A bingeable cotton candy drama

This is perfect for those who just want to satisfy their craving for something sweet and don't want to think much. It's short too, only a total of approx 8 hrs compared to other cdramas.

It has a simple but interesting plot. The gutsy FL who was not eager to marry anyone met two interesting men on different occasions. After the encounters, she received a marriage order from the king. Not wanting the marriage, she ran away on the day of the wedding intending to divorce the husband she had never seen. You know it was one of the two men but the husband mystery remained until the middle of the drama. I liked that her husband actually pursued her instead of forcing her to honor the marriage.

The ML and SML are literally equal in everything. Both are generals, good-looking, good at kungfu, have good personalities and can sacrifice for the FL. It was a good choice to cast Fang Tong as the FL. I've seen her in 'Heart of Loyalty' and her arc saved that drama for me. In this drama, her chemistry with the ML and SML made the reverse harem setup believable. Her wide-eyed look made her appreciation of their *ahem* virtues feel like innocent curiosity. In case you misinterpret, she never played the two men against each other and treated both sincerely. When she knew who she liked, she was committed to him and yeah there were clues on who she actually liked peppered throughout the series.

I will definitely rewatch for a quick shot of sweetness.

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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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A winner from the first episode

From the first episode, I knew that I was gonna love this drama and it didn't disappoint.

This coming of age drama has very little angst. The leads' OTP status continues to get validated from the first kiss until the last scene. They were very much protected by their protagonists' halos and everything worked out fine in the end of them. Side characters moved on easily and had their own romances. Conflicts were resolved in 1-2 episodes.

This is the most manly role Darren Chen ever had as ML in my opinion. I liked that he never overacted. If his character was portrayed by another actor, it would have been annoying, but with him and his dimples, WenBing came off as mischievous but still caring. Sabrina Chen as the FL Sangtian had a really good chemistry with him. The accidental kisses, playful banters and teasing confessions were nicely executed. I just sometimes felt that Sabrina seemed uncomfortable with her hockey stick, but I chose to overlook it.

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Passable enough but didn't really excite me

I really admire writers of parallel world and time travel stories because it takes a lot of imagination and logic for the story to make sense.

I like this story well enough, the idol ML had an accident on the night of the comet in 2019. He travelled back to 2017 and tried to become an idol again. After 2 years he met his other self in the parallel world who has been unlucky since 2017. He realized that his other self was not able to get opportunities to become him in 2019 because of his arrival in the new world. Also, that the original world was 2 years older than the new world. He tried to help his other self become popular also before the night of the comet and readied himself to return to the original world since the 2 him could probably not co-exist in the future. However during this time he met and fell in love with the FL and was not sure if he wanted to go back to the original world.

The acting was good enough but a bit bland. I wished there was more character similarities in the ML and his other self because they were too different. The chemistry between the two leads was also not that strong even during tropey situations. Maybe it's because I felt that the FL is too subservient to the ML even if ML was a really good person.

The ending was logical so I liked this well enough but would probably not rewatch.

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Despite everything, it is still a cool world

Arghh, this drama gave me very complex feelings. If you are just looking for romance fluff, skip this, because even though it showed the giddiness of love, it also gave a hard dose reality. The good points of this drama are that it depicted seemingly real persons and real problems. It showed the growth of Xiaoxiao as a person and not just in her love life.

I have watched past dramas of Zhou Yutong, Li Hongyi and Wang Dong and was generally satisfied with their acting and so I decided to watch this. (Side note: LHY was WD's son-in-law in the Legendary Life of Queen Lau).

With odds frequently stacked against, Xiaoxiao was not a Candy who needed a knight in shining armor to always save her during her predicaments. She finds logical solutions. Though she relied on LuMang because he was her boss, she did not expect him to support her at all times. When she realized that NieJaoFan was toxic she really tried to break it off him. When DuanChong courted her, she often refused his money. And even though she experiences sadness and failure, she kept on pushing forward.

On the love story, this had the most realistic meet cute I've seen. They were awkward, gave each other polite smiles and bashfully got each other's number. They just gave off happy vibes when they were together so that you can't help but feel happy for them. The conflict started when Xiaoxiao started her own media company and forgot appointments with her boyfriend. For me, it was not she was prioritizing work over him, she really just needed time to establish her small company. She loved him but she also needed to pursue her own dream. This showed that success in love does not only depend on being with the right person but also on the right timing in a person's life.

The faux endings reminded me of another Zhou Yutong's drama, 'Long for You', which by adding a single scene turned a sad ending into a happy one. Good thing they chose to end it on a positive note, making it a cool world after all.

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Don't watch if you've already watched 'Love is better than immortality'

Maybe I would have rated this higher if I have watched this before 'Love is better than Immortality'.

