I am a sucker for rough-edged and complicated male leads and so after reading its synopsis and watching a few clips of it on youtube, I finally decided to watch it. By the end of it, I was only left with mixed emotions.

The start off was pretty strong. We got an innocent but strong-willed female lead and a good-looking rough-edged male lead. The story seemed to be solid as it took off with a concrete conflict.

However, as the drama went on, Rong Jinxiu, the female lead, became too naive for my taste. And I tried too hard to understand her situation and her character as to why she made such terrible decisions in the middle of the drama. But there were just some points that was just a bit too dumb. The good thing was her character developed quite a lot, although it was more of a roller coaster ride for her.

Zou Zhen was just dreamy. He was a tough guy yet a charming little pup when he falls in love. There were moments, though, when he was too blindsided because of his love that he dismissed all logic just for Jinxiu--a dumb yet somehow romantic move.

Maeda Ryuichi/Qian Tian as the main antagonist was a feat of the drama. His character was so complex and unpredictable and ruthless you would have a hard time loving and hating him at the same time. I just loved his character development despite some flaws. Plus, Maeda Ryuichi is one of the sexiest antagonist I have ever seen.

The story had its ups and downs. Like I said, it started off with a strong point. But it slowly got lost along the way as side stories overshadowed the main plot. Halfway through the drama, the plot dragged so slow I was a bit reluctant to continue on.

The OTPs' story got lost (literally) in the middle and came back only with 10 episodes left. There were a little too many side stories for us to handle and the plot became way too complicated and messy.

But the plot twists were at least unexpected. And with such a complex story, we expected it to have a decent and just ending. Instead, we were given a mediocre and anticlimactic one, which I think was the result of rushing the rest of the untold story and condensing it all in the remaining episodes.

The relationship and chemistry of the OTPs were strong. Yes, they had bad times, and I'm not talking about the conflicts in the story. But they were lovable in the end.

Overall, the drama was quite a delight. Although a bit sloppy at times, I still enjoyed watching it. And I wouldn't deny that Cruel Romance has left an impression, strong enough for me to have the urge to revisit it some day.

*note: for a detailed review on the characters, plot, relationships, points and flaws of Cruel Romance click here https://tinyurl.com/y935e3vq