Lighter & Princess (2022)

I have mixed feelings about the drama. On the one hand, kudos to the drama for daring to have such a flawed male lead (wonderfully acted by Chen Feiyu). My interest was caught when the drama began with the male lead getting out of prison. I liked the fact that there was no attempt to sugarcoat him and make him the “done-wrong” victim of a conspiracy or of the system (as a typical Korean drama might do). He has lots of problems, but you still root for him. I also liked the female lead, who was smart, strong, and principled, and wore gorgeous coats. And I liked the friends, Ren Di and Fang Shu Miao.

What I didn’t like as much was the romance. Xi Lun was attracted to Zhu Yun because of her smarts and integrity but he was cruel to her multiple times and even when he kissed her, it looked like he was eating her face. I could see how someone like Zhu Yun would be attracted to a handsome brooding genius like him but I also thought that she was too tolerant of someone who was borderline emotionally abusive.

Plus there were parts in the drama that required some suspension of belief. For example, why were the protagonists prevented from entering a competition due to the way they exposed fraud and flaws in the prior competition, yet the fraudster himself could enter and win? I was also skeptical of the explanation for how they managed to walk out of the hacking and virus accusations unscathed. And the whole sneaking around behind the parents’ backs doesn’t work when you plaster your faces all over the news.

But then there would be something that I loved, e.g., when Zhu Yun posted the video and walked out Like a Boss. That was my favorite scene in the drama.

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It's a good day when you forget this is a C-drama ...

It's a GOOD ASS DAY when you forget that this is a C-Drama, so you breathe a sigh of relief. What do I mean by that? I'm talking about the friendship between Li Xun and Ren Di. From the first episode, you could tell they had a connection. I was terrified that they might've had a thing, but once I remembered this was a C-Drama, I knew I could relax. This strong connection was friendship. Low key most underrated friendship in this whole drama.

What this drama does well is tell the story of growth. University is a false reality. I know since I'm in it. A lot of things happen here that don't carry on, whether that is success or relationships. Their university journey starts with finding their first love and that going to total shit. We see our FL evolve from a timid good girl to launching into a grenade to protect her man. We see our ML evolve from a self-involved brat know-it-all to a man who knows he is no longer only responsible for himself, but the people in his life.

I love Chinese dramas. Why in particular I say it about this drama? Because they know what we want. They give us that romance build up. They give us that happy ending. They give us that wedding. They give us that baby. Sure, 2/4 of the things are implied (never showed a "real" wedding or the baby) but it happened.

Why only an 8.0/10? ML was such an asshole! Like too much! There's asshole, and then there's Li Xun. He was really a bully, but like I mentioned earlier... University man... But she likes that shit, clearly. I mean, sometimes I too imagine... wait, sorry, this is Goodreads. Anyway...

Final note: HER MOM IS THE FUCKING DEVIL. OH, AND I LOVE THE DAMN SOUNDTRACK.

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Engaging storyline and romance plot, but be aware of plot holes

My two cents on this drama:
PROS
• Story overall about computer programming and IT industry in China is interesting and engaging, and what I would expect of a "drama"...dramatic moments, characters and plots. Really interesting feud between ML and 2nd ML.
• Likable characters and dialogue, with witty banter, humor and certainly the romantic and dramatic scenes that drive the story
• Interestingly told romantic plot line between ML, FL. Yes it follows a trop but the way it is sequenced and told in the story is clever, with the intro of the current, then about the past, and flash forward again to the present.
•Chemistry between ML, FL: sweet romance blossom between the two. Opposites attract. The leads were very comfortable with each other and the attraction is believable and at many points natural in their acting...actually enjoyed watching the love mature yet still remain innocent as they got older
• Character development of ML, FL (some other reviewers may disagree)

