Bromance (2015)

I was actually surprised to find that this only has a 7.1 on MDL because of all the buzz about this drama when it was airing. To me it was the break-out T-Drama of the last few years. I will admit when all the buzz was going on, I tried to watch it and didn't get through the first episode. I saw it on Netflix recently and was more in the mood for a T-Drama and gave it a go and generally liked it.

I actually am a fan of the gender bender genre though I know it is ridiculous. It works better in historical setting because there can actually be a legitimate reason for a woman to pretend to be a man re: safety or economic necessity. Bromance goes all in T-drama style on the silly and just says, shyster shaman/silly parents, deal with it. Basically you have to suspend reality or this drama will not work for you. Like I said, it took me two attempts. Having said that, I had trouble with how Coffee Prince handled this because at a certain point, there was no reason for someone not to tell so the writers contrived something silly. It really bugged me. I'd rather just know it is all silly from the get go.

Cons: The secondary story line didn't do much for me and the actor (who I think is a singer) was just ok.

Writers knew what buttered their bread and gave us a lot of the leads, but it would be nice to have some kind of coherent story other than constantly throwing them in compromising situations. They threw in some mafia stuff, but it was all pretty silly at the end of the day. I've watched idol dramas, and I just think the writers need to get better because they just rely on their stars to see them through.

It was too long, as are most of the modern T-Dramas (MARS this is not.). I really liked the lead characters, but after a while with both the mafia stuff and the romance, it got repetitive. This could have been done better at 15 episodes.

Pros: Megan Lai is fantastic and easily takes on Yoon Eun Hye as the most realistic woman playing a guy in a gender bender. Baron Chen is also great. They have great chemistry and are the basis for this drama being so popular imo.

I liked that the 2nd male lead character (the vet) story line was different without all the usual posturing. I also liked the hotdog guy and the sister as well as the cousin. She was a true friend.

So I notice some of the negativity is that this show didn't have the angst as, say, Coffee Prince. However, I liked that because this is lighthearted fare and it is a pet peeve of mine when I start watching a light romance (I mean, again, a shaman is involved), and it turns into a melo. This drama keeps to its roots and while it doesn't mine the anguish of a sexual identity crisis like Gong Yoo in CP, it does tell of acceptance of oneself, who one loves and what goes into that. I can't really get into it without spoilers. I do think the writers were trying to stay away from Coffee Prince territory because it's been done and time has gone on and this is Taiwan not Korea. I think they did well making sure neither lead character was knowingly causing the other angst. I really appreciated that.

So I'll admit to some fast forwarding through mafia business and secondary stories, but Megan and BC shined in this. I also appreciated some sizzling scenes as well. I took off one point for being over long and one point for the lackluster secondary love story and mafia business stuff.

Other Opinions:

I did not downgrade for the contrivances, the cheese factor or the cliches in the story. Also, the godawful background music. I just take them as part and parcel of Taiwanese dramas these days, but I notice this bothered many people.

There is a bit of a surprise at one point that irked some viewers. And as before, I think many viewers wanted the intensity of Coffee Prince....this isn't CP and it never acts like it want to be.

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I started watching this drama since it was a recommendation from another gender bender. I ended up liking this one alot more than I thought I would. I think the chemistry between the 2 leads was hot!! Lol I think if there chemistry wasn't as good I probably wouldn't have kept watching it. There were parts of the storyline that I thought kinded dragged on or I didn't really see the point of why they included those scenes. Also the 2nd lead couple were kinda boring lol I'm sorry to say I did fast forward most of the parts they were on the screen, sorry! Some of the acting was over the top but I am kinda getting used to that with any asian dramas I watch. Woulld def recommend but do go into it with low expectations and I think you would enjoy it more. Would def think of rewatching if just for the fact (possible spoiler ahead but I need to explain why I would rewatch) that I want to see the scenes where they were together after he had already found out "the secret"

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I would have rated this higher because the first 10 eps were great. And then they put so many sub-plots, which i fastforwarded. This is a differnt gender-bender, it gave me a bad taste in my mouth, because the drama made you think that everyone was alright with a guy - guy relationship. I like romance with boy and girl, boy knowing she's a girl but not misleading the viewers until the very end. It is just my standard.
Won't rewatch - too long
Music - i am not really ineterested

But the lead actor was great (swoon) - i would watch his other dramas- It is the first time i have seen him.

