Just You (2013)

Literally just finished this series about an hour ago.
Episodes 1-4 (Netflix cut) are a little hard to get into. They're just very cringe worthy. But it's absolutely worth powering through, because--
Episodes 5-25 are absolutely addictive. They're magical. The music is great. The chemistry is sweet and poignant and funny and just 10/10 all around. This whole series could have been a perfect 10 for me except--
Episodes 26-35. They added two ultra angsty, totally unnecessary plots. The sweet romance almost completely disappears. This section is like a 6/10 for me.
36-39 they sort of try to bring back that sweet romance but it's just not the same. The final scene is great, though.
Ultimately even with the annoying ex girlfriend character and the really soul crushing episodes I'd still give this an 8/10. I'll definitely watch it again, just skipping those 10 near the end.

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This was my first Taiwanese drama in about 11 years so it's been awhile. The couple is cute and the story is entertaining at times but I don't find the conflicts to be very engaging. It's cute watching the main guy change and evolve throughout the story. The plot reminds me of almost every korean drama and they had all the tropes. Co-habitation, opposites with the guy being a perfectionist and the girl being clumsy and ditzy. It reminded me of Personal Taste but without the gay suspicions and the architectural part of that series. This wasn't my favorite drama of Aaron Yan but perfectly watchable as the chemistry between the leads are sweet and believable. Puff Guo really matched well with this character and gave life to Chen Liang Liang as a bright and cheerful character. She is indeed the Xiao Tai Yang in the drama.

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A great workplace romance

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2013 Taiwanese drama spanning 21 episodes (45 minutes/episode).

Qi Yi (Aaron Yan) returns home after being successful oversees and buys a small advertising company as well as his childhood home. To his surprise his home is already occupied by Chen Liang Liang (Puff Kuo) who has a lease that was not cancelled desite the sale and she refuses to move out. Things are further complicated when Qi Yi discovers that Liang Liang also works at his newly acquired advertising agency. Recovering from a broken heart, Qi Yi forbids any office romances as one of his big changes. This sets him and Liang Liang at odds as two of her friends work at the office and were at the verge of a proposal. Liang Liang becomes determined to save their love and find a way to make Qi Yi change his policy even if it means taking one for the team and making him fall in love with her. Slowly, Qi Yi starts to fall for Liang Liang, but Qi Yi's former love, Ding Jia Yu (Lyla Lin) comes back into the picture when Qi Yi's advertising firm teams up with a company that insists on utting Ding Jia Yu not only on the project but in Qi Yi's office. Ding Jia Yu has had a change of heart and is determined to get Liang Liang out of the way and win her way back into Qi Yi's heart. Dean (Dean Fujuika) is also working on the project from a partnering company and is mutual friends with Ding Jia Yu and Ling Ling but develops special feelings for Ling Ling. This forms the basis of a love story with lots of twists and turns.

Spoiler 🚨 I really liked this story. The love story developed slowly yet it was easy to understand how they would have been drawn to each other. I liked how sweet natured Liang Liang was and what a great friend she was to those in her life. You really wanted to see her life go well. I am a fan of happy endings and that is definitely the case with this one.

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This is actually my one of the first dramas I've ever watched. It has opened a gateway for me to watch more dramas and that is why I give this such a high rating.

Story - 10/10: These days, romcoms focus more on the romantic side of the genre but Just You has a perfect balance of both. It has filled me with emotions; I have laughed and cried. Every element is perfect. Although the first few episodes might be overbearing because of the main Qi Yi's attitude but it's worth it to push through. I've also suffered a lot from second hand embarrassment but that is also Liang Liang's charm. The pace at which they fall in love with each other is also steady, not too fast nor too slow. If you like those cold-hearted (at first) CEO falling in love with a bright girl, you should definitely watch this. The only part that I was frustrated about is right when feel good between the two main leads, the antagonist comes in. But like they say, if you genuinely feel angry at a villain, they did their job right.

Acting/Cast - 10/10: Aaron and Puff Guo acted their roles really well. Aaron has acted in many CEO dramas and he suits them very well. After watching this drama in 2013, I've kept my eyes on other dramas they starred in. (This is irrelevant to the drama but they shot a dance/music video together and I thought it was great. You should go check that out.)

Music - 10/10: Honestly, when I first heard the music (especially the theme song), I thought it was weird but after a while, it really gets stuck in your head. It's very nostalgic for me when these songs come up.

Rewatch Value - 10/10: I do not rewatch dramas often but like I said, as this was one of my first dramas, I like to revisit this a lot. I notice a lot of new things as I rewatch it as well but I often skip the parts where Jia Yu pops up.

I have noticed that many who have tried watching Just You gives up because of Liang Liang's overbearing attitude as the bright and loud girl but trust me, it gets better. Everything gets less irritating once the two main leads get to know one another. The tension between them melts and everything is settled in place. You should give this drama a chance especially if you are just beginning to watch Taiwanese dramas!