CONS
• Some holes in the story: felt like an incomplete story and conclusion about FL and her relationship with her parents, especially at Ep. 36 with the confrontation. It wasn't made clear to me what FL view was in terms of studying abroad after uni because her parents made her? Or was that her own choice? It muddled the story in the beginning and i think confusing as to whether that familial relationship was what really drove a wedge between the FL and ML in the beginning or not.
Especially felt there was a gap in storytelling, after they graduated and moved into the workforce. Other reviews suggest scenes were deleted and editing wasn't up to par- if they have to edit out scenes, that tells me also the series was prolonged in unnecessary ways but could have been better developed in others, i.e. ML and his experience post incarceration.
•Some holes in the character development: ML understandably had a non-traditional upbringing which explains his broodiness, arrogance, cold and business like personality. There are some painful events that occur that further impact him, and he deals with it like one would expect of someone who is traumatized. The series I think attempts to give some explanation and show his remorse, his insecurity, his vulnerability but I feel writers could have given him more depth in exploring and trying to heal from the trauma, especially as how it affected his relationship with FL. A lot of other reviews say "ML pushed her away because he was protecting her". Ok. But why not built that in? This also leads me to say that the relationship between FL and ML could be more convincing and reliant on emotional and experiential bonds rather than otherwise attraction and good-girl-falls-for-bad-boy.


Overall, I would have scored this lower but after reading other reviews and reflecting overall on the series, I think I understand the story they were trying to tell, and I accepted that not everything came to a perfect resolution, probably deliberately. But if they were trying to do that, wished they could have been more intentional with the storytelling because at times it felt out of place.
Great job to the actors! First time watching Zhang Jingyi...loved her emotional range. Her wide eye blinks and stares though we're getting a bit much. Looking forward to seeing Chen Feiyu develop and mature in his acting range and abilities.

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Absolutely worth it

Although some parts of the drama got on my last damn nerves and the win-win resolution pissed me the hell off, I still consider this one hell of a series.
Top notch everything, this series had it all. It was quality all around.
The chemistry between Chen Fei Yu as Li Xun and Zhang Jing Yi as Zhu Yun was so scorching hot it’s was incredible to watch. It’s been a long time I saw chemistry that was this fire in CDrama.
The only thing I didn’t like was that they didn’t make Zhu Yun have any identity, goals, dreams or aspirations that wasn’t somehow tied to Li Xun, he was literally her whole world but if you are going to go all in for someone in the way she did you might as well do it right and boy did she go all in for him and while I can’t be like her I certainly wont knock her for it either. I completely understood why he took the extreme route in propelling her to break up with him because God, him and everyone watching the show knew that she would never give up on him easily but I didn’t like how the writers took his bad treatment of her too far after his prison release, especially in that office scene before her overdose.
But Li Xun was who he was and made no apologies for it. I agree with one reviewer that said how they made some changes to Li Xun in the later episodes just so they could give us a win-win situation that literally nobody asked for and was undeserved to say the least, I also wasn’t happy about that.
If you want to watch a CDrama with real matured make out seshs with a good plot and solid acting then this is for you, I also recommend Falling into You.
Rewatch value is 10/10 (I have already rewatched and planning on rewatching again soon)
Overall is absolutely 10/10
I obviously highly highly recommend.

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Amazing Chemistry Bewtween Lead Couple!!! [9/10]

Overall:
to be honest, in the beginning I wasn't expecting much. I don't usually watch these types of dramas, but I decided to give it a shot. There were some dumb plots in the beginning and some cliché moments. But I kept watching and at about ep 15 I was pretty interested in seeing this couple get together. I do think that the drama didn't have to be 36 episodes, and they could've shortened it, but I'm not really complaining. Zhu Yun's parents though (ucchh) especially her mom…
I was comparing this to other similiar dramas (I haven't seen, but seen clips of) and in a way it's similiar, but there's just something different this drama has.

Cast:
I haven't seen Chen Fei Yu before, but I think he was the right choice for Li Xun. I've seen Zhang Jing Yi in Fall in Love, and it's definitely nice to hear her actual voice here. These actors have such natural chemistry, that most of their romantic scenes don't feel acted. The supporting characters were well cast.

Music/OST:
I think the ending song sets the whole mood/vibe/feeling for this drama. I like the other OST too.

Rewatch Value:
I might rewatch the whole drama, but probably more likely that I'll just rewatch their scenes and FMVs.

