Chess Love (2021)

A little bit too long

Long time heard about this drama, split between want to watch (because of Niu Jiu Feng & Landy Li) and some not too good review for this drama. But finally decided to peek into this drama, and the first ep success to capture interest, that's why finally I watch this drama...

After watch also split between want to give good score, due to very interesting story that you can say cover all the aspect, or bad score, due to very God D*MN long episode. Finally settled in 7.5, cause I don't think 8 is good enough for this drama. Haha...

For me this drama kinda losing it's focus cause too many aspect that they want to include in. Ok. I think I'll gonna spoiler a little bit. If you don't want to know just skip reading my review then...






The little too many aspect:
- Trauma. Sheng Jing Chu (JC) trauma that cause by accident that killed his parent, make him can't see color. The worst healing process that happen in the drama. Once he open his heart to Cheng Liao (CL), suddenly he just healed. Ugh, yeah I know how romantic that's for our drama, but is it really that easy to heal the trauma...??
- The unhealthy obsessions Yao Ke (YK) to JC. Yeah I know this still sport drama, and sometimes there's crazy person that want to do anything in order to win and be number 1. But I think this obsessions take too much & unimportant screen time. They can treat YK like JC's other opponents with limited screen time only when competition time, because you can't say YK is a worthy opponent for JC. Another case if they make YK more worthy opponent for JC, like I really wish that Jubango can be really worthy of our screen time, where we can see how they alternately lose and win between YK & JC to make that scene is more exciting for us to watch. Instead this only make YK has more and more unhealthy obsessions to JC. Sometimes feel very sorry for YK, even though he has 2 teacher, no one really pay attention to the dark side of his heart, while JC always have good advice. That's why in the end JC can manage his heart and get out from the dark side, while YK fall more and more deep into the dark side.

The part that I don't know to put it into good or bad part.
- The other program from the TV station. Good cause make this drama not only about go, but also about other stuff. Bad because what this drama actually about, what is the focus of the drama....
- The other drama. Between Cheng Yi (CY) & her man. Good because they show us the step, from introduction to finally she acknowledge her own feeling. Bad because in the end, it's still like CY also has to choose between these 2 man, & can't actually happy by herself & her career.
- The other drama. Between Ding Lan (DL) & Cao Xi He (XH). Good cause what DL said to XH is so true, like how she can like him if he keep changing every time they meet, just for know her preference in man instead be himself. Bad cause they just take unnecessary screen time, that make this drama longer.... But their interaction quite liven up the drama, so I kinda like it....

OK. Now on the (+) side of the drama:
+ I really like how the romance develop between our couple. Apart from the drama of CY's 2 man, I still like how she develops feeling for Jiang Yu Da.
+ How JC & CL support each other. Although sometimes they don't talk too much about their problem, but they know how in the end they will gonna support each other. Like when JC want to change his style when playing go, how CL just support him without much asking question.

Overall this drama can have shorter ep if only they more focus on the importance stuff in the drama, and not try putting everything... But in the end this still quite enjoyable ride for me

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Super Cute Story

This is my second time writing a review so this review will be a bit messy ahaha. I don't get why people don't like this drama? and they're dropping it a bit too soon :( but eh everyone has different opinion, so here's mine:
tbh the 41 episode made me hesitate but i still watched the drama anyways (for the mains) and also because the trailer was indeed really good, i was super excited for this drama. i love both niu jun feng and landy li and i've watched them in many other dramas and ahhh they played their character really well in the drama. i ain't no professional but i think they're acting was great. and also i love the side characters so much! it's my first time watching them and i think they all played their characters so well! i love each character in the drama ahaha. they just fit so well in the drama and they're all so cute together, especially Cao Xi He and Ding Lan, idk why ahahah and i feel like some people wouldn't love them but i love them a lot so D:? the eldest senior, fl best friend, fl strong and independent sister, fl father, even the competitors from other countries, they were all so good and like i literally love their characters so much! i also like that the ml competitors weren't like evil and they were all very friendly, except from yao ke, he pretty sus to me.
The story is great, the mains love triangle ended pretty quickly and it was honestly pretty funny to me, it was pretty obvious it was one sided from the start and idk i just laughed at every scene the three of them were involved together. Story seems pretty simple and cliche just like some other dramas but i really like this, i personally skipped quite a few go scenes, especially the they start battling with the swords thing, i found it pretty cringey :( and omg the lisa girl scenes i cannot stand her im sorry but like what the heck? i skipped almost all her scenes ahahah, could not stand. Oh also color blind glasses exists....? right? so like why did he never use them? :0 and the fact that he can see everything but not her is a bit dumb? anyways aside from that the story is super cute i love their relationship and the second and third leads relationship too, i also love the family bond and friendship <333 the fl and her sister and her father's relationship is super cute TˆT I loveeee her sister's character and i love the jiuzhong dojo relationship TˆT they're like one big family <3 and the part where FL went to document their like lifestyle and got along with them was so cute TˆT and the friendship was amazing too, the friends were always there to support each other and were always there for each other during sad times :( I loved the trailer a lot, like the fact that it went from them meeting, getting to know each other, falling in love, falling out of love and falling back into love, idk i just loved the trailer a lot ahaha, especially the part where he held her hands and played the cube and it was colorful and he bend down like on her shoulders? idk how to describe it but it was so sooo cute TˆT the first 16 episodes doesn't seem unnecessary or dragged, it fits just right, except from the go battles- yea i dont understand why they would put it ;-; the progress of their relationship was adorable, i like the progress of like all three of the couples but like the first couple was defo my favoriteee! and like ah i knew landy was cute but drunk landy is a whole other level of cute TˆT that sounds very weird but their was one part where she just looked so cute TˆT
The music is pretty good, every song was good, not the best but i liked it, especially the ending song by sa ding ding, absolutely loved that!
As for rewatch value, it's pretty good and i'd rewatch it again one day but i'm not sure, it's not finished yet.
Overall i loved it and i can't wait for it to finish, also dang 2 episodes a day, i love.