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I started watching this a while back and didn't make it through the first episode. I figured I had the mom and the sister pegged as nasty witches who would make Pi Ya Nuo's life miserable and I figured Zi Feng for the typical jerk-lead.

I started again because I needed something lighthearted inbetween the angst-fests I'm currently watching (Scarlet Ryeo, W and a couple of others). I'm so glad I picked it back up, this drama is one of my new favorites. It's a gender-bender and it has all the tropes that such a story involves - accidental near-misses with towels and showers, the gender-bending character frequently winding up in uncomfortable close proximity to the other lead, accidental kisses, second-hand-embarrassment, etc. But it's SO much fun to watch I had a hard time finding a place to stop because the end of each episode left me wanting to know what was going to happen next.

*Reasons I loved it:*

The main lead is not a jerk. Far from it. Xi Feng is adorable as he struggles with his growing feelings for his "sworn brother." Also, Xi Feng/Baron Chen is damn sexy a lot of the time, especially when he is teasing Ya Nuo by being "thisclose" to her face and then psyching her out or whispering in her ear. (the motorcycle scene comes to mind).

There was no "second lead syndrome." There is a second lead, and while he's likeable, there isn't a case of "dang the first lead is a jerk why doesn't the female lead pick this guy instead."

I genuinely liked just about every character in the drama. Even the mom and sister I figured I would end up hating wind up being fleshed-out characters who come to love Ya Nuo and treat her as part of the family as she is Xi Feng's sworn brother. Ya Nuo's cousin is a hoot and steals every scene she's in, which winds up being not quite enough in my opinion.

There are several romance subplots in addition to the main one, all of which I found enjoyable.

THE KISSING. OMG THE KISSING. It takes a long while to happen but when it does, it was totally worth the wait.

You must watch at least the last 15 or 20 minutes of the special for the behind the scenes look.

There is an actual plot besides the "will they/won't they" romance, including some intrigue and gangsters. The plot is not just "what catastrophe will the gender-bending-character/female lead find herself in this week," either. This is why I gave the story a 9. Because there IS one.

Lastly, make sure you watch the last 3 minutes of the final episode. DO NOT MISS IT JUST BECAUSE THE CREDITS ROLL.

Things I did not love:

The fight scenes are pretty hokey.

Ya Nuo does her fair share of crying/being hysterical when catastrophes ensue. On the other hand, she also does her share of ass kicking, which was refreshing.

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I didn't expect much, and this show didn't give me much.
I didn't listen to the sound so I gave it a one. I had to put an answer for rewatch value, but my honest answer to that question would be 0%.

(This is the half episode, the one that only showed the ceremony):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6qCcFWdfZw
The actors were not at all appealing, to me, and the main girl's acting was horrible. I only got 59 seconds into the first episode, "Sworn Brothers", and I instantly regretted starting at all.
I know that it is hard for an actual female to look like a male if you are making this type of genre, but the main girl looked like she didn't try. With or without breasts, she was obviously a female. You may say "But DongMei, it's a story. The main male can't know she is female", but making it a little more realistic or trying harder would help. Especially when the actors still wear makeup that straight up shows, like this show for example.
Back to the topic where I called the actors "unappealing", that is my opinion. I extremely disliked their clothing, and the girl was not pretty. She looked like an old lady, but not old enough to have wrinkles.
As the first episode progresses, they decide to make a traditional ritual and the main lead's acting is still bad. When she tries to cut her hand she tries to act cool and holds it in a way that it is impossible to cut yourself, unless the shattered glass was crazy sharp (it wasn't). Her wince was so obviously fake, it disgusted me.
Not every actor had bad acting skills, it was just mainly the girl.


Caution, spoilers may be below:

Episode one:
(Some of this might be rants I have because I dislike it so much)

When the young boy jumped at the man, to stop him from shooting, he knocked him down. What kid of that small size could knock a grown man down? It's quite unrealistic. I understand the book, but this was just far fetched. The large scratch he received on his hand was also unbelievable. He barely hit the ground, why would his hand be destroyed?

