two very capable colosal couple

this is the first c-drama that I followed that actually made me finish the whole 40 episodes.

characters of these drama are very engaging. I'm so hooked by bai fengxi's first appearance when she perched on the edge of bamboo tree, looking almighty and carefree. another fans favorite, of course, hei fengxi's first appearance, where he appeared like good samaritan to smooth things over with Han partriarch for bai fengxi. I THINK IT'S SO ROMANTIC HOW HE WATCHED HER OVER SILENTLY. IT'S SO ATTRACTIVE. also everyone in this drama, especially the four gentry, are all soooo ahead of their games. hfx/flx played a very accomplished mastermind, that every layered traps laid in front of him, he got to dodge it all. every characters are so likeable, it's hard to hate even the villain.

the acting, MAN, the acting... im so impressed by YY's eyes and microexpression. he might be my favorite actor now. How can he looks naughty, scolding, angry, sad, anguished, even without saying ANY lines???? same goes to ZL, but i already know how great her acting is, after i watched the tiger and rose romance. honorable mention is LAI YI, Huang Chao prince, he really embodies a cool yet confident prince.

im not mad at all by this drama. in fact, this drama opened a whole new ordeal to me. now i find myself wanting to search more wuxia dramas.

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yang mi really looked like a goddess

I think what made me gravitate towards this drama is because it contains a lot of things I've been dreaming to watch; a perfectly balanced cool-but-not-overwhelmingly-cold, just the right amount of loser kinda malewife and a domineering, but still sweet in particular time wife. Even though the marriage contract trope is stale at best, but I kinda like the dynamic between the two leads. this is my first chinese drama that I followed thru until 40 episodes, ngl it's kinda hard, but the pacing of the story and how the conlicts are peppering right is what made me continue on.

i saw a lot of people complain about "unnecessary conflict" at the last 6 episodes but I think it's inevitable. their entire brand relationship is based and fundamentally build on lie, so it made sense to rework the building into trust if they actually want it to work. But i really dont understand the male lead's wishy washy attitude. all in all, not a fan, but i could understand it a little bit.

I watched xukai's performance in falling into your smile, and i could say i did not really see a different acting her and there? but it's still good, because Yang Hua's character is just the right amount of aloof and caring. Yang Mi though, it;s my first time watching her in cdrama, and I could honestly say she embodied Qin Shi very well. the actress and actor are being saved by the characters i guess?

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WHY IS NANAMI KENTO HEREEEE

romcom between robotic, hardheaded office lady with her flexible, much cuter senior. what really made me surprised here is the appearance of nanami kento's VA, Tsuda Ken lmao now all of you nanami simps can actually see how nanami in real life.

i love the genuine and heart-warming atmosphere between the male and female character. because of the short episodes, i definitely feel like they rushes the climax and resolution of the story. I was kinda gunning for open-ending story and it kinda does? there are several characters that i don't feel the need to be there at all tho, or are there just to be plot device. just a lot of wasted potential and kind of messy plot.

i do commend on yamada's 'falling-in-love' stare tho. the smiling before kiss, soft touches, intense eye contact... wow. i still am disappointed with prolonged peck. very little jdrama actually pulled good kisses nowadays.

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YOUR BOYGROUP SELF-INSERT FANFICTION TURNED INTO DRAMA

I was ready to dismiss this drama because let's be real, the premise of this drama sounds like a thousand of self-insert wattpad stories, so i was not impressed. But apparently, Fumiya Takahashi went viral in my FYP and i decided to check his work a little, and found out tsubasa honda also played in this drama, so i gave it a try.

one thing i want to emphasize : DON'T HAVE HIGH HOPES. KEEP IT LOW. AS LOW AS YOU CAN. just. yeah, just make it seem like you only want to appreciate fumiya's beauty throughout the episodes.

Because the first half of the drama are weird as fuck... is it because i haven't watched jdrama with comedy as the genre? but i find a lot of details off-putting. but i ignored it solely due to the fact that i havent been around jdrama and weird things happened, so.

but after we got thru the character introductions and every "that shouldn't have happen, right?" or "what the actual fuck?" moment, i felt slightly impressed by the diversity and depth of the characters in the dorama were presentes. I originally thought it would be a one-man-band where fumiya is the only one who would get the spotlight, but it turned out everyone gets their own cake, and hey, i was pleasantly surprised! their backstory are relatable and heart-warming, it's making me want to know them better.

anyway, this self-insert is not that bad. fumiya's face was what sold this, but i stayed for the characters.