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Very sweet drama with really cute leads and second leads!

I really enjoyed this drama, the overall storyline was pretty typical of two people falling in love and having misunderstandings and reconciling, but it was also unique in its own way. Go was a very different topic to see and it was explained well for audience who don't know about go (although I didn't understand much) it was very well presented I would say. It started off boring and got interesting later on. It was an alright drama. The actors have done a great job acting but I didn't enjoy the plot very much. It was a good plot probably something someone who is into fully fluffy rom-com would enjoy but it you're someone like me who likes rom-com with a very serious plot you might now enjoy it as much. I really loved the second leads though they were really cute! The music though was very nice, I actually really loved it. Overall, A very much not serious fluffy romance drama about Go. 🈲🏁♟️🧑🏻‍💼🩶👁️👩🏻‍🍳❤️

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It's not just about the game of Go or the Romance

This was an amazing show and I'm sorry I didn't give a try earlier. I was vaguely familiar with some scenes in the first few episodes so I must have seen clips when it first aired but for some reason never put it on my watchlist, maybe because I didn't know literally anything about the game of Go and I didn't think a 41 episode drama that centered around that would interest me?

Now I have actually watched it I have to say this is one of my favorite recent Cdramas in its genre. It really brings all the emotions out, there are times you are laughing, sometimes you're rooting enthusiastically, you find yourself immersed in their world effortlessly, when they suffer a loss, or a setback you feel it too.

Without posting a spoiler, there's the final 2-3 episodes that resonated with my personal experiences in life and I was expecting the final few episodes to be pure fluff but this dealt with something we will all to differing degrees deal with and I felt it elevated the show quite a bit to be realistic and not just fairies and pixie dust lalala happy ending for everyone....don't get me wrong, I love a good fluff drama, but this one, I felt, kept the spirit of the original intent from the first episode all the way to the very end. A great, realistic, and sweet romance between our leads dealing with life as it's thrown at them even if it's setting was heavy handed with some common c-drama tropes, somehow those never overshadowed the story and the real emotions.

To address the concerns about the drama focusing heavily on the game of Go, even if you know nothing about this game (like me), you will find the drama very interesting. There are times where the games are very important to the plot, but you aren't just watching two people put a white or black stone on the board...in the most intense moments, you are transported into a visual metaphor for the actions of the game. Sometimes it's an old style video game, sometimes it's two assassins battling it out, sometimes it's magical warriors fighting in a bamboo forest...each time is unique and manages to capture the essence of the emotions and the meanings behind the moves on the board. I really enjoyed that part and I love the writers for creating an opportunity to bring the game of Go to life in an interesting and new way.

There were several times where the sismance and bromance was strong in this drama. One thing that really stuck out for me was a few moments of real conversations between men about life, love, loss, and emotions. I like to see that expressed and shown more in dramas. Men have emotions just as much as women do, and it's healthy and good to show normal interactions...men don't always have to be smashed drunk out of their minds to open up to each other, sometimes you can sit across from each other and play a game of Go/chess or whatever and just talk to each other about life. It was amazing and I hope more dramas show men like that.

I would have given this show a perfect score except that I wish the writers would have dealt with Kao Ye a little differently, I felt his actions were undetected for too long and his very deep and overwhelming suffering wasn't seen by either his Shifu or his fellow apprentices or at least they didn't see it as something they need to make an effort to interfere or intercede with like they did when the ML had issues. The show wasn't about Kao Ye, so maybe that's why he was allowed to go into an inescapable spiral of obsession but his actions really had far reaching consequences and I wish someone had noticed him a little sooner. He was the root cause of his problems but still, I wish the writers had given him a little of a break once in a while.

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Storia veramente piacevole da seguire

Una storia completa senza quelle puntate morte in cui nulla sembra muoversi. C'è gioia, pianto, rivalità, amicizia, lealtà e sfida nonché amore, fra persone e verso il proprio lavoro. Non mancano i momenti divertenti. Ma la trama non è poi così banale incentrata su un gioco come il Go, che negli anni '80 era abbastanza conosciuto in Italia e poi, chissà perché, è sparito dalle preferenze e io non sapevo nemmeno che non lo giocassimo in maniera corretta.

