Not quite there!

I had very high expectation of this show, and was patiently waiting for all episodes to air so that I could binge watch it. The ML is a ex-mobster, now a stoic CEO running a company which hires ex-cons and gives them a chance to change their lives. He has a serious personality, and has no romantic experience despite being 36 yrs old. The FL is an online influencer who makes content for kids, does honesty work, but fails to garner the attention her company expects her to achieve. The interactions between our leads are all good till episode 10. There is an additional pursuer of the FL, who is a public prosecutor, good hearted, nice to the FL and weary of the ML. His interactions with the FL are great too. We see a love confession happening between the leads around the 10th-11th episode and that is when things start going south. In one scene we see the ML getting all awkward about physical contact with the FL, and in the next scene we see them acting all googly eyed, making finger hearts at each other and being lovey dicey to the point of being silly. Seeing the character of ML in previous episodes, this sudden change was a little hard to digest. Then there were unnecessary tropes added in episode 12-14 where we see the history of other characters, and problems being created because of them, which felt like they were added just to increase the screen time of the actors. I didn’t dislike the show, but I had to forward quite a lot of portions in these episodes because they felt stupid and unnecessary.

The serious, no-nonsense character suited the ML a lot, and I wish we didn’t have to see his silly romantic side. Serious romances are good too, given the age of the leads, that would have naturally looked better. The series got interesting again from the middle of episode 14 when things stated getting heated up between the ML and his dad’s gang.We see the silly side returning for a bit in episode 16 again, but thankfully it wasn’t as cringe as before. The FL was very pretty, but I didn’t like her kinky, super short bangs somehow. I guess Korean actors think that wearing bangs is the only way to look young, but looking one’s age is super elegant too. Anyhow, overall it was a good one time watch for me, I loved the serious ML, as well as the love rival prosecutor, the right hand man of the ML, however, was the best looking of all! Hope to see more of these guys!

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A must watch political saga!

This is one of those shows that would define Chinese entertainment industry for me! I don’t know why it took me so long to watch it, at first I never paid attention to shows that were made before 2019, but on recommendation of a friend who has very similar tastes to mine, I decided to watch it. If I had to list everything I liked about this show, I would probably go on for 10,000 words and more! To put it briefly, the amazing cast, the superb acting, the believable character, excellent cinematography, the costumes, the soundtrack…..there isn’t a single thing about the show that needs improvement. Be it the lengthy political discourses and scheming, or the near perfect war scenes, there was never a dull moment in the entirety of the 54-episodes! Each and every character was played to perfection, and one cannot help but want to see the happy times last longer between Lin Shu and Xiao Jingyan, between Lin Shu and his beloved Duchess Nihuang, but it was enough that we didn’t have to see the ML dying, and it was just implied towards the end. I am now looking forward to watching the season 2, though not having the same characters there would be disheartening, seeing that the second season was as popular if not more, I believe that the production team would have spared no effort in bringing to us a drama that deserves to be seen and appreciated. If I could give Nirvana in fire 30 stars, I would, but I can safely list it among the ‘must watch once’ list.

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Why did this show have to have Esther Yu????

After watching melody of Golden Age, I was looking forward to another drama by Ding Yu Xi. I loved him in all the dramas I have watched with him so far, except moonlight, which I couldn’t finish because of Esther Yu, but I still wanted to give this one a try, despite Esther Yu, just because of Ding Yu Xi. I just managed to watch a trailer and that was enough to put me off the show completely. I am sorry Ding Yu Xi, but you need to choose carefully who you are being cast with, if you want your work to be appreciated. As for Esther Yu, what do I say, I feel she jinxes every male lead that she works with, by overshadowing their hard work with her kiddish, silly acting and her toddler-like voice, which is frankly like pouring burning hot oil in one’s ears. I mean the woman is almost 30, acting in a drama where she has been cast as an adult, can she not act her age for once? Do people seriously like her so much that they can overlook her pathetic acting and baby voice and keep showering her with false praises? Nothing against those who think this drama is worth ten stars, I seriously wanted to give it a sincere try, even if it was just for Ding Yu Xi, but the trailer was sufficient to put me off it forever! My sincere apologies to Zhu Shu Dan and Yang Shi Ze as well, I love you guys, and I wanted to watch you so much, if it was not Esther Yu I had to watch you guys with. Please do more dramas minus Esther Yu and I promise to watch all of them!

