Be With You (2020)

Be With You is the type of drama that is made for pure entertainment whereby you shouldn’t put on your thinking cap while watching. Just treat it as dramaland fantasy and you would probably enjoy it. I would also see it as being targeted at a younger set of audience. Maybe that is why it doesn’t resonate with me and I have to force myself to finish it quickly for the purpose of this review. The good thing is it is short and I could avoid the temptation of abandoning it halfway through.

Girl Chasing Guy Drama
If you like romance dramas that see the girl taking the initiative to pursue the guy, then Be With You would fit the bill. This theme is similar to Begin Again but without the same depth to its story. I guess this is to be expected as Be With You is a rom-com after all. So, it is not a drama that you would see serious character growth and deep exploration of feelings unlike the more intense romance in You Are My Destiny or Here To Heart.

Of course, it is perfectly alright to have a simple plot especially for a rom-com. But where Be With You is lacking to me is the mandatory sweetness which drives this type of dramas. I understand different people will have different standards of what constitutes sweetness in a romance. If you see a much older and domineering man taking the reins in the relationship as sweet, then you would like this couple. It is an unequal relationship albeit a protective one given that the guy is much more matured compared to the girl.

Personally, I’m more into couples that have mutual respect for each other like the one in Love Is Sweet. That is why it is a little hard for me to root for the couple in Be With You. This is not to say that I can’t accept an older man and younger woman romance. It also has to do with the couple dynamics and personality which bring up my next point.

Male Lead’s Character Flaw
A much older and successful male lead is nothing new in a rom-com just like Lu Jin in Dating In the Kitchen. But the female lead in Gu Sheng Nan is gutsy with a spine and hence, the relationship is able to generate the required sparks for it to be exciting. Comparatively, Qi Nian in Be With You is much meeker. With Professor Ji’s character being a controlling one, it is not exactly an ideal romantic couple in my books. Of course, no one is perfect and the saving grace is Professor Ji does love Qi Nian and is aware of his own controlling nature.

Thus, you really have to get over Professor Ji’s flaws to be able to enjoy this rom-com. If you start dissecting his character like I did, the romantic vibes will immediately take a dive especially if you also prefer couples that are more equal in terms of power dynamics in their relationship.

Chemistry Could Be Better
The chemistry between Ji Xiao Bing and Zhang Ya Qin is not exactly bad but there is definitely room for improvement. It is passable for a simple rom-com but it fails to lift it to its full potential. I don’t think that their acting is the problem though. Perhaps the nature of the characters that they play makes it a little hard to generate more sizzling interactions between them. I would think that if one character is too dominant and there is a lack of tender moments between them, it will indeed be hard for the chemistry to flow naturally. This is in contrast to say, Perfect And Casual, whereby the chemistry of the leads really drives the drama as the sweetness is magnified in each interaction.

My Verdict – It’s Nothing Special
Be With You is the type of drama that you would watch when you have absolutely nothing better to do and want to indulge in some fairytale romance. As mentioned, the plot is simple and whether it will come off as sweet will depend on your ability to overlook faults in the male lead who also seems to be toying with the female lead’s affections at times. Hence, he is very different from the suave and almost perfect male lead in Intense Love which is also a fairytale-like romance drama.

A further word of warning is that this short drama also has 2 other couple stories included. Hence, they take up quite a bit of screen time overall especially the second couple of Si Qi and Qing Wu. If you like the secondary pairing, it will be the icing on the cake. If not, it can be annoying because they take up the majority of the screen time around Episode 18 onwards which is similar to the problem in Love Designer as it progresses towards the ending.

For this Be With You 2020 drama review, I would give it a score of 6.5/10. It is really nothing new from the plot to the characters that it is hard to justify giving it a higher score. Watch it if you absolutely like stress-free rom-coms for a little escapism. Don’t think too much though if you really want to enjoy it. But if you are the type who can’t help but want a more perfect male lead and heartfelt romance, then drop it. Be With You would be hard put to satisfy the cravings for a fulfilling romance story.

