out.
When Yu Xi first became the caretaker of Zhan Cheng i found her loud, annoying, immature. I loved how she helped him to go through his bad times, she even helped him to tango for his mother's birthday, she practiced with him, on the birthday she guided him on the phone. They were friends and they eventually fall in love, it's quite possible that he fell in love with her when she was helping him to tango,

I disliked Yu Xi's boyfriend, he was so sly, doing every dirty tricks to be successful, He eventually cheated on her with Vanessa and pregnante her, Unlike what I expected he did not want the baby, he wanted Vanessa to have an abortion but she refused and decided to give birth

Ya Ti who had a heart transplant, they transplant Lu Han's / YU Xi's twin sister's heart, Lu Han is also the ex fiance of Zhan Cheng and she starts to have Lu Han's mannerisms, like baking the Edelweiss cookies, Yu Xi and her giving exactly the same reactions

When Yu Xi learnt that Ya TI is carrying her twins heart, she even gave up on the man that she loves, and they could not resist but got back together.

Once Zhan Cheng's step sister was in love with him and behaved Yu Xi badly but she also fell in love with Yu Xi's brother who was a priest up until the last few episodes.

Even the chemo between Yu Xi's brother & Zhen Chang's sister was amazing.

This is not a traditional rich boy - poor girl dramas, Mothers were not evil, nobody trying to break the main couple and almost everyone was supporting.

This drama is not bed of roses, it has got tragedies. but at the end It is a great watch.. It is a romantic movie without being cheesy..

Kingone was amazing portraying a blind man... I also like his voice, amazing, intonations great and sexy, he has a sexy voice and he is quite handsome.

The brother is a little bit slow, doesn't talk much, talks slow, it takes him ages to tell smth, I wonder if he has got autism

I love the OST especially Good Night by Huang Yali

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Finally its done, this show was awsome when zang cheng was blind. You could feel the attraction between them forming esp when they were up close to each other. Everything was all good until he got his eyesight back and ya ti joined then things took a tumble, by the end of the episode it was too late to revive it. Ill start with the negatives, it dragged so much it was frustrating. The Harry Potter bro was cute in the beginning with his naivety then he just got ridiculous it was like a waste of time. He takes forever to say something i almost screamed at the tv. Ya ti has recurring scenes, she cries, gets jealous, heart problems, hospital and it starts again. The worst is the main character yu xi had probably 5 outfits in total the whole show, what was that about. She wore the same clothes over and over it was ridiculous esp the tattered jeans and top with a sweater tied, seriously. .......who did the wadrobe
enough of that, it got a seven coz zang cheng is a great actor, his deep voice and his eyes get you each time. He should do more blind shows coz even the way he moves his eyes is so intense, he dint need those dark goggles. His friend and bo yan were pretty good looking.

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I was appalled by the end!

This show was long, drawn out, and very melodramatic. I didn't feel that it was very well-acted, either. I stuck with it, wanting to see ultimately what would happen, even though I felt, for the most part, that I should have given up and moved onto another show. This show reminded me of American soap operas, where the story lines continue on for years and you stop watching the show for a long period of time, come back to it and still know what is going on. All of that could somewhat be forgiven until I got to the end of the show.

He married the girl when she was in a coma!! That was just creepy. Her mom was telling him that when she woke up she was going to be mad. Everyone is in the hospital room for the wedding and they are filming and talking around the comatose woman in the bed, acting like everything is normal. It was just weird. Then, when she finally wakes up she's like, "So, we're married?" And he sits down and they act like it was a normal thing for someone to wake up from a coma, and be married. Add to that, the actor was pretty flat and unemotional and I didn't think his reaction to finding her awake was realistic, but part of that I have to put on the writer.

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If you like romances that are sweet, giving and mature; thats how it is in Someone like you.
There isnt quite a guy like Fang Zhan Chen, the male lead. Someone like him is super rare in both dramaland and reality. Hes the ultimate boyfriend. Hes gentle, caring, attentive and his actions speaks louder than words.
What is beautiful in this drama are Fang boss and his caretaker Yue xi's interaction when he was blind. Lots of romantic scenes (although some are quite cliche scenarios); among my favourite was guiding her in the dark when she was afraid, dancing together, piggyback on barefoot and her singing for him.
Its also rare to come across two leads who are very balance in love. By that i mean actually both Fang boss and Yue Xi are the types who when loves somebody puts that person as top priority. They value their loved ones and would go beyond to make that person happy. Yue xi is also a very warm person and once she cares for a person she does it whole heartedly.
Back to the storyline although my favorite bits are when hes still blind ( ep 2 to 11); i appreciate the scriptwriters didnt leave until the end tl give Fang boss his sight.
Other pluses include no evil meddlesome parents (their parents are cute and wonderful) and Fang boss sister initially annoying slowly changes and has her own cute romance with the priest.
Bo yan, our main antagonist also have a very good wrapup towards the end in my opinion. Interesting to compare Bo yan and Fang boss love. For Bo yan, once he acquired Yue xi's love already he assume thats something he dont have to waste more effort and time in her. For Fang boss, for someone you love you will always make time for them.
I have to say i love alot of the sceneries (fields, green hills, meteor shower, sky lit with wishing lantern) in this drama as well as the cablecar, come across as very fresh and unique.
I also love the songs used in this drama including the one Lorene sing in her character.
Drawbacks would probably be ep17 (watch and you will know) and maybe Fang boss was a tad too perfect?
Another comment is probably i would have wished his dead wife isnt identical twin. Fraternal would have been better. Cause seriously same face , how could that not have marred judgement of his feelings initially.
Regardless this was a very warm and sweet drama

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