Story about strong women

This drama is one of the favorites that I've watched this year (2023). I enjoy watching slice of life drama and especially one that deals with real and difficult issues. This drama is one that deals with real life issues such as infidelity, divorce, workplace and business competition. The characters feel real and the actors played them really well. The three main female characters are all strong women, but I particularly like Gu Jia. She's the strongest of them all I think.

SPOILER ALERT!
Throughout the drama you get to see character developments for the main characters. Zhong Xiao Qin started out as a dependent and rather spoiled, a people pleaser that cannot survive on her own. She always has her parents and her husband to guide her through life. But she became a strong women after the divorce and can stand up for herself. Wang Man Ni's character development is not too significant in my opinion. She is already a strong, independent woman and she's my least favorite character. Gu Jia, now she is my favorite. I love her character. She can be soft but strong at the same time. In the beginning, I thought she's just a boring upper middle income housewife with a kid and adoring husband. But as you progressed, you get to see that she's actually the one that works hard for her family and she's one that will not hesitate to give the harsh truth to the friends to get them to wake up and move on from the problems. I like her! I thought she's the one that has it all and will have the happy ending. But her life was turned upside down when a home-wrecker chased her husband. But, She handled the husband's infidelity in an elegant way. She is the strongest of them all.

I like to see the friendship between these three women. And it's also interesting to see how life in a big city like Shanghai is. The struggles that you have to endure to live in Shanghai (there's a part of the story where Man Ni returns to her hometown and there, everybody is friendly and know everybody and always ready with a helping hand, a contrast with life in Shanghai).

There is a silent family at the end of each episode that I also like. I think the main idea of this family is to show that it's simple life that brings happiness and wealth and more money comes with its problems.

I think this drama is excellent and would definitely recommend it if you like slice of life stories.

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What I like about Chinese costume drama (xian xia specifically) is that it defies the standard of good and evil. Black is not always evil and white is not always good. In many cases, the “good” one can be more villain than the villain itself, just covering themselves with white colored clothes that are usually associated with good. While the ones who wore all black clothes can be a good person. They are just assumed evil because they wear all black clothes.

Okay, back to the drama. This is a good forbidden love story. I was initially annoyed with Esther Yu because she sounded like those annoying female that is weak, needy and clingy. But she’s proven her acting throughout the drama. She can be serious, she can be fierce; she just has that annoying tone of voice, but she’s okay. Dylan Wang is excellent in this drama. I’ve become a hardcore fans of Dylan. I thought he portrayed Dong Fang Qing Cang really well. I can see his emotions and feel his pain and sorrow (and joy too). The character is a conflicted soul and he played that well. The series I thought have minimal boring moments. The pace is well and I enjoyed the story of the different supporting characters as well. There are also some funny moments between the two main characters. The OST is great! I love most of the songs in this drama and immediately added them to my listening rotation.

If you like Xian Xia, I would definitely recommend you to watch this drama. Hopefully you will end up liking this as much as I do. This is one of the ones where moving on from the main characters are difficult for me. This is definitely on my rewatch list if time permits. God knows i have a long to watch list that just gets longer and longer :)

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I only started watching this when there's an announcement in my inbox that Netflix will not air this series anymore next month. I thought I might as well give it a go. I was looking for an easy and feel good story to watch. However, this drama is not what I expected. I thought the acting and scenes were over the top. Majority of the characters are silly to me. It didn't feel serious at all, and I didn't think this is a comedy series, so I sort of got lost in the main plot of the story. The FL and ML's acting in this is just okay. The first two episodes are good and funny but it sort of went downhill afterwards. I would only recommend this if you really like the actors. Otherwise, I would suggest you skip this one.

