HallsOfIvy
New York, NY USA
Sweetest Romance of the Season
I don't usually write reviews, but this series was way too good to not write a review for it.
In short, this series is definitely one that you don't see often, and I truly hope that it makes a precedent for future series to come. It's definitely a sweet romance that brings a smile to your face every episode with how cute the main couple is.
-- MAIN COUPLE --
The only way I can explain this couple is having a healthy relationship, which is so rare to see that it's like a huge breath of fresh air. Of course, they have their own couple spats and issues, but it's so nice to see that they have mutual trust in each other and there are absolutely no unnecessary misunderstandings between them. There's also the fact that although they're editor and author - a sort of subordinate and boss situation - each side's power in the relationship is extremely balanced.
For Chu Li (Esther Yu), she's an extremely smart character and is generally able to stand up for herself and solve her own problems with minimal help from the male lead. There's no damsel in distress - it's clear that she's able to do things on her own. I truly truly applaud this series for this. It's really not every day where a female lead is able to persevere her strong personality till the end.
For Zhou Chuan (Ryan Ding), he's a narcissistic little boy who never got his dad's love, but his heart's softer than anyone's. He's like a little puppy in front of the female lead and his best friend, and it's absolutely adorable. He also knows that while he wants to help the female lead, she has her own way of doing things, and he can't do everything for her. There's also a comparison in the series with the husband of Yu Yao when it comes to how Zhou Chuan handles Chu Li's workaholic side. Where one tries to suppress the female to become a standard "wife", the other supports her, loves her for her loyalty to her work, and only steps in when needed to take care of her health.
Together, they're a stupid cute and funny couple that defies the odds together (key word: together). When problems do arise, there's no one side tries to solve it for the other, but rather they respect each other and take it head-on together.
--SIDE COUPLE (SPOILER)--
I'll keep this shorter because they do kind of irritate me. At first, they play it up so Jiang Yucheng has this hatred for his ex-girlfriend, Gu Baizhi, due to some misunderstanding. But then halfway through his heart softens because he still has lingering feelings, and starts wanting to try again out of nowhere? Nothing, absolutely nothing, was really cleared up about the past, and they just have misunderstandings after misunderstandings. I swear, if I were GBZ, I would've dumped his ass in the sewers already.
Not to mention that they completely ruined Jiang Yucheng's personality for the sake of his romance. As a writer, he's stubborn and sticks to his opinions - same as Zhou Chuan. It's also one of the reasons why he had a fallout with GBZ - because she kept trying to have him write this and that for the sake of gaining better sales. However, when they met with Maurer (a director), GBZ said that JYC would be willing to compromise for the sake of the film - resulting in his loss in the competition with Zhou Chuan - but they didn't address this AT ALL. And then, in trying to get GBZ back, he claims that anything he did wrong, he'll change for her. If this isn't a red flag, I don't know what is.
Overall, they had their cute moments, especially toward the end, but their process was just a mess.
--OVERALL--
[Music - 8.5/10] There's only a few songs in the soundtrack, including one sung by Esther Yu herself, but the ones that do exist are soft and sweet. Esther's voice has improved a lot since her trainee days!
[Rewatch value - 9/10] I don't have a tendency to rewatch dramas since I already know what will happen, but maybe in a few years when I forget details and want to rewatch something, this is definitely one of the dramas on the top of my list.
[Overall - 9.5/10] There's bias in the review of course, but I really didn't watch this series expecting anything. My opinion of Esther Yu has always been pretty neutral, but for the sake of my "May boyfriend" and after finding the trailer pretty funny, only then did I decide to watch this. I can't expect everyone to enjoy it as much as I did, but I do highly recommend watching at least a couple of episodes if you enjoy sweet rom-com series. Especially if you enjoyed Ryan DIng (Ding YuXi)'s The Romance of Tiger and Rose, this series has that romance and comedy feel but in a modern setting.
---
Notes:
- I know there's a bit of dislike for Esther's voice (I completely understand - it's one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of hers), but for the sake of this amazing series, it is 100% overlookable and you get used to it. Regardless, her voice sounds more natural here than it ever did on Youth With You.
- "May boyfriend" is a joke in the Chinese community. Because Ding YuXi (Ryan Ding) became popular after two romance dramas starring him both aired at the same time last year (May 2020) - respectively The Romance of Tiger and Rose//Intense Love - he became dubbed as 五月男友 (May boyfriend).