The drama itself has a lot of unique fantasy elements and lore that make it interesting. The world in this drama has an undetermined timeline but would put it around 60s of 70s based on the costumes. Then we also have a mystical forest clan who's completely unversed about new inventions but who's pretty competent in magic.

My bone of contention with this drama was the number of unexpected villains. There was basically no permanent alliances in this drama, one moment a person is a friend but in the next episode, the friend has become a villain. This really annoyed me a lot because there were certain villains that I actually wanted to die but I had really admired in previous episodes.

If you are looking for skinship, switch to another drama since there was practically none.

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Look out for the 2nd couple

The story was a standard reel to real lovers trope. Tangli and Yusheng are producers of a variety show that gives tasks to couples. In order to boost ratings they convinced Erdou and Shuwei to pretend as lovers for the show. Erdou joined to earn her tuition fee to study in Japan and become a better voice actor. Shuwei joined because he lost a bet. They slowly but steadily fell in love as they try to prevent being outed as a pretend couple.

What I liked about their development was that, outside the 4 of them, the main CP was never vague about their relationship. Friends and family members know them to be a couple. Third parties came and went but they remained protective of each other. Their transition from being pretend to actual couple was so smooth and subtle that you can't tell when exactly their feelings changed because one second their pretend care seems real then suddenly they drop the act. But between them, Shuwei seemed to do more to please Erdou in the later episodes which almost resulted to him making a noble sacrifice. I am glad that Erdou loved him enough that she did not want him to do that and he was smart enough to understand her intention in the airport scene. I don't think ghosting ever happened because I choose to believe that they knew exactly where the other was even when they were not physically together and they just chose to be not clingy with each other.

The story of the 2nd CP made me rank this higher than I would have because in contrast to the straightforwardness of the main CP, the 2nd CP relationship was all kinds of vague. Despite having chemistry both in work and play, Tangli was never sure that she and Yusheng were a couple, making me feel that this is a toxic relationship with a man who's unable to commit. I was surprised at the introduction of Mars so late in the game as a third party to their relationship in Episode 17. And I was pleasantly surprised by the mature resolution of this story arc.

I think this story could have been told in lesser episodes if not for the recurrent problems that the drama kept recycling such as pesky third parties.

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Expected a romance but got fight scenes and politics instead

From the first lines, an OTP was already established. Wherever Bai Fengxi is, Hei Fengxi will surely be there too. Just based on this you know we have a strong FL and that the ML is the one who's more invested/in love. Throughout the drama, I sometimes felt like FL can live her life just fine without the ML but he couldn't stay away from her and will most likely just die without her.

There are two social orders in the drama: martial arts world and real world. For us, this is like showbusiness and real life. In the martial arts world, people can take up aliases and just care about fighting skills while in the real world, people care about genealogy and wealth. Bai (white) Fengxi and Hei (black) Fengxi are the chosen aliases of the leads. Their martial arts skills are evenly matched with a rivalry going for 10 years. BFX seems to be carefree and seems to like the martial arts world more because she doesn't really care about positions. HFX seems to be secretive and always tries to solidify his position in the real world.

For most of the drama, you can see HFX trying to outwit people who wants him to relinquish his position and BFX trying to help her martial arts sect. There were banters, romantic scenes and even emotional scenes that showcase just how much of an OTP our leads were but this was overshadowed by action scenes and secret scheming scenes.

This is not to say that I didn't like the drama because I did. I liked that even though other characters seemed to be interested in BFX as a woman or HFX as a man, those did not progress to full blown love triangles and they only had eyes for each other. The OTP banters were funny sometimes especially the scene when BFX said 'did you just yell at me?' and HFX became speechless, lol. The battle scenes and people flying in the air were great too. This was the first drama where I saw Zhao Lusi doing such great action scenes. Maybe it was just that I was expecting a melty romance with lots of kisses but got political intrigues instead.

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I want my hours back

I blame my completist streak, I knew I should have dropped this after the first episode. Good looking actors does not equal a good story.

Plot was interesting based on the description but from the start, acting was already bad. I was hoping it would improve but it didn't. Even with 24 episodes, I was not able to connect to this drama. Even the kisses did not give me flutters.

They tried to do so much but ended up with nothing done well. There is supposed to be a mystery that was not a mystery at all. The romance part was very messy that you do not know who to actually root for because you don't know why they even like each other. Chunxi of the real world and Zhenzhen of the novel world felt disconnected and did not feel like the same person living in different bodies.

Luli was the only saving grace in this mess, the only one who gave some micro expressions. But sadly he couldn't carry the whole show.

The ending in the real world felt like fan service. I don't know if the FL and the ML's lookalike would even have a chance cause she did not even ask if he was single.

I guess the writers relied on tropes on this one but sadly did not deliver. Would not rewatch even if you pay me.

