Just an Encore (2019)

Puppy Love that’s Sincere & True

I really love this drama. It’s relatable, fast-paced, interesting and moving. The boys in this drama are, on the whole, tall and adorable. The girls are watchable too.

Watch because:
- Ryan Ding - I loved him in Intense Love and so, I decided to watch this drama. He’s such a cute and handsome young man. He acted well and made me wish to have my own protector and ‘lover’ / sweetheart called He Xin Liang! His character in the drama is such a sweet guy who genuinely loves the girl. He does so much for her without asking for anything in return. Swoon.
- the actor who plays Ji Xiao is tall and cute too
- the actor who plays Yan Hai is funny and very relatable
- the teachers in this show made me wish that I had teachers like them in my youth - the teachers are good people
- plot is interesting and well-linked
- 31 eps at about 30 mins makes this drama very watchable
- happy ending! :)
- there are several words of wisdom in this drama too - meaningful. Eg: Learning how to be hardworking / diligent is more important than studying hard. This is because the good trait of being hardworking / diligent will stay with us for life.

I don’t talk about the girls as I don’t think they left deep impressions on me. Only the female lead, called Yan Zhe, is good enough to be mentioned and given an okay. The rest of the actresses are quite average.

He Xin Liang (Ryan Ding) really stands out in this drama though. Watch! For him! :)

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More than the average high school drama

It's not just the leads but there's great chemistry for the whole cast, yes even the teachers. This touched me in ways I didn't expect and maybe one of my most favorite HS drama.

There's the typical bickering, skipping classes, love triangles, secret crushes, etc. The usual teenage drama. At first l, I found the FL to be too loud, too smiley, eager to please and quite annoying. This feeling did not stay too long as the FL continued to show her sincerity to her classmates. What I didn't expect was the depth of her insecurity shown in this drama. When the description said that the FL's negative feelings exploded, I thought it was an exaggeration but it wasn't. She really did explode and I cried when she did. That was probably one of the most powerful scenes in this drama because the FL's reaction and actions after that scene was sensitively shown and handled.

As for the love triangle, I was totally onboard on whoever the FL chose because both the ML and SML were great guys who have sincere feelings for the FL. Both had chemistry with her too. Actually for most of the story, the ML was acting like the typical second lead. He was fun, usually gives advice to the FL but was never really noticed. He was eclipsed by the SML who is like the typical ML, clueless about love, sincere and good at everything. The way this triangle finally moved forward was shown with so much heart and understanding.

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Everyone who likes school/youth dramas should watch this...

Watched this the 1st time back in mid to late 2020 after watching Intense Love and The Romance of Tiger and Rose because Ryan Ding (Yu xi) was in it.

So about the main reason I chose to watch this drama. Obviously because of Ryan Ding. Loved his role as ML in The Romance of Tiger and Rose and in my opionion he never disappoints. He is a master of tender looks and eye gazes and he does funny characters so well. He's got quirky & funny expressions that he makes w/ his mouth that almost seem adlib and cute. He always makes me laugh. Humor, charm, and playfulness with his FLs are what he is so good at. He easily creates chemistry and tension when needed with all the other characters as well. Don't get me wrong though he is very funny but definately delivers swoon worthy love scenes. This drama was much better than I expected and leaves you wanting another few episodes to explain unsaid parts to the story. There is another likable actor that plays a quiet 2nd ML personality and adds some competition for the FLs attention. The actress who is the FL's housemate/friend is an interesting character that has her own tragic story within the story as usual. The final few scenes, mainly with the FL in them, are sad and it gives you that gut twisting sadness that good dramas create. I started tearing up with the FL as she thinks back all while a touching beautiful song plays in the background that adds sadness and effect.

She returns to a meaningful place she spent time with the ML at & is thinking about him. It made me want to cry with and for her. (She is another underrated actress and I really liked her in this drama.)
I don't want to give anything away and I liked the ending of this drama however, it left me wishing for more explanation as related to the why things were the way they were. Guess I'll be looking for the book to find out more explanation if there is more. I didn't skip any scenes (although I wanted to so I could find out the outcome and if it had a happy ending.) I resisted though!!! Stayed watching & was anxious, interested and curious until the very end.

Want and will watch this drama again!

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breaking cdrama stereotypes

i will put descriptions to why i put that as a title for this essay. please bare with this review's lenght.

storywise, its your average highschool storyline + that certain oddity, that twist(?) or the something special to the story. the oddity being a love polygon between 2 guy bestfriends and 2 non biological and yet sisters.

its rather simple, but the further it progressed, it's much more than a highschool love story , it approached the topic of family realistically and I think that's one of the things I loved most about it. It wasn't just about romance as other highschool dramas are about. ( tho to be fair i haven't exactly watched every highschool cdrama out there , but i have watched the most famous ones )

it's one of the few cdramas that actually broke that 'ML stereotype'. tho they did base the ML from the typical handsome and smart character, he did have a lot more of charms to show other than those basic qualities. he's probably the best character to come out in the whole drama. Ryan Ding did an exceptional performance with his role.

