A must watch minidrama!

It hasn't been long since I started watching cdramas. Considering that, I also haven't watched that many minidramas, just a few. But even from that and the countless reviews I've seen on several other minidramas, I can say that there are very selective ones that are actually good.

And I assure you, this is definitely one of them. Despite the limited frame of time, production and budget compared to long dramas, it fulfilled its job of engaging the viewer. I'm very impressed by the main cast (four characters). Even the side characters like the military advisor, the maid and the child were really good in their roles. This minidrama has the right blend of story, little bit of humour here and there, healthy & greenflag romance of leads and well developed characters within limited time. It also had good direction I must say. As a person with zero friends and social life who is obsessed with dramas, movies and takes them seriously, I don't watch just anything.

So yeah, this is a must watch minidrama!

Leia Mais

Bland characters and underwhelming execution of story

This was my first high school cdrama. And I can't say I'm impressed. Although most people will disagree with me, it surely won't stop me from expressing my opinion.

As far as I've noticed, the main reason why so many people love this is nostalgia. Nostalgia is a strong emotion. Speaking from experience, I agree that it can make you very much attached to things that may not be that impressive. However, I'm not connected to this drama in that way.

The only thing that saved this drama (more precisely helped me remain patient before deciding to drop) was the actors. Even while acting out extremely bland characters and bland script, their expressions and deliery proved their talent. High school is a very potential premise. You could show so much, there's so much that could happen in a school, in a student's everyday life, etc. It could become a medium of life lessons, struggles and finding hope while navigating life as a teenager and then growing up. Why make the school life all about a stupid crush where you can't see anyone besides that guy? A guy who cannot even stop being rude and insensitive. The male lead has trauma I get it, why not show him develop then? It doesn't make sense for him to be like that in almost all of the episodes (as told by some other reviewers). Why not show his struggle to understand emotions? There's too little plot, idk what the hell happened in the 9 episodes I watched. Then there's the guy who cannot stop doing so many things out of his way when even he lives under difficult conditions.

I have only watched 9 episodes. But I tried so hard to be patient and continue. To actually like it. I sacrificed my sleep for an empty script with empty characters. I cannot like a show, no matter how cute or lovey dovey it might be, if it does not portray strong characters. If characters are not strong and are bland and flat, the whole show feels flat to me. Oh, there's also no chemistry between any of them. Anyway, that's the end.

Leia Mais

Raised my standards for dramas to an unhealthy level!

[Contains only minor spoilers, e.g. what I didn't like]
It's been only a few months since I entered the cdrama world, and this was the very first drama I finished watching. Right now I regret making this my first drama because it raised my standards too high!

Jokes aside, let's get to the point. There are many good things about this drama (some flaws too) but the one thing that captivated me and still has me in grip is the ACTING. It's absolutely marvellous, every actor here is just amazing. I can't remember the number of times I cried when another character did. Duke Su, Shen Yurong, Princess Wanning, Jiang li, Jiang li's father, and everyone else did a fantastic job. There wasn't one scene or one dialogue that didnt have me engaged. Though I'll admit the female character, despite having a strong backstory, felt pretty bland. But after the first half I think that fell into place.

AND DUKE SU???? DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED??? CUZ IDK WHEN I'LL STOP??? I WILL NEVER STOP FEELING ANGRY AT MAKERS FOR NOT EXPLORING AND DOING JUSTICE TO HIS CHARACTER AND BACKSTORY!!! Every time he entered a scene, every time he spoke, it literally had me screaming internally!! THIS GUY SPEAKS WITH BOTH EYES AND EYEBROWS DAMNIT. Though his expressions fell static sometimes, nontheless Wang xing yue has absolutely great potential and I will most definitely follow him from here on.

THE SONGS??? CAN I TELL YOU HOW OBSESSED THEY MADE ME???

And the chemistry. THE CHEMISTRY?????? I will shut up and let you see it for yourself.

I also disliked how overly female centred this was, though I know it's her story, it shouldn't have been at the cost of the opposite character that is Duke Su. The ending also could've been executed in a much better way rather than adding something absolutely unnecessary (not mentioning it cuz major spoiler.) The open ending was also unnecessary, though the meaning was made clear by the special episode as well as the makers and Xing Yue himself. But it shouldn't take viewers the words of makers to receive clarification of the ending of a drama.

Anyway, I don't think I will ever forget this drama. It was so hard to watch another one after I was done with this one. For days I couldn't move on from it. It's a must watch!

Leia Mais