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Another mindless heroine

This is one of those series that you know will degrade your brain cells but watch for romance anyway.

The story is a store-bought story where heroine was not so smart but warm hearted and who by drama fate can't help but fall in love or have a relationship with the manly but have a lot of issues hero.

Nao was a typical Candy who, once she decided she likes the hero, can't seem to remove her blinkers to see that he was actually bad for her. Meanwhile, Uehara is a typical hero who is popular and don't seem to care for other people but actually have a heart of gold. His 'fans' bully Nao and he saves her by announcing that she is his girlfriend, yes that trope from the OG 'Boys over flowers' which can never happen in real life. This cycle of bullying goes on and on whenever there are rumors that they are breaking up, until the leaders of the fans finally woke up in the last episode to realize they had no chance with Uehara.

There are only two saving graces of this show. One is Daichi, Nao's childhood friend, the kind older brother type second lead who only wants Nao to be happy. Another is Issei, the son of the owner in a ramen restaurant where Nao works part time. A gruff-talker with a secret crush type second lead who kept helping Nao after Daichi graduated from high school.

Truthfully, I felt that Nao had the best chemistry with Daichi, then with Issei, then with Uehara. Maybe its just the gentle way that Sakurada Dori stares, at Nao particularly, but it gives you that melty, fluttery feeling that makes you want to be loved and hugged by this guy *puddles*.

My main problem in the drama is the inequality in the relationship of Nao and Uehara. That Nao was way below Uehara in the relationship scale. I feel like Nao just keeps on waiting and waiting until Uehara says that he likes her, and when he does finally, it was like forced from him by Yuri. And there wasn't even anything that special about him, other guys who likes Nao have better specs, face, and personality. When asked why she is choosing Uehara, Nao's reasons were that he treats her well by bringing her a cake when she was sick and being with her during a blackout, I wanted to shake her and say that it was Daichi who originally went and bought that cake while Uehara was being his petty self and not even checking up on her until Daichi told him that she was sick, Daichi was already there during the blackout before Uehara but kept from going inside because he knows that he was not who Nao was waiting for. I admit that I really can't get on board on this OTP ship but have SLS instead. Have noticed that there is a season 2. I hope that it will be better than this one or at least it will give me an acceptable reason for why Nao must choose Uehara.

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One can definitely feel the different vibe in this season compared with season 1. Gone were the Uehara security girls that irritated me for being so cliche. The scenes and character outfits were also brighter compared with the muted and darker tones of the previous season. It shows a more vibrant university life. I would have wanted Issei to also be here even as a cameo but he was absent T_T. One improvement in the story was Nao's involvement in an arts club, since it show that she was now interested in things other than being focused on just Uehara. One of my problems was that I did not know what exactly the careers the characters were pursuing, unlike in other university dramas. Maybe their departments or courses were mentioned but I may have missed it.

Another plus for the story is that Daichi, the second male lead in Season 1 who I really liked (yes, I had a case of 2ls for him), finally had his own loveline. However I felt that the resolution of his arc of finally letting go of Nao, felt kind of forced. I didn't feel his chemistry with his new partner while it was still palpable in his few scenes with Nao. Even when characters were saying he now likes Nanase, I felt like his expressions and actions still showed he liked Nao. They should have cast a younger looking actress, because the way she portrayed Nanase was as a vindictive rival. Even for scenes designed to reform and make her charming, the acting felt flat, unapologetic and just plain annoying. I think it's safe to say I did not like her.

The introduction of Saeko and Natsume into the story was also good since it showed that Uehara and Nao had better options than each other. Natsume was a sweet, hero-type character that could sweep you of your feet, given a chance. He was a loving older brother, silent protector, a hard worker and a charming helper to the people that he meets which makes him a very viable choice for Nao. Saeko was smart and a fighter that Uehara can really admire as a colleague. And because of them, my support for the OTP lessened and had gone to the camp that if they hadn't lived together then they wouldn't have fallen in love. The scenes of the OTP together usually led to self-doubts and misunderstandings. I still felt that Nao was the one who was trying to keep the relationship and Uehara kept being a jerk by not sharing his true feelings, he was really just lucky that she did not have a serious thump in the head to wake her up. I also sensed that Nao was genuinely happy when with other characters than with Uehara. In scenes with him, all I can sense was that she felt she was lucky this guy was interested in her. This really is one of those series where I just can't support the OTP because there is unequal balance in the relationship which can be toxic in the long run. Nao is too submissive while Uehara was too dismissive. Yes, there are scenes that show that Uehara really appreciates Nao but the problem is that this is with other people instead of his partner which could have made Nao feel more secure and made the relationship stronger. Would probably rewatch cute scenes only, maybe the heart fluttering ones with Natsume.

