Swimming Battle (2016)

I truly loved this drama. I think it is the perfect example of how to create a drama without resorting to misunderstandings, stupid choices, and second leads that truly F things up all the time.

The main characters were very mature in their romance and relationship. They respected eachother and had deep trust and faith in eachother. There were no tantrums or egotistical stubbornness. While both had a secondary "love interest" the main characters drew clear boundaries towards them. I loved that as I find it incredibly frustrating when the main characters are totally oblivious and lead their friend on or hurt their romantic partner by not prioritizing their feelings. Especially the male lead was very impressive and level headed. He wasn't a brute or overly jelaous though he did like teasing the female lead at times ^^ The female lead was a a bit more cliche nice girl but had a lot of charm and had her own charm.

The humour was ok - not over the top but not laugh out loud either. All in all it was a very sweet, tender and mature (not in the R rated sense ;) drama that I would definitely recommend. Especially if you just want something to watch that makes you feel good without much angst or stupidity. The only weakness was that it didn't really have any magnetic feature. I mean, the thing that makes your heart pound and makes you unable to stop watching. However I really don't mind as this was a truly refreshing drama :D

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I was drawn to this because the female lead was one of my favorite actors in “Love Now.” Her acting was great and so was the male lead. The story was pretty good. Even though it had amnesia it wasn’t thrown in as filler halfway through the drama to keep it going. The female lead’s amnesia was the central plot to the drama so I was okay with the amnesia plot even though it’s been used way too much in dramas lately.
I loved the side characters, especially the swim teams. They had me cracking up all of the time. For most of this drama it’s light and sweet and the villains attempts to cause problems are very mild. The comedy takes central stage along with the romance.
But as with most Taiwanese dramas lately, it starts out as a light sweet romcom then turns into a melodrama for the last third of the drama. The angst sets in and it just gets more and more melodramatic until halfway through the last episode. I don’t mind the melodrama or angst, just label the drama correctly. Don’t label it as a romantic comedy then change it into a melodrama towards the end.
Other than that, I liked the drama. I would have rated it higher if it had stayed true to its genre as a romcom. There were multiple couples but there was no second lead syndrome here. The second male lead was nice but a little goofy. Most of the couples were high schoolers on the swim team so their romances were cute but not swoon worthy. Overall I liked the drama but I wouldn’t watch it again.

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