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It's straightforward and fluffy

The storyline is simple and no complicated plotlines, and that's what I love most about it. In this complicated day and age why would you want to stress yourself and watch something dragging and dramatic. I like the simplicity of the story and that even though the plot is simple, the characters aren't. Also, the leads have awesome chemistry. The age difference is obvious, but you'll still love them together. It's not at all awkward. I really like shows with no irritating side characters or third parties. I don't know about the others, but I loved this show. I will definitely re-watch it.

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Nice, Light and Easy Watch

I was looking for something to binge watch over the weekend and this drama was it. It was a light easy watch. No over complicated plot. It was focused on the romance. While watching, there’d be times I’d tell myself, it only happens in dramas – that was exactly it! I wanted to be in that type of mood. I did not want to analyze the male lead’s behaviour. I did not want to analyze the female lead’s insecurities. I watched it for what it was – a rom com.

Likes:

Li Yanxin – possessive yes, but I did not really take that as a negative trait of his. He was loyal, protective and supportive. A little awkward maybe but he wasn’t wishy washy. He liked Qi Nian and that was that.

Qi Nian – it’s refreshing to see a female lead who speaks her mind and pursues her love interest.

Ji Si Qi and Lu Qing Wu – I knew that they were going to be couple but I couldn’t imagine how the development would be after watching the first few episodes. The development of Lu Qing Wu’s character from presenting her as a b**** to actually be a nice person was believable. Though I am glad that the story did not dwell on Ji Si Qi’s heartbreak, I found that him falling in love with Lu Qing Wu a bit fast as he hated her just a couple of episodes back.

Shao Zui and Ji Qiu – I felt like they were going to be a couple from the early episodes and then I started rooting for them and so glad that they got their kind of ending. They were actually cute.

Overall the drama had a simple plot and good characters, as I said what I was looking for to binge watch over the weekend.

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It's a relatively well done cliche-fest romcom!

This drama is full of silly & full of stupid, but somehow it has never become unbearably annoying for me. The comedy is good, the fluff is there, ultimately the entertainment is on a fairly high level. As bad and ridiculous as the plot is, it has never gotten in the way of the romance, or the comedy. There were some moments, when I felt that the writer is insulting my intelligence, that's why I decided to rate this lower than 10/10, but otherwise this is worth watching. Also this is safe for triangle haters to watch, just barely.

To say something good about the story, I suppose it's nice that all the adversities and BS roadblocks have gotten dealt with in minutes, there are no breakups either, it's a completely relaxing experience.

The actors have done a pretty good job, there were no major chemistry problems either I think. It's worth noting that the FL looks like an oldschool sports anime heroine. (wide angular face + ginormous eyes!) I found her very amusing most of the time and not just visually.

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Surprisingly good rom-com that managed to tiptoe through the cliché minefield

This show has been on my watch list for a long time but the synopsis gave off the wrong tropey vibes for me so I kept skipping over it. Recently, I dropped a bad rom-com so I thought, "I can't do much worse". I'm glad I finally committed, it was surprisingly good.
First of all, this is not a big budget production. There are no big names or famous city as a backdrop. The production value is good through and there were not a lot of PPL, certainly not egregious. The OST is nice and totally serviceable. I liked that the ML's are handsome but not idol level good looking. The FL's are attractive and looked natural which made them more relatable.
The first half of the show is pretty much as expected. A head strong manhua artist decided to use a cold college professor as her template for the ML in her next comics. She has never been in love so she sucked at drawing romantic scenes. At first, he was just an interesting research subject but over time she fell in love with him. Of course, there were lots of push/pull and ambiguities. Nevertheless, she was brave and focused in her pursue of him. By the mid way mark, he was in love and they became official. Yes, there were cliché moments but there was no shock twists. Clichés were handled with a deft hand and you won't get worked up about stupid plots holes. But then I was overcame with anxiety because I have seen many shows expending all their energies in getting the CP together and then after a bit of CP bliss, they'd turn their laser focus on breaking them apart by any means just so that they can engineer a 11th hour happy ending. I'm grateful that this didn't happen. Sure, there were lumps and bumps along the way but their love was strong and they were the A-team and push back against all the Forces of Evil. Hazzah!
Another aspect which I found satisfying is the communication between the CP's. Of course, there were misunderstandings, jealousy and doubts but issues were never left to fester and they were resolved quickly with some straight talking. Another one is the age gap between the CP's. All the CP's have significant age differences and while some show will milk that for tension and be judgemental, this show just took it in its stride. It was part of the story fabric and you can take it or leave it. There was also growth in all the characters which was good to see. For example, the ML went from a cold and aloof character to become a kind, considerate and hot blooded BF. The 2FL was a bit of a seductress in the beginning but she became a super loyal GF to the 2ML.
In so many Chinese rom-coms, the 2/3OTP is either angst filled or just a convenient way to park the M/FL's best friends and provide a bit of down time for the 1OTP. Our 2OTP also had a rough start but while they did not have as much screen time as the 1OTP, their trajectory were similar well plotted and had more attention in the second half. Their love also grew stronger with every challenge. The strong 2FL definitely wore the pants in this relationship.
This brings us to the FL's. All three were forthright with their approach. They didn't hide or play dumb but push hard towards their goals. Ok, may be not so much for 3OTP because their pairing was a bit iffy but the 3FL knew what she wanted in her heart as well.
I'm glad that the show can see the tropes coming and it is wise enough to use them in a positive way and not be subsumed by them. Time and time again I expected the worse but good things happened instead. That made the show engaging and very watchable in my book.
The show is not perfect. There are script issues and some of the younger actors are still a bit rough around the edges but the positives outweigh the negatives. It is light, funny and sweet but not to the point of sugar overload nor was it overran by non-sensical plot twists. I enjoyed it so much that I binged it.
P.S. I watched this on Tencent official YouTube channel and every episode had the same audio issue whereby the dialogue track would randomly drop out for a minute or two and for no apparent reason.

