Somente por Amor (2023)

It’s complicated

The actors were super amazing and the storyline was also fine but it could not keep my full attention. It was very slow paced and many of the scenes should not have taken as long as they did. I get that people want to create tension but it was a little over the top. This is one of those shows that could have been done in 20-26 episodes , I’ve found myself skipping multiple times in nearly every episode until episode 20 something. The story itself was very interesting to see unfold and the couples were super cute & had me rooting for them all throughout , the buisiness aspect was also nice but I kinda wanted to see more details. The slow pace is nice if you’re watching a few episodes in a week but if you’re looking to binge it gets a little dissapointing to sit through hours of little to no progress between the couples. It’s definitely worth watching but more as a filler show.

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Extenso, porém..

É um c-drama bem extenso, com muitas interações desnecessárias, daria para ser em 24 episódios ou menos.
Todas as situações mais importantes são interrompidas por uma ligação no início da trama, o que se torna cansativo e de revirar os olhos. E ao longo dos episódios o foco muda para o dia a dia de trabalho e problemas de um dos protagonistas. O que faz com que o interesse possa diminuir um pouco. Eu mesma pulei para outro c-drama com episódios curtos para ver que voltava o animo para finalizar. Porém, na etapa final há muitos momentos para se dar risada e deixar mais leve o final do drama.

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awkward camera angles and unrealistic relationship? yet good chemistry

The chemistry between dylan wang and bailu in this drama was there. Only disappointments were definitely the very terrible camera angles and unrealistic relationship between the couple. Honestly i don't get the part why she said she wanted to pursue him (like was it because of revenge or what?) but i just watched through the show ignoring the flaws because their chemistry was already there. Their acting was quite decent. OST was good esp the theme song and others too. Honestly, i only watched this since I'm a fan of both bailu and wang hedi. I found it weird how the last episode just presented the marriage of the side characters and not the main leads. Eventually the main leads marriage were thrown into special ep instead. Honestly speaking, some people might miss out on it so I just wished production team could've chosen to insert the main leads marriage in the end of ep 36 instead of side couple. This drama is definitely cringy but honestly no regrets watching all 36 eps.

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Dragged out story

I started reading the manhua recently but it is still ongoing, then found out that it has a c-drama adaptation so I jumped into watching it immediately.
This drama could have ended at 20 episodes if only they lessened the time allotted to finance stuff that nobody really cares about (I skipped most of this scenes). It is truly a wasted potential to see both amazing actors paired but have a complicated characters. The female lead is smart career wise but makes really poor decisions when it comes to romance. Still can't believe that she writes good headlines and talk professionally to different businessmen but can't even make a proper apology to the male lead. I think it took almost 5 episodes just for them to reconcile, which should have just taken one episode instead if ONLY they learned to properly communicate *sighs*. 36 episodes is too dragging, they could have already started their relationship early if those COUNTLESS phone call interruptions didn't happen.
This is my first time watching Bai Lu and I am now in love with her.

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it's was confusing

i like both the actresses and actors. I like the 4 couple ship but they had barely any communication going in the relationship department. Also, they overuse the phone calls cause it always interrupt the romantic moments. I like Bai Lu and Dylan Wang but this drama was a horror show. It also stretched the plot to 36 eps the whole thing could have been done in half. The whole 36 eps were so long and hellish i couldn't enjoy the drama i had to skip here and there because i wanted to know how the drama would end. I like the ending but not the drama just one ep i liked out of all the eps and that was the ending.

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makes for great edits BUT…

romantic parts are swooney
liked MCs chemistry
great for making edits
independent fl
BUT
too many missunderstandings
poor comunication skill (unrealistic for an investor and reporter)
dialogue and actions didnt make sense sometimes (overexplanation when not needed and no explanation when desperately needed)
best friend gives worst advice
somewhat immature
too long
niece is way to persistent, no means no girl
how prideful can you be? just say sorry!

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enjoyable

love watching these two actors. it was a great fit and chemistry. the supporting actors are also enjoyable to watch their storylines grow and evolve.

at times I thought it was very slow going, but realized life doesn’t happen and solve things fast, especially relationship problems. so I sat back and enjoyed the process.

I will be looking for more of their movies to follow. ML is what brought me to this series, but will also start following the other actors as well.

the one highly disappointment of watching this on YouTube was the constant “Silence” from around episode 20 till the end random moments of silence where the volume was turned off. I understand copyright, but it really interfered with enjoying the show and giving a higher score. However this is the ONLY series so far that will keep the captions even when the volume is off.
please find a way to stop turning off the volume.

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Boring

I havent read the original book series.

For the show as a standalone, I found it very hard to sit through. The central romance plot is a guessing game/ misunderstanding. In this quest sometimes it seems as if the FL is trying to scam the ML. This plot point was dragged throughout the show, when they should have wrapped it neatly earlier on and then focused on something else. And the score make everything worse, adding a 'humour' sign to everything. I was cringing and face palming almost the entire time. There was a lot of 2nd hand embarrassment that i felt because of the FL. Someone had commented that the title of the series should have been "only For Work" instead, and i agree. The makers tried to portray FL and ML as aspiring hard working career driven people, and so the viewers have to sit mostly scenes about their projects, and work related drama. It seemed like how they show random hello world code and keyboard tapping to represent programmers and hackers. aka, im not sure of the credibility of the info, so how is it of any use to me? Is needed tutorial on how to take a business interview, run a large corporation or write a economics article i would be looking it up elsewhere, not watching your show.
We have 3 couples in focus. 3 girl-friends and 3 guy-friends. The friends give wrong advice, and misunderstandings keep getting prolonged. The 2nd lead couple has some commitment issues. The 3FL is a little naïve but has her heart in the right place. There are some other side couples too, and everyone is falling in love.