I could say the same to the other actors actually, they did well on portraying their characters. the FL's characteristics was also based from the usual dumb, unlucky and clumsy. kinda annoying sometimes but what makes her differ from other highschool cdrama FL's, is her character development. she may have acted questionably from most of the first parts, but later on she learns from her mistakes which makes her a great character design imo.

there's nothing much about the music , as it didn't exactly stick to me.

will i rewatch it if ever ? yes I can see myself watch some episodes again, mostly for Ryan Ding that is lol.

how much do I recommend it exactly? well ... I wouldn't recommend it entirely. you see, although I do loved this drama so much it did had a lot of shortcomings.

the thing I didn't like most was the ending. it was rushed, I would've been satisfied if it had more context to a lot of things that happened , if things had a proper closure to them.

like maybe give out a couple more context to what happened to the FL during ML's time overseas ? when and how exactly did the ML start to have feelings for the FL ? things like that. but then again it was still an enjoyable watch imo

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Just watch

Every now and them one show, will come out show you why it sbouldnt be compared. This drama by far has its own merrits. Its funny, touches on most of the "biggies" about being a teenager and all, i mean all the charactersare likeable. I even found the school mate with the persnal cheat sheet cute. (Prob bc that was me??)

What i liked most was the fact that that all their insecurities played out. Yan Ze's jealousy over her parents and her confusion about who she liked was refreshing to see. It gave the drama heart. Its dosnt get too serious, but man some parts were heart breaking.

I recommend this 1.

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This campus romcom is good but sometimes you'll feel irritated at fl may be bcoz of her hairstyle and a bit of stupidity and the rushed ending. Yes, its a rushed ending. The drama ends at 31 but it should have atleast 4/5 more episodes I guess or open ending and develop s2 later coz the male lead really suffered hard in my opinion. He deserved more screening time and sweet scenes with female lead. Even though they skipped their final year but rushing the end with leap and leaving many unanswered questions is unsatisfactory.

The only reason to watch this drama is HE XIN LIANG!!! (Ryan Ding - Male Lead). Yeap, its this boy who will make you stick to the drama till the end! I gave 10 stars to Acting/Cast bcoz I really liked his acting. He expressed that big smilie face and heavy heart soo amazingly that made me cry. The OST is also good because that have subs in the episodes and sweet melody.

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Different from other fluffy school dramas. It is highly recommended.

-Story

To be honest, I had no hope about story at the beginning. I was ready to watch an stupid and lazy girl and arrogant , successful boy's love but the plot surprised me. Unlike my thoughts , each character had good sides and flaws and all of them were presented well. I clearly saw that they grew up and learned from their mistakes when I watched the last episode. Even though I had headaches while I was wathching FL , I really enjoyed her progress most about love , family and other issues. There was a message given to audience behind the story and it was also well written except two Chinese drama cliches.

-Cast
-Their looks were suitable for ''young'' ages. They really looked high school students.
-The chemistry between leads was great but I think they didn't have time they deserved. I hate that Chinese writers gives more time to FL-SML scenes than the leads.
-Although they are newbies, actors and actresses acted well. Big applaud to Ding Yu Xi and freezer Chen Xun.

-Music
Nothing special. It was good.

-Rewatch value

Watchable for He Xin Liang.

-Overall

I liked overall story apart its stupid and short ending. Somebody should tell Chinese writers that couples don't have to break up because of main lead's leave for abroad. They should stop showing it like a kind of loyalty or self sacriface.It just looks funny ouside not romantic.

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Rushed ending

I wish I could give it a 8+ rating. But unfortunately the story that was going really well was rushed in the end with a lot of unclear elements. Why did Yan Ze and Xin Liang break up? How long were they together before breaking up? How come they patched up after a breakup without even uttering a word as though nothing really happened between them? Where did Xin Liang return from? All these unknown elements made this series unsatisfactory. But the actors did a very good job in portraying their character. Be it Ding Yu Xi who has always done a really great job in any project he worked. I was surprised by seeing at the character change of Chen Xun compared to that of “Once we get married “. Very happy to see Jiang Zhuo Jun as the lead. She did an incredible job.

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Happy ending but...

... a little meh. The last episode was really bad. Nothing was explained for the main couple, I was really: WTH am I watching?
But overall a good honest school romance. I'm female, so I don't really mind the actresses, but I liked ML a lot. Ding Yuxi is a handsome man but, more importantly, he's a very good actor. His smile lights your monitor and your day. His sad face is like a knife in your heart. I don't know if Chen Xun was so woody for his character, but I found him not so good. The comparison wih ML is really merciless.
The story was interesting, even if a little too prolonged. Music was sufficient, nothing to write at home. And honestly, FL was very good, even if I prefer ML. It's only natural, isn't it?