Now on to the Story:
Where do I begin?...
Li Xun comes off as arrogant to some of the characters, but I didn't really think so. In the beginning of the drama he has blonde hair. He meets Zhu Yun who's also studying programming and at first they don't get along so well, but after going through things together, they start to fall in love. (also after he meets Zhu Yun, he dyes his hair brown, which I think was the best look for him tbh.)
They both join the same ''study group''? at college and he starts calling her princess. You find out why further on...
The get together in ep 18 or 19, and they're so cute together!!

Now the drama mostly hits, when her parents meet li xun and her mom doesn't like him (you find out why).
Li Xun starts pushing Zhu Yun away and Li Xun goes to take revenge on Fang Zi Jing for what he did to Zhu Yun's best friend and Li Xun gets put in Jail.

(after like a 3 year gap)

They meet eachother again and after a lot of drama and stuff..they get TOGETHER!!!

- sorry for this bad review, I just don't know what to write without spoiling too much, but I recommend this drama. -

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Interesting story, underwhelming cast

Before starting the review, I want to emphasize that while I do lean towards certain actors or actresses when I dramas to watch but I am not biased when it comes to good / bad acting.

This is a very real insight into the IT industry in today's world. When you're behind the trend, you lose. When you don't understand the audience (in different industries) well enough to cater your product to fulfil their needs, you lose. When you do not have connections, you don't get a head start. Sad, but that's true. I love the progression of this drama. They brought us back to where it all began - university. This is another true scenario. If you see yourself as a kid who is just attending university to get a degree and earn credits enough to get yourself into the job industry, that is a very old-fashioned thinking. University is where people should get themselves equipped with not just academics but connections and experiences enough to get yourself a good start in the job industry (or even get a job at all). I like how the scriptwriter perfectly categorised these different types of people in university.

The story just made sense to me. Whether or not you're a person with natural talent or just a person who is so-so, the decisions that you make will eventually lead you into different pathways. Li Xun and Gao Jian Hong are your perfect example. This is why the story deserves a solid 8.

However, there are parts where I don't quite like or think the drama is lacking.

1. The female lead. I don't dislike the character but this actress is honestly not portraying the character well enough. Is it just me or the female character has a problem showing expressions? She doesn't look angry when she's supposed to, she doesn't look sad when she's supposed to. When she makes eye contact with the male lead, she is just staring at the male lead, but there is no emotion to it. She is quite stiff overall and I don't know about you, but I can't connect with the female lead character at all. In fact, I think the actress playing Ren Di does better than her.

2. How the story ended with no conclusion on Zhu Yun's parents' approval. So do the parents approve the relationship or not? They highlighted the parents' disapproval multiple times throughout the drama, I am assuming that their approval is very important and if you're heading towards a happy ending for the couple, shouldn't there be a firm conclusion to what the parents actually think?

3. You know how there's one part where Li Xun went to jail because he blinded Fang Zhi Jing. First of all, for a villain like him, why is he only imprisoned in the end? Also, his eye looked perfectly fine to me. Small detail but it kind of bothered me during the drama.

Overall, it is a good story. I like the progression but there are too many areas that are lacking. The chemistry between the characters are not exactly off the charts either. Highly recommend to watch but this is definitely not the kind of drama you'd get withdrawals after it's over.

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A very basic School/Varsity but unique of its own way

As saying before it is a basic varsity life romance drama but is different from others.
Even common fight, romance scenes were not boring or skip able.

Firstly telling the bad part.
This is an IT based drama but as an IT person, I was often asking why they showing these are all so easy to work. Some college student can successfully build an IT company in short time but when a genius comes to picture they all just shake. a new game or software making was so easy because hero is genius, here they were showing. The expert will roll their eyes because of these.
The male lead is so arrogant person. He is terrible team player. Some will be coming in his defense that he was just telling others their true ability etc but even if you are Einstein still you need to respect your team member and tell them your plan. They may be can't contribute like you but can help you in small process.

The ending should have more scenes. Some scenes were shoot but didn't broadcast, don't know why.

Coming to the good part...
I had seen a clip of their romance scene which didn't grab me here but somehow saw a clip of their initial college days which made me curious.