The wound isn't even bleeding, why would you wrap a random handkerchief around it.

This might be explained later, but how the heck did that random monk know the little boy was an orphan. That's kinda creepy.

This was obviously gonna happen when the two adults stared at each other:
Man: This kid saved my life, i'm gonna adopt him ;D
Wife: Come home with us darling, you were oddly in the right place at the right time!

"Would you like to come home with me and be Du Guang Zhu's child?"
"Aww yeah, free food!"

I really didn't like the acting while coming up with a name for the boy. It was unrealistic and just weird. I understand it in a cartoon and maybe a less serious scene of a CARTOON, but not here.

I, personally, don't think that Autumn-Maple Leaf boy looks anything like the actor who plays him as an adult. I really don't like that. One thing I noticed the most was the distance between his eyes. I know it is hard to find a kid actor that looks just like an adult actor, and they might have their own reasons, but try harder atleast.

When Autumn-Maple Leaf man, other version of the first boy, starts remembering crap from his childhood, he starts remembering a time his dad slapped him. Like wtf. Apparently he slapped him, because he answered a question wrong.

When Atumn-Maple Leaf man said, "We must be fearful when we worry about our family and gang brothers", it threw me off. Aren't you supposed to treat you "Gang Brothers" like family? You just mentioned two different types of family and wasted your brother. Just say family.

I don't even know if the main girl was doing karate moves or something like that, but it looked like she had a spaz attack while fighting. I think she might've even gotten stuck in between the bars. (xD)

(Cussing below):

Mother: "Oh no, a strange man who says he can see the future said if our daughter grows up to be a girl she will dieeeeee!"
Mother: Damnit honey, you're gonna be a girl now."
She is still gonna be a girl, even if you pretend she isn't one. What do you think? She is gonna magically grow into a male?

Isn't 26 an oddly specific age he mentioned.

Then the mom says something along the lines of, "We have to hide her from everyone", but they aren't. You are just hiding her gender. Get a brain check or fix your grammar, Jesus.

I was watching and I remembered, what about her breasts? They have to be to big for her binder by the time she is 26. And if she wants to stay sworn brothers with Autumn-Maple Leaf man, then she will have to bind them forever. Not a risk worth taking.

I just love how her opponent has to mention that she is a guy, like that is really suspicious. "Although he's a guy, he is young...", you could've just said, "He is to young..."

And it is almost impossible for a girl to be stronger than a grown (and big) man. She might be able to out smart him, but no way she could beat him in a one-on-one fist match. Sorry to all those feminists and the people who are gonna call me sexist, but it's true. I have no reason to be sexist, because I am a girl.

Oh my god, I had to rewatch a scene it was so stupid. While she was fighting the dude, she pushed him back and screamed. The scream sounded like she yelled "Traillalala"

That neck chop she did just before 8:31, that was unbelievable. That scrawny ass hand couldn't chop him that far back.

At 8:44 she pushes his jump back, sending him flying towards the other side of that mat. That is way more unrealistic, you can't push him that far without launching yourself. All you did was move your wrists and maybe a little bit of your arms.

To be honest, I am hating on the main character because I dislike her so much. I don't like the actor, I don't like the role, and I don't like the character in general. I think the actor is really ugly, no offense.

I am not going to watch anymore, because this show was horrible. I'm not going to waste and one hour and twelve minutes when I could be finding a show that is actually good. No offense to the writers or actors, but I strongly disliked this. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I only got past eight minutes and forty-four seconds.

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It was alright. Some scenes were boring as they dragged on a little. This one is a little different than other gender bender dramas though, which was good. The acting was okay. Everyone goes on about how the kiss scenes were so amazing. Um, I actually don't agree. If you love someone, you're supposed to kiss them nicely. But in this drama, there was a lot of kiss scenes which looked more like angry kisses. I don't like kiss scenes where it looks like they're trying to do a scene out of fight club. Another thing I really didn't like was the music. There was nothing that stood out to be in the soundtrack at all, it was sub-par at most. Other than the angry kiss scenes and the music, the rest was okay.

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