Super Tropey but watchable on the side

A standard cliche overload drama but somehow watchable on the side if you set aside ALL logic. Basically just don't think and press skip whenever the evil girl talks.

Drama starts off with a poor girl going to a sommelier interview w/ ripped shorts.... uh ok?
She works at a retail wine store selling wine but she can afford an upscale apartment .... uh ok?
ML in order avoid getting arrested buys the next door apartment within an hour?
FL then goes to see wine connoisseur in Phillip but no invitation needed?.....
And the list goes on but by then the only way to go on is to just stop thinking and enjoy the comedy parts. Yes there were some forced comedy (not funny), some awkward comedy (cringy) but some very enjoyable ones too.

Best funny scenes:
ML's side kick He Le had the best lines overall. Probably the best character that needed more screen time.
Him telling off FL's ex bf and ex bf's sugar mama.
Him trying to kiss the ML
Him screaming like a little girl
ML tries the cringe pick up lines. FL gasps responds "Little bro, you watch too many dramas"
Grandpa visits ask ML / FL to make a heart to take a picture. Awkward pose....

Citeste mai mult

Amazing talented kids actors!

I found this after watching some of the light on series through similar recommendations & I can't believe I missed this for 2 years. This is one of the best suspense crime dramas out there. Yes it's dark, disturbing and may not be everyone's cup of tea but it's must watch if you enjoy heavier content.

The entire cast was strong however I was blown away by how talented these kids are. The transformation of Chang Yang's character from good to evil is portrayed perfectly by the young actor. It's hard to just showcase that kind of transformation through such an introverted character. What's more the parallelism between Chao Yang & Zhang Dong Sheng is undeniable. It's like they can sense each other. That pressure continues to build up, until the ultimate betrayal pushes them over the edge.

Pupu's character was the only innocence that could've brought Zhang Dong Sheng & Chao Yang back to the light but as the lies continues to build up there was no going back.

Yan Liang protector of Pupu was the most tragic one as he trusted Chao Yang time & time again. His bad decisions out of good intentions started the whole snowball effect.

In the end "You can believe in fairy tale." ................... but that's not the reality.

Hidden Details of the Drama:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RInCXdE9to

Citeste mai mult

Interesting concept progressed terribly

A while back I saw "Burning Ice" which led to watch Light on Series. Most were decent despite some flaws. Its hard to find good mystery thriller C-Dramas compared to romance ones.

I really like the concept of technology advancement of AI eventually controlling human fate but the execution leading up to the ending wasn't plausible.
It made less sense after ep. 10. I didn't get the character development and it didn't make sense why the hero had to be Na Dou.
Nothing but why's in my head and its not because of the twists because there weren't any.

I still gave this a 7 because Fan Cheng Cheng is quite the actor. First time seeing his work but will definitely check out his other works after this.

So watch it for Fan Cheng Cheng else watch other light on series:

Burning ice, not sure if this is a light on series but it has the cop character in "The Long night"
The Long night (2020) <-- the darkest
The Pavilion <-- not much twists but really great cast and a touching story
Who is the Murderer (2021) <-- I liked the suspense in this one
Homesick (2022) <-- I loved the suspense and twists in this one
Why try to change me now (2023) <-- the worst one. I couldn't even watch it

Happy Drama-ing!

Citeste mai mult

Light on Series - Love with Flaws

I started with a drama called Burning Ice (2017) then went on to "The Long Night" and found it's Light on Series drama from a review. Now I can't stop watching them! I can't say any one of the drama has been super amazing but all had quality stories and acting.

This drama didn't have many twists and it was pretty predictable where the story was going but I really enjoyed the cast and the family dynamics. The trauma of losing a family member shattered each one of their lives in different ways. As the search for the truth progresses, each person reveals their struggles inside.

The last episode closed out with the family recovering but it didn't feel completely satisfying as other relationships did not get resolved like:
Between the parents of the boy in beginning of the drama vs the parents of Nian Mei
Nian Mei & Mu Ge
Mu Ge's Mom vs Nian Mei's Aunt

Citeste mai mult

Different take from your normal suspense dramas

Pacing felt slow on this one however I did enjoy the overall story.

What makes this drama different:
There are 3 different stories that ties to each other
Many episodes starts off with a different person's narrative. It reveals their inner thoughts and reasoning, sometimes justifications for their wrong actions
Each character expressed different types of loneliness and the inability to connect to the rest of the world

Ending was 20/80 bitter sweet
"Perfect parents do not exist in this world, nor perfect children. We still chose to believe"

Citeste mai mult

Fantastic start

Story follows 4 rookies with very different past & personalities as they navigate through their 1st year of police work.