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If you like c-drama and have not watch this yet, I would suggest you go and watch this! I think this is one of the best ones out there. If you like sci-fi mystery type of story, I would strongly suggest you watch this one. There has been so many reviews about this drama and most have mentioned what's so good about this drama. Although I'm not normally a fan of sci-fi or time travel stories, the reviews piqued my curiosity. I originally thought that I will be confused and bored and will write a not-so good review about this drama. But, boy oh boy, it does not disappoint! The drama is so intense that it keeps you at the edge of your seat most times. Each episodes dived deeper into the story and provides more context and background on the event (bombing of the bus) and the characters of the people on the bus. I like how they reveal bits and pieces at each episode and how it all connects at the end. The drama also deals with issues facing modern society almost everywhere (which is rare for c-drama), so I applaud this. The acting of the younger actors and actresses and the more mature ones are really good! I also really like the ending theme song (Zhou Shen surprisingly has a very good English pronounciation!)

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I watched the first season and after completing this one I prefer the first season much better. The story and character is more interesting. The first one was set in a beach resort while the second one is in a ski resort (kinda). The view of ski lodge and the mountains in this season is breathtaking and very pleasant to see. The most interesting character and plot for me is Cheng Man's story with her budding romance and conflict with her ex-husband and problem-child. I don't particularly like the Cheng Miao's story and the whole gamer universe. Overall, it's just okay to watch and the sceneries are breathtakingly beautiful. But I wouldn't watch this again.

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Sweet Rom-com

If you're looking for a No-Drama Drama, I would recommend you watch this. I watch this because of Yang Yang, but I find the story and pacing good, enjoyable. There is very minimal conflict. I found two "sort of" antagonist but no noticeable and developed conflict between ML-FL and these roles. This is a fairy tale romance for me. Something to go "aww" and "gaga" about. I didn't give this a perfect score because the game and space part is rather boring for me (maybe because I'm not into either topic), and I find that Dilraba's acting is just so-so. I cringed everytime I hear her whiny and "trying to be cute" voice. It's so annoying to me. Other than these, it's an overally good drama.

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*some spoilers alert*

I have watched and reviewed the first season of this drama. I love it and since Netflix has it as one continuous title, I immediately watch the second season. I am interested in continuing the story of the main characters from the first season.

The second season starts four years after the four roommates of dorm room 419 graduated from university. In the second season, the characters have begun the next step of their life and faces the challenges that us adults face in friendship, career and love. This season sees a departure of one of the girls (Shi Tou/Luo Yan) as she pursue her education in Canada (This doesn't bother me as she's my least favorite character from the first season) and a new character is introduced, the very cute Xiao Ding.

Duan Jia Bao and Liang Shuang remains my two favorite characters with Xiao Ding and Jiang Xiao Guo coming in second. This season you really get to see character development. Life is not always easy for these girls. In the beginning of the season, you see all characters have settled in their adult life. Good career, relationship (for Liang Shuang) and seemed like nothing can go wrong. But, boy oh boy, there is so many life challenges for these girls (well, except for Xiao Ding). And throughout the drama, you get to see how strong these girls' characters are, especially Jia Bao and Liang Shuang. They are at their rock bottom, then they rise above these challenges. Jia Bao in the first season is your rich princess that has her life easy and her life turned upside down when her family suddenly went bankrupt. She used to be able to spend money like crazy, but now she has to learn to be frugal. Liang Shuang's break with You Xiu is so heartbreaking for me. Xiao Ding, the new character is so cute, she immediately grew on me. She just has that sweetness with her and she got along with the three girls and turned out to be a really good friend.

As for the male characters, my favorite would be nerdy Qi Song! He is such a nice character and really good for Jiang Xiao Guo. My least favorite would be Doctor Zhu. He annoys me somehow and I just don't like him I guess :)

The OST is not memorable, not one that you would spend time watching the opening and ending theme every episode and immediately shazam it and add it to my Playlist.

Overall, I really like this drama. Definitely on my rewatch list!

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I enjoyed this drama thoroughly. It's a slice of life story about four college dorm roommates and their coming of age story as they go through the last year of college. Although the story seemed simple and nothing special, what makes this drama enjoyable is the characters and seeing their journey as they become an adult and face life's challenges. I like how strong their friendship is and how they depend on each other. The drama shows the characters' up and down as they navigate through life. It's not always sunny. They fight, they bicker and they get jealous of each other. But when trouble comes, they provide each other's helping hands. Here are my review of the main (and notable supporting) characters.