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This series is a long-winded, cheesy & corny yet somehow addictive.The saving grace of the show, the two leads have great chemistry to work this storyline. The storyline is simple: a cold-hearted (CH) boss falls for the simple & noble office girl who can thaw frozen hearts & lives without fail and keeps standing not matter who knocks her down. CHBoss has a complicated family story thus a extra complicated love life all the while he getting stalked by his wacko ex (WX). There are a host of other support actors who fill in blanks of forlorn love sets, but the series is focused on the CHBoss & simple girl.
A couple things about this series a) All the females act like HS kids in the office b) The men appear uncomfortable in their own skin-story c) A lot of whining, stares montages, and nothingness. All that said, it has some appeal, as long as it ends at 20 (really 16 could have nailed it) and all players get the karma they deserve. Two most irritating roles the 1) stalker,liar, WX-girlfriend is not a good actress which makes her more unlikable and just weird. 2) Simple girl is way to child-like,self-sacrificing, and naive to be in any workplace raising her almost to martyrdom - NOT!
This is an uncomplicated-cheesy story where you find yourself fast forwarding and skipping eps just to find the points of interest but it is mildly entertaining. Ok finally finished this one - sorry this ending was a no fizzle, no spark, just BAM, over. Sorry this series did not leave a positive impression at the actor, storyline or music level - the only thing I keep hearing as a bad-silly theme song - Dang, dang

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primo drama in taiwan che ho visto… da premettere che, nella mia ignoranza, pensavo che il taiwan fosse una lingua, ahahhahaha lasciamo perdere per chi non lo sapesse anche in taiwan si parla il cinese ed io abituata con il coreano grazie ai drama e il giapponese grazie agli anime, devo dire che ascoltare il cinese è stata una botta allucinante poiché difficile da ascoltare oltre che da capire, infatti per me è stato pesantuccio solo per il fatto di una lingua nuova ma nulla da biasimare è stato un bel drama anche la storia molto bella, gli attori sono belli si differenziano molto dall’aspetto dei coreani ma in ambito della recitazione non mi sono piaciuti tanto, noi dramiste che guardiano corea forevere siamo abituate ad attori con livelli di recitazione elevatissimi se già siete abituti a vedere taiwanesi allora ve lo consiglio se no fate voi… io per il momento rimango in corea ahahahahhahaha

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Updated Review 2022:

I just finished watching this drama for a second time, and I have to say, it mostly holds up. Just You is very much a fluffy, cotton-candy rom-com in many respects. The female lead is bubbly and determined and ever cheerful, every employee at Gaze is romantically paired off by the end, it has that intentional over-acting acting style that all dramas of its time had, and at one point, even the female leads goldfish gets in on the action with an overly dramatic backstory. But something I didn't expect when I started my re-watch was how adept the writers were at creating meaningful characters and stories amidst it all. Just You frequently surprises you with its depth and multi-dimension.

Don't misunderstand. The drama doesn't lack in silly situations (see goldfish above, lol). It is very much a drama of its time. But with a couple of plot exceptions, it doesn't resort to just plain stupidity or illogicalness. Characters actions and behaviors are very natural, the conflicts they each experience are very real and touch on a number of issues, and even all of the side couples get together in believable ways and have really pleasant dynamics with one another. (I'm an unabashed fan of every single side couple. THEY'RE ALL SO CUTE, I'M GONNA DIE!!!!)

The one thing that holds this drama back is the love triangle/office drama.

First and foremost, I cannot enjoy plotlines that involve past loves coming back in order to get back together with one of the leads, but they never apologize for what they did to the lead in the first place. I don't understand being the sort of person who can break someone's heart and feel no remorse over it, then come back and try to start over where they left off. This is a classic drama trope I'm glad we've mostly done away with.

The love triangle/office drama also just last waaaay too long for no discernible reason other than I assume to fulfill the episode length. The entire investigation is very poorly done and would have taken one person looking at some camera footage to find out the truth and then reporting it to the partner company to resolve. Also, I don't think it was intentional, but dragging the love-triangle/office drama out for so long really gave Qi Yi a bad look. Jia Yu is given so much leeway with her behavior, often by Qi Yi himself, which understandably gives Liang Liang the wrong impression. I get Qi Yi trying to be surreptitious so that the Jia Yu doesn't realize what's he's doing behind the scenes, but there should have been some gosh-darn boundaries put in place.

That being said, I really like the redemption arc for Jia Yu. While we probably should have been given some of her backstory earlier, I think Jia Yu's backstory makes sense and gives some context to her character. And I don't usually feel this way about evil second leads. 9 times out of 10, I'm ready to chuck them in a fire and be done with it. But her backstory works for me here, and I'm really glad they included it.

Of course, the finale is a little drippy (sappy) in places and very tied-together-with-a-bow, but you have to expect that with a drama from this era, and it all fits pretty well with the tone and style of the rest of the story. If you go into this not expecting a perfect happy ending, you picked the wrong drama, lol.

I'm glad I re-watched this. I don't know if I will ever watch it again, but it was nice to go down memory lane with such a fun cast of characters.

Original Review:
Enjoyed it more then I probably should have. The leads are just plain dynamite together.

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