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Decent lovely romance ...

Highly recommended if you're looking for decent lovely romantic drama. This is one which I found and have been till 12 episode. Music is perfectly match with drama. What I love about this drama is simplicity and decent romantic drama. seeing the happy fluff from pretty much the very beginning, and there's no draggy plotline or crazy second male/female
Definitely there is misunderstandings or bad villains somewhere, but those problems solved quickly in a satisfactory way.
Just need to improve the characters' relationships because incident never been happen each time.

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Decent and light romantic Drama

Actually after reading some reviews i was expecting much more.. But After epi 14 it totally disappointed me..
I Won't say it was bad.. But somehow it became boring.. At the 1st i had interest to know what will happen nxt.. And i was eagerly waiting for Eng SUB.. But then eventually it become Too predictable and boring i couldnt watch.. But finished with skiping and skiping
And About the cast..
Honestly sometimes i felt they Were not a good match.. I m not saying their acting was bad.. But it just that i didn’t found them a ideal couple for each other..Like drama "PERFECT AND CASUAL" also had main leads who had a big age gap.. But that was cute.. But i didn’t like it here..
{{{ ofc it’s my personal Opinion.. U might not feel the same}}}
Whatever u Can watch it if u like a Light romantic drama without any misunderstanding Between leads..

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I started this show with expectations of a light and fluffy drama which it kind of delivered but with a lot of uncomfortable moments and basic elements coming in many times.
The storyline was pretty basic nothing too fancy, a cold guy and cheerful girl. The girl was moderately basic and the guy was the definition of basic. He's one of the most controlling characters in drama land. He wants to control everything and the girl had no problems? There are so many controversial things that happened and the girl is just like "yea definitely you can control me and do everything for me while I do nothing, thank you" I absolutely hated the chemistry of the main couple. The first half of the show was illogical and so random honestly...the whole show was pretty random. The middle part I started to like them a little bit but no we're back to confusion, cringe, questionable and controversial things by the end of the show.
The whole show is based on illogical things. The misunderstandings and problems are based on things that literally make no sense. It's like the writer ran out of ideas and will make up anything to make the story complete. It made me question alot of events.
The second lead couples single handedly carried the whole show. Ji siqi was the best character of the show. He's a ball of sunshine. Lu Qing wu is a pretty solid character too. I like her, shes cute and kinda controversial at times but she's definitely more interesting than the main leads. Thier chemistry is so cute. I watched the second half of the show only for them literally skipped all the cringe of the first leads.There were some questions even in the stories of the second lead but it wasn't so bad compared to the first leads. Even the younger sister's story was really good compared to the first leads. These characters made me continue the show.
Only watch this show if you're super bored and have nothing else to do. Great when you're already angry and want to scream at something or if you want to experience how great of a man ji siqi is, I'll do anything for him BEST BOY.