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Pretty Typical High School Drama

I’ve watched several High School dramas and can say that this one doesn’t stand out from the rest. The premise is setup the same as most of the others….The FL, who has poor grades, is in love with the ML who is one of top students, aloof , most desired and doesn’t know much about love. I wouldn’t really consider this a romance drama as this was only a small subset of the overall story. There were only bits and pieces of romance sprinkled in. In my opinion, it’s more of a coming of age story that deals with school, social pressure, family, friends, etc.

The good

As expected, Ding Yuxi did a really good job as He Xinliang and stood out from the rest of the cast. I wouldn’t say everyone’s acting was great but some did a decent job. The overall show had a feel good story with a happy ending which is good to see in CDramas.

The bad

Everyone’s acting wasn’t great. 2nd FL who plays her sister was very stale and monotonous throughout. She had no real expressions. The same goes for the 2nd ML who was her original love interest. He also didn’t do well with expressions. There are more to name but will switch focus…too many misunderstandings throughout this drama and situations that seemed very exaggerated to me. The main conflict between the 3 girls seemed way too childish even for high schoolers and could have been resolved if they just all talked it out. Also, there was a sense of predictability in this drama and it’s probably because it’s a basic plot that is somewhat recycled. Next, the ending seemed rushed. Would have been nice to see more before the time jump on the final episode to answer some questions to things and situations that were mentioned. Lastly, the OST wasn’t much to write home about. Songs didn’t really stand out.

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Konklusi Yang Mengecewakan

Drama ini sangat menjanjikan sejak episode 1. Memberikan built up karakter yang benar-benar sangat dalam dan juga berbagai problema yang cukup menarik untuk diikuti. Tensi dramanya terus naik hingga ending dan selalu meninggalkan banyak pertanyaan dan beberapa ketidakmasuk-akalan di beberapa episodenya. Rasa kagum terus hadir saat saya menonton drama ini karena benar-benar bisa menghadirkan watching experience yang emosional, realisitis dan heart-touching. Sampai pada final eps, episode 31, saya menonton drama ini dengan sangat sangat semangat, karena saya tau ada banyak hal yang perlu diselesaikan didalam story line, ada banyak kesalahpahaman yang perlu diluruskan, ada banyak kebenaran yang perlu terungkap yang merupakan sisa-sisa dari eps2 sebelumnya. Maka dari itu saya berekspektasi besar untuk episode final ini, berharap akan melihat konklusi gede-gedean dan tentunya heart-touching. Karena sepanjang eps 1-30 saya sempat meneteskan air mata dibeberapa bagian dari drama ini. Tapi ternyata semua tak seperti ekspektasi, episode 31 hadir justru merusak kualitas drama dan storyline serta built-up karakter yang susah payah dibangun didrama ini dari eps 1-30. Episode 31 nyatanya tidak menyelesaikan semuanya, malah menjadi ending yang tidak berkesan justru bikin kesal. Ada banyak plot hole yang saya kira akan tertutupi di eps terakhir, nyatanya saya yang terlalu cepat menilai drama ini. (SPOILER : Contohnya tentang apel natal, sama sekali belum ada penyelesaian, tentang Zhou An yang tau tentang He Xin liang yang suka dengan Yan Ze saya rasa dihadirkan dengan sia2 dalam cerita, saya pikir akan berguna nantinya ternyata tidak berpengaruh ke plot utama, hanya mengulur-ulur waktu saja) dan masih banyak plot hole dan fact lainnya yang perlu diluruskan dan diangkat ke permukaan.

Untuk akting para cast-nya semuanya cukup bagus, terutama aktor tampan Ding Yuxi yang menjadi nyawa utama dari drama ini. Dengan pembawaannya yang seru dan juga sesekali terlihat 'Sad Boy' , dapat menarik simpatik dan hati dari para penontonnya dengan cepat. Aktingnya & looknya sangat membantu, sangat match dengan karakternya sehingga kita pun sebagai penonton mudah terkesan karenanya.

Musik di drama ini rata2 ear-catching, terutama lagu opening dan original soundtrack yang dinyanyikan dengan merdu oleh Ding Yuxi

Overall, meski drama ini sangat menyebalkan di ending dan merusak hampir seluruh kualitas drama yang sudah dibangun dengan susah payah dari awal, tetapi tetap saja drama ini menjadi salah satu teenage series yang cukup menarik untuk ditonton, heart-touching, emosional, tentunya jga bikin baper.

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Just like what icupchu said, the male lead, Xinliang, is a 'typical' second lead; and I'm here because I'm on my Ding Yuxi fever recently so I thought I won't be having any second lead syndrome, but I was wrong. Chen Xun portrayed Ji Xiao, the second lead who actually the 'typical' male lead, really really well. I am amazed at how the actors, especially the both males, brought their character alive.

As for the story, I really like(d) the plot and conflict Just An Encore brings at the beginning: jealousy between Yan Ze and Xiye. But the more the story goes, the more dramatic it is, the more I find this drama is another typical school romance. I'm not saying I don't enjoy watching this, I do; but starts from episode 20-ish, the acting of the casts (especially Chen Xun during all those Ji Xiao-Yan Zhe cute moments; like, lord, his eyes????) hard-carry my motivation to finish this drama.

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