Gli attori sono tutti bravi, chi più chi meno, e lo sviluppo della storia e delle trame, principale e secondarie è decisamente armonico. Contemporaneo e tempo passato si mischiano, si ricorrono e si completano permettendo a tutti i personaggi di ogni età di questo cast di essere protagonisti della trama principale e o secondaria che li riguarda.

Bellissima l'ambientazione e tutta la scenografia che rappresenta queste due sfaccettature di una Cina proiettata al futuro ma ancora immersa nel suo passato, fatto di oggetti, relazioni, rapporti e rispetto. Ed è certamente più facile capire come la tradizione può integrarsi completamente in un futuro meglio di come noi, in occidente, non siamo riusciti a fare.
Davvero un bel Drama da vedere e rivedere.

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A cutesy love story good enough to pass time..

Storywise, not that complicated. We have here a ML with traumatic past that caused him to see only in black and white. He met FL while they were still young and again when they were older. She literally brought colors into his life, as I've said, they have a cutesy love story.

As for the conflicts, its unbelievably unrealistic. Like their big fight is so shallow even in full for a RomCom. Their big fight was abour the ML not telling FL that he can see colors on her.

Casting was ok, but secondary characters were uninteresting. Skipped a lot of flash back and too long slowmo. If you're still interested, go ahead, it has a happy ending.

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A relaxing and healing drama

This is a very well written drama. Some scenes visualize a GO battle as a martial arts battle, which made them more interesting to noobs like me.

I liked all the CPs, especially that of the main CP and the love triangle of yuda, cheng yi and xu chi. I liked that the series reinforced but also broke away from the childhood friend=destiny trope, to simply say that there's no rule, you love who you love.

I also liked that the story did not stop when the main CP got together but continued on to show how they continued to support each other, their families and friends, leaving you with the feeling that whatever challenges they may face in the future, they would be able to pull through it together.

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Chinese Go meets Sweet (maybe too sweet..) Love Story

It has an interesting storyline! I appreciate how the game of Chinese Go is explained quite beautifully here, even the cameo appearances of real life figures of Go players here and there are a nice touch. It’s refreshing to me to know deeper about Go as a none-Chinese viewer who have no idea how to play Go (and I still don’t get the rules actually hehe). Also love the Master characters!!! He’s really cute like a papa bear but also very supporting and kind.
For the ML&FL love story, it is also pretty nice with a good character developments specifically the ML. Although, for me personally, it’s way too sweet for my liking especially when they used the play on words with the pomelo flavored candy or ‘you’. It’s just to cringey and make my fingers curl every time hahaha. But, I think for those who like the saccharine sweet type of romance story, it will suit your taste just right.
Overall, I enjoyed watching this, but I don't think I will rewatch this in the future especially since it has quite a lot of episodes.

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If you have NOTHING else to watch, you can use this to fuel your sugar addiction!

I enjoyed watching the OTP romance in this one. It was really cute, fluffy and the leads looked great together and had a reasonable amount of chemistry. Though it was certainly not without problems, such as there was a 2 episode long ridiculous breakup & reconciliation plot. Also the leads were so in love that the FL literally jumped in front of ML to protect him with her body, but apparently not in love enough to forgo the pillow barrier thing, when they shared a bed in a hotel room. So yes, there are all kinds of cliches, but all the wholesomeness & fluff made me forgive them. Also this is a safe drama to watch for love triangle haters such as myself.

Based on the main romance alone this would be a weak 8-ish drama, but there were side couples as well. The two other couples were quite alright to watch too in the last 10-15 episodes, but before they've gotten together, the men not yet in those relationships have done some REALLY silly borderline cartoon-ish things. Yuda's character was unwatchable in the earlier episodes, "luckily" he has received several character rewrites & by the time he has started dating the second FL he has become tolerable, but nonetheless jarring character adjustments are never okay. I would've rather had him killed & introduced another guy for Cheng Yi.

As for the non romance related plot. It was pretty weak. It's not nearly as annoying as in Love is Sweet, but it's an endless loop of minor annoyances & the Daoist interpretation of Go. Naturally there is a cartoon villain character as well. Honestly this plot is wasted on the excellent ensemble of actors.
There were 41 episodes, unfortunately out of those 5 are straight up trash. I'm talking about episodes 31-32 due to the stupid breakup thing & 38 to 40 due to the tragedy & the ML losing his mind. The short 10 minute long ending is basically ML regaining his mind. I would have much preferred the basic "proposal -> register marriage -> have kid" formula. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The visuals are good, but the photography is not out of the ordinary as far as 2021 cdramas go. As for the OST, it was fairly mediocre, I did not particularly like any of the songs, nor is the instrumental background music used to a great effect.

I'm not a hardcore feminist or anything, but Ding Lan's lack of ambitions as a Go player and her monologues about sentimental women such as herself being worse than men at Go was not a great listen. (I cannot be 100% certain about Go ofc, but in regular good old western Chess women are not inferior to men, at least when the conditions are the same, unfortunately that's almost never the case)

6/10. (if you want something similar but better, just go for the Go Go Squids instead)

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