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It's a great drama

First of all i'm not a big fan of Cdrama's but this drama make me feel something different, qith unique story line and refreshing act, not too good tough but i appreciate it. I think the actor and actrees are match with their role in this drama. Btw i'm a type who hard to like something, i've never interested in drama or movie, only the interesting one who can make me feel like ugh! BUT umm this drama has a lot of ummm how i can describe it? It has mature contain, a lot. I think after eps 15 there are too much kissing scene, but that's okay tough this is romance and i don't a big fan of romance so.. hmm it's just like a little bit cringe? I'm not judging, bcs i like it! But it's true, Qi Nian change a lot after eps 14, but i understand that she's mature after realise their 3rd kiss lol. It's still one of my fav. Cdrama! No debbate!
Ps. I'm not judging the music, it's because the song and the chinese pronounce feel strange with my ears sooooo, i'm sorry for the song :) don't judge me :') everyone has their taste!
The conclusion is, this is a great drama! I like it tough

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After watch this drama i can say i'm not a fans of Zhang Ya Qin. Watched her 2 drama, i say her expression only like that everytime. I don't know is it really just her character or what, but for me her expression is kinda plain. Sorry for all her fans.

I kinda like this drama, for me this drama give some point that quite different than other drama. But after i read review write by drama_addict_123, i think what (s)he writes quite makes sense. Like: the sisterhood between the character, the problem that resolve too quick, the love rival. Yeah for you who don't like too complicated plot maybe glad this drama quite short, but yeah like drama_addict_123 write, so much potential that they not write into the plot.

What i like that different from other drama:
+ Qi Nian (QN) obviously from the first episode chase Ji Yan Xin (YX). But when YX finally agreed to date QN, she still takes time to say yes, even though the reason is because QN can't believe her ear or QN need reason why YX could like her. Try to imagine ourselves, when we like someone and already chase them for quite sometime, when they agreed to date us isn't our answer immediately agreed with them, maybe before they change their mind :p
+ When YX take QN for marriage license. I don't know why but usually i kind annoy with his way, but here i think it's quite romantic & maybe funny ^_^'.

What i like:
* This is quite short drama, where every problem solved quite quickly and not complicated.
* Every couple in this drama, they quite fit together.
* Just like greenteaberry write in their review: 'there's no draggy plotline or crazy second male/female lead who's here to ruin it for everyone.'
* The different in YX attitude, he just immediately change his attitude after being together with QN.

Overall: this is light drama to watched when you bored & just to looked for something to watched. Is this drama you should watch? No, not really. There is still other good drama with good story to watch. Do i regret watch this so i say this is shouldn't include in your watch list...? No, i not regret watched this drama. Will i re-watched? Hm... Not think so.

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cliché and tropey but so sweet!

This is actually my second time watching the drama within one month, I just never wrote a review when I finished it last month whoops.

This drama is very cliché and tropey and sometimes a little cringe but it does all these things in such a charming way that I couldn't be mad. I just love love love it so much, I actually changed my initial rating of 6 to 7.5/10. The characters and their interactions as well as the pacing of the show are just so fun that it's easy to watch it all in one go. I really loved the dynamic between the male lead and female lead and I absolutely adored how he obviously has a weak spot just for her while being distant and cold with the rest of the world basically hehe. Ji Yan Xin was a lil petty sometimes and a bit of a tease (and sometimes slightly a red flag, but he'll be excused and forgiven), I just loved Ji Xiao Bing's acting for this character! This rewatch was extra fun because I started it after not feeling so well, and this drama lifted me up so much just minutes into the first episode!! So that's very slay!

I surprisingly also really enjoyed the second couple a lot, their push and pull dynamic was fun to watch and I really liked how well they mastered the enemies to lovers trope to be honest. Even the third couple was cute, I'll just ignore the fact that they've known each other for a long time lmao (since she was a kid and he was already a teen).

I also really liked the OST, it was really cute and fit very well into the drama. Overall, a sweet and entertaining watch with charming leads and secondary characters :))

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