Once you watch it, you won't get over it!

I mean what can I say that hasn't already been said?
It's a fantastic drama that made me care. It made me care so much that it's hard to believe these characters are fictional.
The themes in the story are just perfectly complex and very human, the acting is phenomenal, mainly for our two MLs. Seriously, Xiao Zhan really shines in this role. And their chemistry is beautiful. The drama versions of them are probably one of my all time favorite couples in fiction (and yes, it is canon).
All I can say is you will seriously be missing out on something truly beautiful if you don't watch it.

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I didn't think I'd ever love a movie this much

Absolutely beautiful. From the beautiful themes to the acting to the wonderful soundtrack to the almost ridiculous, yet heartwarming humor, it is a perfect movie for me in every aspect.
I've never cried, laughed and smiled this much watching a movie.
It's the kind of movie that makes you glad to be human and alive.
This is actually my all time favorite movie and every time I feel life gets me down, I rewatch it and every single time, I love it perhaps even more than the last.
The way the story inspires you to live and never give up in an almost hopeful, simple, but innocent way just makes me tear up even thinking about it.
I am not one to say a movie is perfect easily, but it would be a crime to not call this one. It's imperfections just make it that much more beautiful.
There's just so much earnestness and heart in this movie and it really shines through.
I'll always be grateful for the comfort this movie had provided and will continue to provide me in my worst days.

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Clever story with great humor, Romance of Banana and Orange is the total package

Such a solid drama. It is such a refreshing plot, especially with the way it's handled. The humor really shines.
Zhao Lusi is so cute as the amateur writer who is now stuck in her own cliche script as a throwaway side character.
Her chemistry with the ML is a treat and even the villain is actually sympathetic.
The two servants for the leads are a hilarious pair, especially Bai Ji. His comedic timing and expressions are so funny to watch.
I love how it's not a serious drama. Because it's so light and fluffy, i actually started rewatching it again a few days ago when I couldn't find anything enjoyable to watch.
Can't wait for season 2!

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A decent romance with good chemistry between the leads

It's a very romance oriented drama. It was my first asian drama so obviously that increases my rating. I started watching Chinese dramas avidly after this one so obviously it did something right.
They try to do some mystery sub plot within the story, but it doesn't really work. However, it's a very light/fluffy, as well as funny drama and the chemistry between the leads is sizzling (the kiss scenes are like how kiss scenes should be).
The leads get together early on so most of the story is focused on other hardships they come across. In hindsight, I do think Ceaser Wu's acting was a little wooden when he tries to be the stoic general.
Would recommend if you're stuck after another drama and just want some plain old married romance between the leads.

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Mr. Queen is the queen of my heart

I definitely believe this is one of the best ASIAN dramas ever made. Not just Korean. I mostly watch C-dramas and I barely watch K-dramas, but wow! This one is an absolute gem.

The cast is spectacular! Every single one of them, not limited to the Male lead, lady Choi, the chef, the maid, the queen Dowager and especially the guy who played Kim Hwan (He's probably the most hilarious side character I've seen) They were fantastic!!

However, the main person that carries this entire drama is the Female Lead. She is probably the best thing about this drama. She is an absolute joy to watch on screen. She rightfully steals every scene she's in. She genuinely lived and breathed this role. The chemistry between the leads is also a treat to watch (such great kiss scenes, ngl!). I CANNOT emphasize enough how this show needs to be watched just to see how great she is in her role. I have no clue who this actress is, but she is extremely talented!

The OST just fits. Most of the songs/music that was picked just made each moment that much more hilarious, wonderful and emotional.

I won't say it's a perfect drama. There are only a handful that have gotten that title and this does have its flaws, but it comes so close to that title. The ending is a main reason for it. I think I'll forever be conflicted and upset over how this ended. It was so bittersweet. I just wish they had changed it a little bit by showing our two leads meeting in the future. Is that too much to ask??! Is it?!

Even though I loathed how it ended (and I can understand the reasoning behind it but it still hurts), I would still recommend this drama in a heartbeat to anyone, especially for people who think asian dramas, and k dramas in general are nothing but slow burn regurgitated romances with different casts.

The sheer creativity and just the overall fun tone in the entire drama makes you realise that the people who worked in this really put their heart into making it. For that alone, it's worth a watch.

Edit: It is also one of the most re-watchable dramas I have ever watched. At this point, I have re-watched it thrice, almost four if you count my current viewing and I enjoy it so much, though I do skip the political intrigue/serious parts.

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A mature story about female empowerment and love

I genuinely think if I had not watched this immediately after finishing Nirvana in Fire, I would have been more invested.

Its a story about three extremely resilient friends broken down by the world they're born into, especially by men they trusted and now they are trying to succeed past it all.

I genuinely feel like it's a much better drama in terms of portrayal of women because it doesn't show them as delicate flowers always waiting to be rescued by men, with no agency. These women fight nail and tooth to grow and they have AGENCY. They're not passive. They're complex characters with their own baggage. The female friendship genuinely made me love the characters.

And the love story, man, it's so good. There's love here shown in tandem with sexual desire, which is oh my god, excellent for any asian drama. The male and female lead have sizzling chemistry and a very healthy relationship. Seriously, good job for showing romance can be sexy without it being toxic!

I didn't finish it so I don't know, but the direction of the two female friends love story is also very mature and excellent, dealing with themes of domestic abuse and a divorced woman with a child finding love again.

Some things I find weird is that the tone of some serious instances (Song's abusive husband's scenes is comedic in tone in some places) and some themes is not handled as it should be. Like saying musicians are better than sex workers because they have some talent which, ahem, okay. But I guess it's what they would've thought in that time and sex work is still demeaned in a lot of cultures. Still, I wish they didn't add that in.

I also found some of the acting to be a little confusing. The female lead is good, but she plays some of the scenes like she knows something that others don't (talking about the painting) and is part of a bigger mystery plot, but i don't think that's true. She's a decent actress but some of the acting choices really threw me off cause I kept waiting for them to pay off and maybe they do, but from what I've heard of this drama, it doesn't seem to be true.

The main reason I couldn't continue was that it's just a very slice of life story about how these women handle the various obstacles that come their way and like I said, I was craving more of an overarching plot, more mystery and more of just, something exciting. I just needed more.

Barring all that, I really and I mean REALLY hope that this drama sets a precedent for how women, female friendships and love is portrayed in cdramas. Hats off to the writer on this. They have great potential for writing more female driven stories and I hope they do.

I will say I'm hoping to come back to this drama again and finish it properly.

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Starts out strong, but the writers got confused near the middle

I think it started out with a lot of potential, but it just fizzles out when it reaches its halfway point. I really liked the FL's character, even the actress but her voice actor sounds so childish that it makes the character seem more immature than she is.
The side characters are alright. No one really stands out. The villains are very one dimensional. There's no complexity to any of them.
They also have some confused messages regarding hypnotising someone's feelings, which is a problem because they don't really tell us properly what hypnotism in this universe is actually.
That's the thing, for a setting thats definitely interesting, they don't really want to do a lot with it. But I can't blame them, they advertised it as arranged marriage love story and they're doing that. But it's still a shame. There are some parts that's actually funny, but overall I think I might drop it for now.

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