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Could have been so much better!

I had high expectations from this series, seeing the leads were such accomplished actors, but the poor editing and mediocre music of this series proved that only having a good story and great actors is not enough, a good series requires good cinematography, excellent camera angles, and a near perfect editing. The transition between episodes was ill placed and there were countless abrupt scenes-endings, which dampened the effect of the basic storyline. The series could have been made a little shorter and crispier, eliminating unnecessary plot-twists and unwanted characters who added nothing to the script. Yao Chi looked amazing in his character and he did perfect justice to his role as the second lead, that said, I would have liked it more if the dialogues assigned to him would have been better scripted. The lead actors, Zhang Han and Zhu Xu Dan were great, because they are inherently good actors, but I would have loved to see better costumes for Zhang Han and some more romance and chemistry between the leads. In the end, even excellent actors require a good script and great camera-work to bring their characters to life. Seven stars to this series for Zhang Han, Zhu Xu Dan and Yao Chi !!

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Unimpressive despite expectations!

This was a much awaited show, since I am a fan of both Bai Lu and Dylan Wang, with Miles Wei in this show as well, the anticipation was even higher. I generally wait for a show to complete airing before I binge watch it, but I started watching when about 26 episodes were aired. Episode after episode, my confusion kept growing as to what was the deal with the leads, with the ML clearly interested in the FL but always giving her a tough time, then helping her covertly. As for the FL, she is shown as a rising star in financial journalism, with many noteworthy articles under her belt, but as soon as the ML comes into the picture, she sees him as the only ladder she needs to climb professionally, the character sketch of the FL couldn’t have been more skewed. She flirts with a business contact openly, is unsure whether she actually has feelings for him, but sees nothing wrong in using him for her professional gain. I was expecting a great onscreen chemistry between the leads, but it was lacklustre and mediocre at best. What was really appalling were the unnecessary scenes of horse riding that felt so out of place and context! For the second leads, they looked good together, had chemistry too, but I didn’t get why their relationship had to be an on-and-off kind of situation, with no rhyme or reason for unnecessary conflict or coldness. The third couple, with Miles Wei was my favourite, and one of the reasons I continued watching. That said, even this cute pair couldn’t compel me to watch beyond episode 24. I really like Bai Lu and Dylan Wang, and sincerely hope they get better stories and characters in future. Bai Lu has shown such great on-screen chemistry with Ren Jialun, Xu Kai and Luo Yunxi, I expected more from her here, but she can only do what she is directed to, with the character that’s written for her. As for Dylan Wang, I loved him in Love between Fairy and Devil, but I just couldn’t feel the same for him in this show.

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Loved it!

There is absolutely nothing not to love in this drama. I wanted to watch One and Only first, but I am not a fan of tragic endings, so I decided to skip that series and directly watch Forever and Ever. I was already a fan of Bai Lu, and it was my first time watching Ren Jia Lun. I loved this pairing of lead characters. The chemistry was great, and the unwavering love between the lead characters was both refreshing and powerful. Bai Lu looks stunning, and Ren Jia Lun looks better and better in each episode. The supporting cast was all great too. The story isn’t too complicated, and I binge watched the entire series in two days. Don’t want to give spoilers, but if someone likes love stories with happy marriages, no misunderstandings, and complete devotion between loved ones, then this series wouldn’t disappoint at all!

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A good show!