An obedient female lead and a narcissist male lead which is very common in dramas. Later female lead fell in love and try to pursue the male lead, its all in here. Now why its different? Female lead was obsessed but wasn't price of her self respect. Time to time male lead needed to go after her. And the major plot began because male lead did something for the female lead's happiness when she wasn't even his girlfriend. She knows her priority even if the whole world is saying the opposite. She is intelligent, well aware, hard working person.

Male lead was genius programmer. He basically look down to everyone. He has backstory of how he was at disadvantages from childhood and that's why he couldn't afford any mistake. He had shown most of his good only to female lead. It was really surprising how sweet boyfriend he is throughout the drama. But terrible when he needed to push her away, he can hurt her to the core. He has some in his arrogance and you will root for him. He was truly a king like their osts saying. He can build an empire and can win over from scratch if anyone snatch it from him. All he need is his personal navigator. I was rooting for him most of the time because of female lead's believe in him. That strong impact she has on his character.

This drama keeps me confused what character should I like and what shouldn't. At some moment I hated a character and after some episodes I felt sympathy for him/her. At the end I couldn't hate anyone.
There were two more couple here. Their story closure were also very well written. Other support characters were also good. Everyone left impact, No unnecessary story or event was in this drama.

The drama beginning keeps the viewer curious which was good move from the script writer. And the ending was cherry on the top. You will find yourself smiling like the main two characters were without knowing.

It was journey of a boy who always think no one can help him to rise until a girl came to his life when he started to waver tough he wasn't distracted. He had gone to astray by his own choice and when he again started to rise he realized all the success would be in vain if the girl is not his side.

If you like college romance and revenge type drama, this is definitely for you.

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Excellent Cdrama Writing

Actually, I have watched a lot of Chinese dramas. I started with a light drama "A Love so Beautiful". I am quite a fanatic I could say. But I don't have particular favorites when it comes to actors and actresses. Once I read a good review, surely I would watch it. This one is amazing writing. Both artists played well in their roles. The actings are both standouts. With regards story, I will give it high quality with fewer flaws. After watching, I find myself shifting leads. It is quite heartbreaking that the ML who use to give outstanding performances here is facing huge controversy that gives negative feedback to this masterpiece work. I am hoping that he could work on a lot of projects that will make him shine more brightly. May he reflect and put by heart all the good qualities he played into this drama? He is an amazing actor after all. The female lead is also a great actress. This is worth watching a million times.

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Great chemistry but female lead deserves better...

I have such high hopes for this drama because of the high ratings and good feedback. It was also all over social media. So I went into this drama with high expectations, only to feel disappointed at the end.

The leads have such good chemistry but the character of the male lead was so poorly written that I wonder what the female lead sees in him to the point that she's willing to destroy herself for this man. Fast forward many years later and she is still madly and deeply in love with him even though he treats her like sht. Yes, the male lead is broken but it doesn't cost much for him to treat the female lead a little better. Literally the bare minimum. So many misunderstandings in this drama that I feel could have been resolved easily with proper communication. Also, I really don't get why many people glorify the male lead haha. I wouldn't be able to handle him in reality.

Despite these points, I still managed to finish the drama. Probably because I'm curious about how the revenge plot ends. It has some good points. But for a drama that has so much hype, it was definitely a letdown for me.

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If you like cold, brilliant boy falling for earnest / kind girl, this is the drama for you

==Breakdown==
Background plot - 45%
Romance - 40%
Misc comedy - 15%

Background plot - Fine
Romantic chemistry - Excellent
Misc comedy - Good
Production value - Good

If you're looking for a drama where the boy (eventually a man) is cold and brilliant and secretly smitten with the upright, good girl (eventually a woman) then this is the one for you. It's *almost* the best in genre (that I've seen so far) and the chemistry between the main couple is chemistrying 100% of the time. Both the ML and the FML were masterful in their scenes together and the romance that takes place on screen felt authentic.