In short, this series is definitely one that you don't see often, and I truly hope that it makes a precedent for future series to come. It's definitely a sweet romance that brings a smile to your face every episode with how cute the main couple is.
-- MAIN COUPLE --
The only way I can explain this couple is having a healthy relationship, which is so rare to see that it's like a huge breath of fresh air. Of course, they have their own couple spats and issues, but it's so nice to see that they have mutual trust in each other and there are absolutely no unnecessary misunderstandings between them. There's also the fact that although they're editor and author - a sort of subordinate and boss situation - each side's power in the relationship is extremely balanced.
For Chu Li (Esther Yu), she's an extremely smart character and is generally able to stand up for herself and solve her own problems with minimal help from the male lead. There's no damsel in distress - it's clear that she's able to do things on her own. I truly truly applaud this series for this. It's really not every day where a female lead is able to persevere her strong personality till the end.
For Zhou Chuan (Ryan Ding), he's a narcissistic little boy who never got his dad's love, but his heart's softer than anyone's. He's like a little puppy in front of the female lead and his best friend, and it's absolutely adorable. He also knows that while he wants to help the female lead, she has her own way of doing things, and he can't do everything for her. There's also a comparison in the series with the husband of Yu Yao when it comes to how Zhou Chuan handles Chu Li's workaholic side. Where one tries to suppress the female to become a standard "wife", the other supports her, loves her for her loyalty to her work, and only steps in when needed to take care of her health.
Together, they're a stupid cute and funny couple that defies the odds together (key word: together). When problems do arise, there's no one side tries to solve it for the other, but rather they respect each other and take it head-on together.
--SIDE COUPLE (SPOILER)--
I'll keep this shorter because they do kind of irritate me. At first, they play it up so Jiang Yucheng has this hatred for his ex-girlfriend, Gu Baizhi, due to some misunderstanding. But then halfway through his heart softens because he still has lingering feelings, and starts wanting to try again out of nowhere? Nothing, absolutely nothing, was really cleared up about the past, and they just have misunderstandings after misunderstandings. I swear, if I were GBZ, I would've dumped his ass in the sewers already.
Not to mention that they completely ruined Jiang Yucheng's personality for the sake of his romance. As a writer, he's stubborn and sticks to his opinions - same as Zhou Chuan. It's also one of the reasons why he had a fallout with GBZ - because she kept trying to have him write this and that for the sake of gaining better sales. However, when they met with Maurer (a director), GBZ said that JYC would be willing to compromise for the sake of the film - resulting in his loss in the competition with Zhou Chuan - but they didn't address this AT ALL. And then, in trying to get GBZ back, he claims that anything he did wrong, he'll change for her. If this isn't a red flag, I don't know what is.
Overall, they had their cute moments, especially toward the end, but their process was just a mess.
--OVERALL--
[Music - 8.5/10] There's only a few songs in the soundtrack, including one sung by Esther Yu herself, but the ones that do exist are soft and sweet. Esther's voice has improved a lot since her trainee days!
[Rewatch value - 9/10] I don't have a tendency to rewatch dramas since I already know what will happen, but maybe in a few years when I forget details and want to rewatch something, this is definitely one of the dramas on the top of my list.
[Overall - 9.5/10] There's bias in the review of course, but I really didn't watch this series expecting anything. My opinion of Esther Yu has always been pretty neutral, but for the sake of my "May boyfriend" and after finding the trailer pretty funny, only then did I decide to watch this. I can't expect everyone to enjoy it as much as I did, but I do highly recommend watching at least a couple of episodes if you enjoy sweet rom-com series. Especially if you enjoyed Ryan DIng (Ding YuXi)'s The Romance of Tiger and Rose, this series has that romance and comedy feel but in a modern setting.
---
Notes:
- I know there's a bit of dislike for Esther's voice (I completely understand - it's one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of hers), but for the sake of this amazing series, it is 100% overlookable and you get used to it. Regardless, her voice sounds more natural here than it ever did on Youth With You.
- "May boyfriend" is a joke in the Chinese community. Because Ding YuXi (Ryan Ding) became popular after two romance dramas starring him both aired at the same time last year (May 2020) - respectively The Romance of Tiger and Rose//Intense Love - he became dubbed as 五月男友 (May boyfriend).
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