Rookie
1. Liu Da Wei is probably everyone's favorite with his sharp come backs. He's positivity takes after his mom (very few good mom characters in the show)
2. Yang Shu - exceptionally smart but very black and white idealistic cop
3. Xia Jie - Female character living the shadow of his father and over protective mom
4. Zhao Ji Wei - Not as likable initially as he's a country boy with obviously communication issues

Ep 1-9 I was hooked. Loved:
The mentor match up conflicts for Liu Da Wei and Yang Shu.
4 rookie's friendship under 1 roof
Growth in perspective with each case
Solid supporting characters
Liu Da Wei's witty comebacks, but I do think much is lost in translation

After Ep 9 I started to play at 1.5x speed for scenes with over exaggerated characters. Cops felt like door mats that villagers can yell at for whatever whenever.
There's too much expectations for cops that at some point it just felt unrealistic. "Protect & serve" apparently means that you need to be their fathers, mothers, psychiatrist, nurse, pay for the lock smith and hospital bills out of your own pocket. If you get slapped you'll need to just take it and apologize.
Think directors were trying to shoot that "warm fuzzy" drama but end up felt forced.

Ending wasn't bad. It tied up most of the lose ends but some stories didn't feel like it was truly resolved.

Citeste mai mult

Cliche done almost right

Zero surprise with stereotypical cliches but I feel these stories can be done right if the cast is good. The same story line can be redone over non stop and its quit enjoyable to watch on the side.

10 for the cast. ML & FL are both so expressive and adorable. The ML especially nailed the part.
FL 's dubbing is annoying. It's a bit overdone and sounds super immature for a 22 year old.
There's always loop holes with the these types of dramas so you'll need to avoid thinking about the logic and just go with it.
The ML's mom was a fun character and got me laughing a few scenes.
The ML's assistant was somewhat fun but could've used more humorous lines.
Happy no super mean girl syndrome (those are always auto skip).

Lots of fluff and happiness in this drama perfect for those who enjoys these.

WARNING fish lip kisses overload.

Citeste mai mult

Unexpectedly Good ... SOOooOoO Good

It was a 10 until ep 31.

I love the ML and FL in different dramas but their pairing initially was questionable to me as the age gap looked a bit much. He looks 10 years younger and She looks her real age but surprisingly their chemistry was very good. In addition the supporting couple is so cute as well. Strong start to the drama with lots of laughs and sweet moments already. So far no nasty characters and there's a lot of human factor to the story. By that I mean no characters you just want to skip kind.

The story started off with an intense life turning moment for the lead characters followed by 2 years of break. They meet again in the oddest way only happen in drama land with some unavoidable misunderstandings. I love that she's strong, not needing to be rescued weak girl. She gets injured and can handle the pain, not the "O I cut my finger boy need to carry me kind". She has her weakness but she doesn't give up. Soon he sees the fighting spirit and grew fond of her. Their conversations are entertaining so kudos to the script writers!

More over there are a lot of subtle humor. My favorite ones:
1. Ep 1: "What , rice? that's a last name? " FL while holding a bomb "What can I do if my dad's last name is rice?"
2. Staring contest between the leads, the background is blurred out but if you pay attention to the background you'll crack up laughing.
3. FL and the director looking at an animal brain RAW!!! then she orders cooked intestine "here you go this, its something you regularly operate on."

so many more!!!

Sadly ep 31 came and annoying characters introduction ruined the drama wasted about 5 ep. Characters/ story line was totally not needed.

Citeste mai mult

Promotes "Self Love"

Rom Com with unavoidable cliches (aka fish lip frozen kissing scenes) However There are a lot of things that are well done in this drama:

1. 90% likeable characters from supporting cast to the leads
2. Negative characters got limited scenes (some dramas are killed by negative characters overtaking screen time)
3. Minimal negative characters which is also a good thing else you'll think the world is a lousy place
4. Promote self love. You have to fix yourself before trying to fix others. I think this is very important and its positive vibe
5. Adult life <-- unlike some old fashioned dramas where leads don't even have any past until 30 and can't have relations unless it's marriage, this does hints people actually dated!
6. Fun one liners from supporting characters like the roommate, the male assistant & the artist.
7. Cute relationships amongst the characters. aka the 3 team members. I really liked the conflicted friend that finds ML annoying but yet deep deep DEEP down inside he cares. The 1/2 brother with Seo Dan Ah was a messy complicated one and yet sweet at times too. Many atypical relationships all covered and it was unique to this drama.

Negative:
Breakup <-- unavoidable predicament in any rom com. This was weak. Strong FL boom just break down over dad scene. Like yeah common....
Emotional scenes <-- not so touching, didn't really hit but I don't think it matters much

I enjoyed quite a bit. Easy watch if you want something relaxing.

Citeste mai mult

Hooked by ep 3

There are some crime dramas that have a powerful ep 1 that hooks you right away and then kind of sizzles off pass the 1/2 way mark. This one a bit slow in the beginning but by ep 3 you will love the characters. So heart felt with the leads from vastly different circumstances. An old detective conflicted with what's right verses a job that he needs to survive. He acts like he doesn't want to get involved but only because he doesn't want to drag down other people's career.

Comes a young hot seemingly empty cop with little joys in his life who doesn't care what this case will do to his career. They team to solve the case. It started off a bit slow but by ep 3, the 2 opposite cops bonded through a heartwarming scene where old cop asked young cop "why are you working?" (& not enjoying life with his inheritance $.) Young cop expressed he that he doesn't have a family and w/o being a cop "I'd have nothing left but money." You'll see the pain in his eyes with his acting!