The problem was the story. Or rather, the story is problematic. Usually (interestingly enough) I can easily disassociate and watch a problematic story with no issue. But I felt like the writers took extreme measures (from the middle to the end) to have the ML mistreat the FML to such an extent, I couldn't root for them to be together in the end. I actually wanted her to walk away and leave him in the dust. All I needed was one begging scene, one scene where he crawls for her, something like in 'A Love So Beautiful' when Jiang Chen begs Chen Xiao Xi to give him one more chance, and then he's openly smitten from that point forward.

Unfortunately, the writers never gave it to us, Lighter barely apologizes to Princess, and thus I ultimately felt unsatisfied.

But if you don't need a groveling scene in these kinds of scenarios, you'll likely love this drama. It might become your favorite.

For the record, 'A Love so Beautiful' remains my favorite cold guy falling for kind girl show. If you have any other recs, please let me know!!

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A fantastic drama - highly recommend

LIKED
====================
ACTING
The acting is magnificent; the leads can do more with a five-second look than many actors do with 16 episodes. The supporting cast is also quite good.
CHARACTERS
Him - he's an arrogant genius, a true genius. He's not Do-san; he's not just good at programming and weak elsewhere. His genius comes through in his ability to analyze business trends, in art, in philosophy, in predicting people's behavior. He's a slightly saner, slightly nicer Hannibal Lecter. And coupled with that genius is an absolute arrogant belief in himself and his superiority over others, it's both his greatest weakness and his greatest strength. Couple all of that with an iron will and you have a truly formidable and often downright frightening hero. Numerous times I found myself shaking my head at his behavior but fully understanding it.
Her - The extent to which she falls for him is frightening. She will forgive nearly anything he does and has an unshakeable trust in both his ability and his decisions, even though he makes numerous bad decisions throughout the show. You'd expect her scary love combined with his super arrogant, ultra genius to lead to an unequal relationship and there are certainly moments of inequality but overall this is one of the more equal screen partnerships you'll ever see. The directors walked a tightrope here and, for the most part, kept upright.
CHEMISTRY
Romance - these two... I'm not a big believer in chemistry as I often disagree with folks who say characters have it or don't have it but these two? This is the definition of chemistry. This show has some of the finest hugs, kisses, and conversations you'll ever see onscreen. There are several scenes between them that I've watched over and over and over. They are sooo gooood together!
MUSIC
I rarely notice soundtracks but as you're watching the captioned lyrics crawling across your screen - they become an element of the story, reinforcing the visuals. And catchy? I literally can't get Zhou Shen's fireworks out of my head.
OTHER
Cinematography - it's outstanding. It doesn't overpower the drama but every scene perfectly sets the mood.
The Plot - I was immediately hooked and despite some issues (we'll get to those) it worked for me.

DIDN'T LIKE
===================
First - let's be clear - I loved this drama so these are quibbles for me but for some folks they might be more problematic

Lack of growth - Our lead will make some mistakes. And he has some character flaws. And that's okay! But I didn't feel that he necessarily learned from those mistakes or fixed his flaws. There wasn't a lot of observable growth.

Time Jumps - The plot hooks you right from the beginning but... but then we take a LOOONG trip down memory lane to how their relationship started. Initially, I was frustrated as I wanted to get back to the present but this part of the story is interesting so once I got hooked on THAT part of the story I was okay. But it took a few episodes.

Love Denial - one of my pet peeves is when a character decides that their OTP would be better off without them so they sabotage their relationship, often in a way that is nearly guaranteed to turn their partner into a soulless, sobbing husk of a human. Unfortunately, there's a lot more of that going on here than I like to see. Having said that - it worked for me as much as this trope can ever work for me - I could understand the motivation even though I didn't agree with the decision.

School Setting - I'm not generally a fan of school settings and a good chunk of this show is set in school. But without being too spoilery, the ostensible school setting is better understood and more closely akin to a work setting.

Plot Holes - there are some glaring plot issues if you stare too long or look too closely. They didn't bother me too much but the story would have been better if they'd fixed them.

SOME PEOPLE MIGHT NOT LIKE

Work Setting - this entire drama is set around a series of work challenges. I enjoyed this but I've heard that some people are not fond of this kind of drama.

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