Cute, light-hearted drama with great lead chemistry -- just a smidge off amazing
If you're looking for something that's cute and sweet without much angst/separation/betrayals, this is the show for you. Throughout the whole show, it keeps up its lighthearted atmosphere. All the leads are likeable and the "villains" in the story aren't too bad - they're generally more annoying and disruptive rather than evil and sinister.
1) Pros:
Great acting and characters. Ryan Ding and Esther Yu both were amazing in their roles. Although this isn't totally out of their comfort levels, it was still a good display. Ryan Ding was able to play a more bratty/successful male lead while Esther Yu played the foil of being the naive/air-headed female lead, although there are moments where she was able to show off her range of emotions. Second Male Lead and Male Lead have a good relationship; although there is a love-triangle involving them, it never felt angsty or upsetting, but rather more akin to friendly competition. The male leads are friends from beginning to end and its great to see their friendship. Second Female Lead is solid too and had a good performance, but I didn't find her character too much of a stand-out.
Solid plot. The plot isn't anything too special if you read the synopsis but the execution is great if you're looking for something light-hearted. Most of the conflicts are character-driven rather than external villains acting 'evil'. This allows the major strength of the show (the characters) to really shine through since the viewers are able to see their growth. Ryan Ding's character moves from a bratty/self-centered person to a caring and considerate one. Esther's character starts off air-headed and a pushover but really starts to stand-up for things and people she cares about. It's great to see. As it's an easy to digest plot, marathoning this show was very easy and there's a solid rewatch value.
2) Minor Quips:
There really isn't any major cons so I'll only go over some minor things I had issue with.
Last arc was disappointing. Around episodes 28-34, I felt the plot really started to drag. Many cdramas have this issue of having underwhelming final arcs and I felt this one was a bit forced. I felt like it moved away from what made the previous episodes enjoyable and started moving towards "evil villain" and forced-drama vibes (especially with the introduction of another certain character....).
Would've liked to see more of the female lead's thoughts. Although the FL is the "main" character, the story really heavily centers around the point of view of the male-lead. This makes the FL feel like she's in a more passive/static role whereas the ML is one that's in the dynamic role.
A little bit too much focus on second leads. Since the main leads' relationship is relatively smooth-sailing, this put a lot of the drag/boring tropes on the second leads with their back-and-forth. Not too big of a deal.
3) Miscellaneous:
Plot is VERY reminiscent to Love is Sweet. Characters, dog, motivations, cohabitation, etc. Not a con by any means but there's a lot of similarities to be drawn. OST is solid but really only 1 song by Esther Yu that's actually rememberable. Cute FL outfits.
Overall, would definitely recommend.
1) Pros:
Great acting and characters. Ryan Ding and Esther Yu both were amazing in their roles. Although this isn't totally out of their comfort levels, it was still a good display. Ryan Ding was able to play a more bratty/successful male lead while Esther Yu played the foil of being the naive/air-headed female lead, although there are moments where she was able to show off her range of emotions. Second Male Lead and Male Lead have a good relationship; although there is a love-triangle involving them, it never felt angsty or upsetting, but rather more akin to friendly competition. The male leads are friends from beginning to end and its great to see their friendship. Second Female Lead is solid too and had a good performance, but I didn't find her character too much of a stand-out.
Solid plot. The plot isn't anything too special if you read the synopsis but the execution is great if you're looking for something light-hearted. Most of the conflicts are character-driven rather than external villains acting 'evil'. This allows the major strength of the show (the characters) to really shine through since the viewers are able to see their growth. Ryan Ding's character moves from a bratty/self-centered person to a caring and considerate one. Esther's character starts off air-headed and a pushover but really starts to stand-up for things and people she cares about. It's great to see. As it's an easy to digest plot, marathoning this show was very easy and there's a solid rewatch value.
2) Minor Quips:
There really isn't any major cons so I'll only go over some minor things I had issue with.
Last arc was disappointing. Around episodes 28-34, I felt the plot really started to drag. Many cdramas have this issue of having underwhelming final arcs and I felt this one was a bit forced. I felt like it moved away from what made the previous episodes enjoyable and started moving towards "evil villain" and forced-drama vibes (especially with the introduction of another certain character....).
Would've liked to see more of the female lead's thoughts. Although the FL is the "main" character, the story really heavily centers around the point of view of the male-lead. This makes the FL feel like she's in a more passive/static role whereas the ML is one that's in the dynamic role.
A little bit too much focus on second leads. Since the main leads' relationship is relatively smooth-sailing, this put a lot of the drag/boring tropes on the second leads with their back-and-forth. Not too big of a deal.
3) Miscellaneous:
Plot is VERY reminiscent to Love is Sweet. Characters, dog, motivations, cohabitation, etc. Not a con by any means but there's a lot of similarities to be drawn. OST is solid but really only 1 song by Esther Yu that's actually rememberable. Cute FL outfits.
Overall, would definitely recommend.
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