The first murder wasn't much surprise and honestly I didn't expect the retrial to take that direction. The subsequent murder connections kept you on your seat. It's got enough names for you to draw 2 page relationship diagrams but it will all come to light by ep 13. The dialogues only gets better as the story continues. There are so many subtle humor between the characters that it keeps the characters all that much memorable.

I also enjoyed the complex characters that no one is one sided good or bad as they all have to make good and bad decisions that may or may not benefit them. You'll end up disliking one character only to like them later on, like the chief, the reporter, the internal affairs, the head strong cop on the team and so on.

Great crime drama extremely well written! This kind of drama deserves multiple seasons. One can only wish.

Citeste mai mult

Lots of Joy of Life cast

I think you'll find it even more enjoyable if you were a fan of Joy of Life although the ML and the FL played brother & sister in Joy of life and this one they are husband and wife. Even Zhang Ruo Yun made the initial cameo which I loved! The ML maintains his comedic character and extended the same qualities in this drama. It's not a joy of life of course but if you need a lighthearted drama with a good laugh this one definitely offers that.

The ML wakes up in the past from the future and brings a lot of business savvy ideas. He gathers the support all the $ bought husbands to establish a business chain for thousand year old eggs no less. The dialogue back and forth was very witty. The only portion i skipped was many of the brother of the wife and his dad.

16 ep in the drama took a completely different turn in your political drama. It was still semi enjoyable but there's definitely some sad moments with supporting characters that I wish it didn't go in that direction. Honestly I wish they kept it just comedic through out and not go into this deep meaning of life choices, betrayal, loss over political unrest. There are enough dramas for that. The ending is also like Joy of Life where you know there's a season 2 just waiting years years later to happen.

Strong start with no finish....

Citeste mai mult

Stronger FL than most dramas

The story is strong, acting was decent by the cast. Fight choreography is above average with some really good stunts.

Positive:
Interesting story with a STRONG start a solid 8 (but then it dropped)
FL is a strong FL that didn't turn stupid and weak mid way through like other dramas
Decent acting
Good supporting cast - I really liked the FL's guard, the tea house female & FL's double
Less than average # of overbearing characters with repetitive lines that you need to skip.
One on one fight scenes. These are rare when the actors can't pretend to fight at all but there were many enjoyable ones.

Not so Great:
NO chemistry between all 3 men with the FL. Chemistry with the FL = 0
FL wants to find the truth but always refuse to listen to other people for their side of the story, not very consistent w/ her smart character
She saves random people out of kindness yet she's not very nice to injured 2nd lead even after he took a knife for her. Again doesn't fit her character
Lagging after first 30 ep. lost direct after ep 40. Character twist didn't make a lot of sense
No humor relief, they tried w/ the little brother of the king's character but not much humor in this drama, not even subtle ones

This drama won't be like a Joy of life classic but the story had potential with enough mystery built in it initially. It wasn't just executed to the full potential.

Citeste mai mult

Dad of the Year

This drama explores the best of the best of human nature but also the disgusting side. I just started this drama and already hooked. I did have to skip all the long dialogue of the nagging neighbors & relatives that feel the need to judge. Whole reason why I don't watch many modern C-dramas.

The dad who opens the noodle shop is a saint who end up taking care of 3 kids. Then there's the godfather cop who is also a great character as well.
I wish they spent a little more time on the little kids versions as they are all so adorable.

Its so sad that adult issues impacted the kids early on and as the kids grow you can see the personalities develop still overshadowed by the abandonment. I love how the 2nd brother helps the dad so much knowing how lucky he is to be raised by him.
The older brother is much more introverted that loves taking care of Jian Jian, the carefree hyperactive girl.
I love the personality dynamics of the three as they navigate through life and the changed feelings.
However I do wish the drama is more realistic in that none of them really went through relationships. The older brother is almost 30 and still zero relationship history.

Must skip characters:
ML 1 : Grandma
ML 1: CRAZY mom. TOXIC
ML 2 Little Older Bro: Biological butt dad
ML 2 Little Older Bro: Aunt <---- same lines every time
FL's smart GF: MOM <--- What's w/ these redic parents?
FL's pretty GF: MOM <---- not as many lines but not less annoying

As the story develops, you'll see the impact and hurt each person faces. There are so many great outstanding performances.
However the ending felt rushed. Side characters didn't wrap up their stories really. Could've used a few more episodes. This is where 40 episodes felt not enough for a change.

Citeste mai mult

Perfectly executed

I hardly watch any serious movies as I prefer rainbows & cupcakes kind of dramas to destress from the real world. However this movie is incredible I end up watching 3x and teared up all 3x!!!
The acting left me speechless. You can feel their inner emotions with so little words.

It's a dark peace that shed light on the ever growing school bullying issue. Despite the gloomy reality for the leads from different worlds together they had hope still for better days.
The only character that annoyed the crap out of me was the female cop. Wow I just wanted to slap her character that is.

You'll have to to wait for after the credits to see more of the ending.

Citeste mai mult