Duan Jia Bao:
She is a spoiled rich kid. Her parents are super rich, so she gets through college life pretty easy and seemed to have no qualms in spending money. In the beginning we see her being taken advantage of someone she met who faked being a fanboy of the same artists. Turns out she only befriended her because of her money. Her character at first seemed like an annoying brat who takes everything for granted. But she became my favorite character as she showed her virtues. Like Da Xiong said, even though she is rich, she is happy at any gift that he gave her and never look down. She is very loyal and always willing to help her friends when they are in need. She is not the brightest student, and can be lazy in studying at times, but she is very passionate at what she does and willing to go through mountains to accomplish the job. We get to see her being humble and really does her job as an agent. She is also a very loving person, she has a tremendously big heart. How she sacrificed her feeling for YouXiu for Liang Shuang requires a big heart. I love her relationship with her brother and how close of a sibling they are. She is by far my favorite character of the occupants of 419.

Liang Shuang:
She is my second favorite character. She maybe fierce on the outside, but nice on the inside. When she was first introduced, she seemed like a scary characters and all the other 419 occupants are so afraid of her that they even mock her as the WiFi password. She, like Duan Jia Bao showed her virtues. She is very filial to her grandmother. She is very passionate in chasing her dreams to become a fashion blogger. And although it hurt her, she stood up for her mistakes and willing to accept the consequences. As the drama progresses we will see that she is a good friend which the other occupants started to realize and that's how she got into the close circle of room 419.

Jiang Xiao Guo:
She is the glue of the friendship. She is a goody two shoes, a straight A student, very frugal, lives within her means and works hard to achieve her dreams in the financial world. She is loyal to her friends and very caring. I love to see her relationship with her mom. She has a big heart too and showed that when she met her step brother for the first time. She is a hardworker and displayed that at her job despite being just an intern. She is a friend that you would like to have in your life. She is always there for you.

Luo Yan/Shi Tou:
She is my least favorite character. I don't like her. She is weird, she can be a close book even to her closest friend. She is very rude to her mom. She can be thick headed at times.

The male characters are just your ordinary guy. The focus is not on them but the four female leads. However, I have to give a special mention to Duan Zhen Yu. He, like her sister Duan Jia Bao, looks like a spoiled brat (he is even more than his sister), but he showed character development and became a better person. Plus, Wang An Yu is so cute :) The second one is Zhou Xun. He looks fierce, not nice and unapproachable, but he is actually soft on the inside.

Overall, I would recommend this drama if you like coming of age stories. There is romance but it's more like "real life" romance than drama romance, it has its ups and downs. The friendship is great, that you wish you have dorm mates like them. I'm continuing to season 2 immediately as Netflix has both seasons.

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The problem with my rating is because i had high expectations of this drama. I love a good wuxia drama and they are a rare find these days. So I had high hopes for this one. Unlike the condor heroes trilogy, I don't think I have watched the original for this drama. The premise or story is good. It started out really well. The first few episodes had some really good fighting scenes too. However, I was disappointed at the many different side characters and their stories. I got confused watching those. I usually like a good and interesting side characters and their stories (as long as it's good, i don't care if it's not related to the main storyline, but in small doses). This drama has a plethora of side characters and their storyline (according to me) took over the main storyline until the last 3-4 episodes. I was really looking forward to the character developments and more interactions between the brothers and I thought the story that led to them finding out that they are related and twins are more interesting than this. Thus, the low rating. I want to give a shout out to Chen Zhe Yuan. I thought he played his character really well. Hu Yi Tian looks like has no expression whatsoever LoL. If you are just looking for entertainment and good fighting scene without caring about the storyline, you would definitely enjoy this drama and I recommend that you give it a try.