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Heartwarming, the romance was a bonus.

I did not expect to like this as much as I did. Seven Tan, Steven Zhang and Song Wei Long performed their roles wonderfully. I also really loved Daddy Ling and Daddy Li. Daddy Li was like the mother of their family. The storytelling was perfect. It portrayed how the three kids became so close when they were children and HS students, that there was awkwardness when they met again in their mid20s but still was able to overcome that and became close again. The actions of all characters were pretty understandable, even that of Xiao's mother and Ziqui's father, characters I did not like. I also understand the resolution of the love triangle since Ziqui's anchor was Daddy Li while Xiao's was Jianjian.

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Surprisingly good!

I can't recommend this enough. Within 5 minutes of the show, I've been hooked. Ra Miran and Lee Do Hyun are perfectly casted in their roles as mother and son. As of episode 8, you can understand why Young soon needed to be tough and be perceived to be a bad mother by her son. Yet, there is still a question if Kangho really became cold-hearted as he seemed because of her strictness. As they reconnect again, you can see that she is a mother who just wants the best for her son while he just want to be able to please her. The show is not perfect, there are some scenes that I can do without (yes, I'm taking about you composer man) but if you want a drama that can touch your heart then this one's for you.

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Great drama, except for the last 5 minutes

This drama deserves more promotion than it got. I really wanted a Zang Linghe-Esther Yu pairing after Love Between Fairy and Devil. I am glad that I finally got to watch them together as lovers.

The story is about Yun Weishan, a Wufeng spy who needs to do one last risky mission before she can gain her freedom. She must infiltrate the Gong Residence, a fortress that Wufeng needs to crush to entirely rule the martial arts world. There, she met Gong Ziyu, the degenerate son of the Gong family and the man she thinks she can use to complete her mission. But what will happen if a spy falls for her target? Then it can only end in tragedy.

The story is full of intrigues that keeps you guessing what's next. Add a capable cast then you'll have a good drama. I really like that Esther Yu as Weishan was able to prove in this role that she can play a serious and badass character. It is so far out from the cutesy and bubbly characters like Xiao Lanhua that she did in the past. I know she can do it and I'm glad to be proven right. Zang Linghe as Gong Ziyu was not as amazing as she was but he was able to passably show the transformation of a weak character into a strong leader. The second leads, Lu Yu Xiao as Shangguan Qian (another Wufeng spy) and Ryan Cheng as Gong Shangjue (Gong Ziyu's rival for the Sword Wielder position), had one of the most edgy relationships I have seen in a while. They always have the "love each other-just use each other" air between them. Both of them gave microexpressions that kept you guessing their true intentions. For the supporting roles, I always looked forward to seeing Omid as Han Yasi (Weishan's trainer), he's kind but have to be tough. I also have to mention that Tian Jia Ru as Gong Yuanzi (Shangjue's foster brother) gave me complicated feelings. He was so hateful and maniacally crazy when he was planning bad things against Ziyu but so lovable when he's being a puppy to Shangjue. I didn't like Gong Zishang (Ziyu's cousin played by Jolin Jin) that much, especially when they use her for comedy. I sometimes find her annoying when she's running after men and when she's being screechy, but she's ok in non-comedic scenes. All the remaining casts were also good. Questions that I had for some illogical things that happened were given explanations.

But, and it is a big but, the writers did not give a perfect happy ending. They used the last 5 minutes to give a cliffhanger ending, maybe so they can have room for a season 2. So if you want everything in a bow, don't watch the last 5 minutes. Otherwise, this was a great drama.

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Love surrended because of another's fate

This has been on my watchlist for so long because of Kim Hyeyoon but I didn't want to watch it thinking it's about cheaters based on the comments and reviews I've read. Turned out it wasn't.

I like this well enough but I wouldn't rewatch. It's about two people who became friends despite living 20 years apart because of a HAM radio. Where the friend from the past learned that his friend from the future will not exist if his lovelife succeeded. And so, he chose to be a non-toxic person, sacrificing his love and allowing fate to do what it will to the three people who became close to him.

Right after watching this, I also watched the Kang Hanuel 2000 version which is basically the same story with genders reversed. Though I liked this movie more (the plot twist at the end made me cry) the pacing of the 2000 version was better, with the MC's love story and decision being more fleshed out. The people in the past were well acted. Thanks to Kim Hyeyoon's nuanced acting, I was able to see the Hansol's expectation and interest for Yong (Yeo Jingoo) but there should have been more scenes where she was showed her love after they became official. For the people in the future, they might need a little bit more improvement. Choi Yihyun as Munee and other MC could have been more vibrant as her counterpart in the 2000 version was, played by Yoo Jitae. Frankly, I was a little bored whenever future scenes were shown.

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