A sweet romance, the story was nothing new but I liked both the leads and their chemistry was good. I would admit I had a negative bias towards Laing Jie and avoided watching the shows in which she was the lead. But I’ve always liked Steven Zhang and Joseph Zeng, and I finally decided to watch A Day of becoming you because frankly, I had finished what I was watching and didn’t have anything else to watch. But once I started watching the show, my impression of Liang Jie changed quickly and I wanted to watch more shows with her. That’s how I ended up watching Hi Venus. It was a sweet love story with a predictable plot, but it was worth the screentime, one because the show didn’t drag anywhere, two because there wasn’t a love triangle or an evil ex-girlfriend to complicate issues. The parents on both sides were supportive despite the huge economical barrier between the leads, and the ML didn’t seem to think one bit about how he was super rich and our FL was from a humble background. He admired her for her qualities and personality and that didn’t change till the end. The second leads were super nice too, and I never felt like fast forwarding any scenes with them. Though I am still confused why the show was titled Hi Venus, I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet and simple romance.

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loved it!

I loved, loved, loved this show. I had my eyes for it as soon as it started airing, but I patiently waited for all episodes to finish airing so I could binge watch it in a weekend. I love time travel themed shows, and this one was such a heart warming story, of family, love, friendship, dreams, love and loyalty! I loved all the characters, especially the ones from 1995, and I felt the dilemma, confusion, happiness and sadness with every character, especially the ML, right with him. The actress who played Cheong-Ah in 1995 was super cute and I simply loved her innocence and expressions. One discovered that the disability of the ML’s dad was not congenital, rather due to an accident at the age of 18, but even if it was 1995, hearing aids were available to people who could speak but just couldn’t hear. I mean one can understand how Beethoven became deaf and couldn’t be treated in the 1700s, but it is beyond me why Ha Lee Chan couldn’t be given a hearing aid! That said, I still love this show to pieces, and would be rewatching it several times, and would also recommend it to my friends!

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Exceptional, by Japanese drama standards

There are several Japanese dramas that I have started and left after a couple of episodes, some I’ve managed to finish as well, but no Japanese series has made me feel so many emotions as this one. What a beautiful story, it makes you laugh, fall in love, suffer heartbreaks, feel a sense of longing, dream, work hard for dreams, and then puts it all together with a very sweet happy ending. I loved both lead actors, and a special mention to the agent at the music label, the landlady and the pattern maker colleague of the FL, they all made the show worth watching. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more shows by these actors, and seriously, more shows like these would change the way people think about Japanese shows! A show worth watching, not to be missed for fans of sweet romances.

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One of the best!

One of the best Wuxia dramas I’ve seen! To begin with, I love strong female leads and Shen Li, our FL, is the most formidable, brave and courageous person in the show. She is simply awe-inspiring! As for our ML, he is an epitome of straight faced humour, and despite of his status as the last living God, he is patient, emotional, contradicted by his own emotions, and burdened by responsibilities, but even with all this, he is so much fun when he is with the FL. As for the actors, I’d seen both leads before, though in separate shows and I must say their chemistry was over the roof, right from the start. All in all, the show was very very entertaining, with light hearted moments in each episode, even during very serious situations. It was interesting to see the growth of Lord Furong into what he became towards the end of the show, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Mofang, no matter whatever evil he did. I can go on and on about other characters, there were so many I loved, but seriously, every Chinese drama lover should watch and appreciate this show. Last but definitely not the least, the music and background score of this show was simply superb! I wish I could give more than 10 stars :)

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Great entertainer!

I don’t know why I have waited so long to watch this series, it has been in my watchlist for over a year, and I am so happy I finally decided to give it a go. The male and female leads were both phenomenal, portraying different personalities to perfection. I loved the plot and how it was not love at first sight for either of them. I like the stories where women are shown to have powerful personalities, and seeing someone with such strong personality in Joseon era is refreshing! I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a slow burn romance with a historical background.

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