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This is not a serious Chinese costume drama. I repeat, this is not one on the serious side. If you're expecting something more serious, this is not the drama for you. I heard some of my friends said this is bad, do not watch and as it turns out they were expecting something serious and did not get the jokes. For me, this drama is okay. It's not excellent or even on the good part, but it's okay. The story is just standard, but they way they present it with comedy is so refreshing! I laughed at many of the scenes, especially the first half. The cast often have joking expression, so cute, especially the FL and ML. Even the background music sounds comedic rather than serious. OST is not my favorite, but I watch this on Netflix so it skips the opening and ending theme song. As for rewatch value, I would definitely revisit some of the funny scenes just to have a good laugh, and a break from the serious drama. I didn't give a higher score for this because for me, this is not considered a good drama, but more like a light entertainment. But, definitely watchable. There's some good fighting scenes too!

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Not Just A Love Story

This drama is not your typical love story. The chemistry and relationship between the main couple is indeed cute and heartwarming, but this drama is about so much more than that. This is also about family and friendship as well. The main couple started out as childhood friends who grow to like each other, not just as friends. I like that this drama also explores psychological issues, such as FL growing up without a mother, ML also has psychological disorders (I forgot what it's called, but he needs to be under pressure to perform well in archery). I like how the FL and ML supports each other through the ups and downs of their relationship. I also like the music of this drama. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but the chemistry between the main couple is great! Ireine Song is so cute and lovable. I will definitely rewatch this when I have time (Plus side: it's only 24 episodes)

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A loooooonnnngggg drama

Taiwanese dramas are usually only 13-15 episodes with 1 hour 15 minutes duration (so in c-drama land this would be 24-30 episode drama). However, this one is longer that Chinese costume drama, even longer than Story of Yanxi palace, which is 70 episodes long.

Anyway, I decided to watch this series because I like the main couple and the synopsis sounds really interesting. I thought I can breeze through 72 episodes if I really like to see the main couple and I did enjoy the first 30 episodes. [SPOILER] However, it started to get boring and downhill after the main couple got together. It's nice to see them be lovey dovey instead of bickering, but it kinda lost its appeal for me. The story started to move to secondary characters... Which is fine, I have no issue since I like some of the secondary characters too, but what I don't like is that this feels like a VLOG instead of a drama series. I feel like just watching the characters daily life without any conflicts much of the time.. Thus it gets really boring.. There are some cliches too and I couldn't stand Lan Shi-De's aunt. She is just so annoying... Grandma is too sometimes, but mostly the aunt that gets on my nerves. I ended up just having this drama in the background until the last 2 episodes when I really watch it again.

This is a long drama that is not worth the time investment... It is only worth it if you really really like the actors and actresses and want more screen time of them. Otherwise, this is just a simple drama that is not worth your time.

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Well done well acted light on series

I was introduced to iQiyi's Light On series through The Bad Kids, which is until now, one of the best drama that I've watched. This is the second Light On Series that I've watched. Although it is not as good as The Bad Kids, but it is a pretty good mystery drama that keeps you at the edge of your seat. The story is told really well in 12 episodes, which makes the pace of this drama just right. The end of each episode ends with another piece of the torn photograph that will contain the clue to the mystery and every episode almost always ends in a cliffhanger and will leave you hanging if you don't click that next episode button. I was hooked from the first episode until the last one The acting is also top notch from the main and supporting characters. Special applause goes to Bai Yu who portrays the Jiang Yang character, who is the main character and the central of the whole drama once you've watched the whole drama. If you like mystery dramas, I would definitely recommend you check this drama out with advance warning: the drama deals with dark and difficult issue which can be sad and depressing for some.

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I am so fooled into watching this drama from the rave reviews and comments that I've read. Obviously they are not on MDL. If I'd read the comments and reviews on MDL, I probably would not have given this drama a shot. Well, to be fair, the first 10 episodes are kinda okay and watchable when you leave your brain off and just feast on the eyes looking at Xu Kai Cheng. But after that things started to go downhill. The FL gets more annoying and irritating, and you just want to slap her to "wake her" up sometimes. The evil guy (I forgot his name) is an absolute bore and his acting is so bad......... The mom storyline is also weird and to me doesn't make sense, how you would betray your own son just because she loves her second husband? That to me is super outrageous! Unfortunately, I'm not one to drop dramas, so I have to just soldier on and finish it all - Netflix combines both seasons, so it just kept on playing. But I do other things while it plays on the background. Somehow I'm interested to see what crappy ending this drama has :)

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