The FL doesnt really have a personality, she's just reacting to things happening in her life, and taking bad advice from her friends. Its almost as the makers made it such that the target audience may live vicariously through the FL (almost?).

The ML is a kind of secure man, who is very calculative and smart. Which makes the misunderstanding plot device more frustrating because the whole humour point is supposed to be "you thought he didnt know but he knew all along" type. He is a man of a few words, little snobbish. "Always watching you from behind", "got your back" kind of attitude towards the FL. And there is a lot of manhandling in the show. It is supposed to appear romantic.

I gave it a chance only because of Bai Lu and Dylan Wang.

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Drama Doesn't Suit Both Main Leads

Please beware of spoilers....

I'm a fan of both Bai Lu and Dylan Wang but there's just something missing in this drama. Both characters seems lacking. The writing and plot are just so-so. There isnt any real emotions coming from either actors because the storyline and writing is limited. The problem I think with Dylan and Bai Lu is that when we see them in other historical/costume dramas, including ones that either have the fantasy genre, wuxia or martial arts, these actors have action scenes and CGI to fall back on. Things like special effects and CGI, mystical powers, brillant costumes, cable wiring and martial art scenes all give the actors that extra flair. But take that all out and put Dylan or Bai Lu in a modern day drama, well, there's not much but their own acting to fall back on. And of course, shoddy writing is a killer too.

Major spoilers:
First, when the FL's bf cheats on her, you don't get feel any emotion from her character. And she even allows herself to get shoved aside by the "mistress" and then she goes out and pouts like a little girl. Even when another colleague steals her interview, again, no real reaction from the FL. We're supposed to take her seriously as a reporter but at the same time, we see her crushing hard on the ML. For someone who was betrayed, the FL has no problem quickly trying to target a rich person. I expect highschoolers to act the way she does but she's supposed to be a professional, grown, mature woman. We have to repeatedly watch her stare at the ML and in slo-mo too. Her staring-while-awkwardly-smiling scenes are so much that it's giving off cringey, stalkery vibes. Also, too much dead space when she just stands there uncomfortably smiling and making no eye contact. Her inner dialogues are often immature and overdramatic. We don't need to hear everything she's thinking if it's just going to be about dumb assumptions. All annoying. It's doesn't make the FL look any better and doesn't complement nor highlight Bai Lu's acting skills at all. Also, her hair and makeup is all the same. Very bland.

As for Dylan Wang, he plays this no-nonsense CEO but he has his doubts. Instead of playing to that emotion, he just seems like he's boringly competitive and jealous. Like how do you make jealousy boring? Apparently the lack of compelling writing and direction can. I'm not sure who the stylist is but some of his suits and jackets don't look properly fitted to him. He sometimes looks like a kid in big clothes. Don't even get me started on his glasses. It's like instead of making him look "dashing" and model-like, his clothes look baggy and often makes him look "aged". He has a good physique so it's disappointing to see him in ill-fitting clothing. The only time he looked really good was when he wore riding clothes. Also, what's with all the camera angles always panning from under Dylan's chin when he make some kind of grand entrance? Not exactly flattering. There's always that low panning of the camera angle on Dylan and then a higher camera on Bai Lu. And is his character supposed to have some kind of "super hearing"? As for his acting, he's the typical Dylan Wang and his character is pretty basic.

I really don't understand the purpose of Dylan's niece. She's just another woman being made to play a dumbed down and immature character. Why do cdramas make women like this? Enough already. And even the FL's best friend just seems like she likes rich dudes too.

Anyways, I'm hoping that the storyline improves. It's a bit draggy. I'll update this later if necessary. (Ep 10.)

Updated:
I just realized I dropped this drama after Ep14.

Every time the two leads were in the car, the car trips are a waste of time. The FL is always avoiding eye contact but then she smiles and giggles when texting and their texts are even boring. So much texting because afterall, they can't have grown up, decent conversations. And then in one scene, the FL runs away and hides from her cheating ex. Why? Because it was the same restaurant they went to? Like who cares? She was sitting with a way better dude. And let's talk about her running away from the ML half the time especially after the FL kissed him... which was... meh.

Apparently the FL lead has no idea about relationships because she keeps calling her bestie for advice who gives the worst advice. She even gave advice when there was a guy in the room who actually knows the ML. Like every woman knows that's just ain't something women do. The bestie can't even get her own sh*t together either.

Then we have to watch the young niece pursuing one of her uncle's friends and she had the audacity to ask him if he was gay when they barely know each other. She's basically stalking him. Actually, everyone is stalking each other! Lol!

And lastly when we finally see the two leads holding hands, it bothered the hell outta me that her jacket belt was undone. Sounds ridiculous, but I telly ya', it was distracting.

Overall, the whole push and pull theme is just boring and unoriginal. There's only so much awkward smiling I can take from the FL.

I read some comments and everyone is complaining about the pace. I don't care how long it takes for the leads to get together, so long as the build up to get there is interesting. I understand that others are also saying that it does or doesn't mirror the book but a show should be able to stand on its own and make you want to read the book afterwards. That's just my opinion.

I'm passing on this for now and if I do pick it up again, I'll be fast-forwarding to only the leads' scenes together. Lowered my rating from a 6 to a 4.

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