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ISHIHARA SATOMI AS HEALTHCARE WORKERS (FOR THE 2937239 TIME)

the first akiko nogi's work i watched and still my favorite drama of hers. there is a quality in her work that made me wants to stay tune, i don't know, it's probably because i feel like her vision and my vision as a viewer is aligned and we both want the same thing for society. she slipped social commentary here and there but unfortunately, she shied away a little bit on hard topic, which i tolerate, because japan has a very preventive culture towards several topics.

Ishihara Satomi is, at this point, a skilled health worker at this point. she has became doctors, forensic doctor, pharmacist, it's crazy how she played the entire hospital at this point. not a shade tho, i just found this funny. and she is always charming in every role she played, so it's just okay. her chemistry with the male chracters are all so funny too! also 'Lemon' as unnatural ost is and will always be my favorite song ever! kenshi yonezu rocks!

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JOY TO THOSE WHO LIKE PROGRESSIVE JDRAMA PLOTLINE

This, Unnatural, and Married as a Job have hit the nail in the coffin as hands down my favorite Akiko Nogi's works, and also making Akiko nogi as my favorite screenwriter, alongside Kim Eun Sook and Greta Gerwig.

It's typical buddy cop drama with opposite leads (hotheaded one vs lethargic one). ayano and hoshino encapsulated this stereotypical trope perfectly, their chemistry top-notch. What made this drama different with thousands others of comedic cop drama is that they actually touch different aspects in japanese society that is rarely being exposed at all, because jdorama (as much as i know) tended to "shy away" from hard hitting topic. This is what I like about Akiko Nogi's works.

all in all, im giving it overall 8.

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disappointing

the story started out great---i really like the love-hate relationship between the mogul and the gangleader. It added element of age status between riches and rags. their banters are also very funny and cute. towards half of the drama I found myself asking myself several things, such as:
- why is the PRINCE himself doing the dirty work, going to brothel? where is the dignity of a PRINCE? is it because of love?
- at the beginning of the story there is a running gag that Li Qiuling couldn't touch woman, except for Long Aoyi. how come it is not being brought anymore at the middle of the story?
- why is the relationships between the lord and the companions so casual?
there are a lot of instances where the plot is forcing Li Qiuling and Long Aoyi to meet and join forces. and then it became ridiculous, the push and pull between the two characters. I find myself not liking Aoyi's brashness and Qiuling's uptight attitude. Instead of being endearing, watching this drama become a chore to me.

I watched this drama because of Leon Lai. I liked him in Who Rules the World as Prince of Jizhou, so finding him as main role in a colossal drama is exciting to me. but the writing of this drama is NOT it for me. this is also my first drama starring Bai Lu, and I have no doubt that she is good at acting, but her facial expressions as aoyi is not doing it for me. in the end, im dropping this drama.

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An unexpected turn that left a bad after taste

I want to start with the thing that i like first; ishihara satomi's smile. Even though she usually played a bright, happy go-lucky role, i esp noticed her smile in this drama. It's so blinding, i cant even. Also i like the environmental awareness this drama tries to bring in unique light.

Ok, moving on to things i feel lukewarm about; the acting. Ishihara's acting is, as expected, top notch. I could feel her love to ocean, the connection between her, her insecurities, her happiness, it's all up her face. Ayano Go's performance, however, felt a little bit bland. Not bad, but bland. For me good actors are divided into two; those who are good playing the character, or those who embodies the character wholly. Ayano matches the first category. This is not a bad thing, however, i expected more since i love him in MIU 404 and this series is called Koi wo Deep ni. Its about LOVE. And i dont feel none of that between the two of them.

And then things i dont like, the story. Seriously wtf? When Nagisa kept talking to the fish i pegged her as another quirky japanese drama heroine (because there are A LOT of them who did weird things, like nodame for nodame cantabile for instance. I would NOT like nodame if i watched her in my age rn) but then it turned out... I'm watching a fantasy romance drama? And not an oceanographer x CEO drama? This is the reason why i dropped this drama. BECAUSE EVEN THO I SAW THE TWIST FROM A MILE, IM STILL SO SHOCKED BY IT AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY. more like in "wtf did i watch" way.

There are also, a lot of ANNOYING characters in this drama. Like for instances Eitaro the deadbeat brother. Or that youtuber who kept pestering Nagisa. Or the hikikomori researcher who kept suspecting nagisa. Why are the annoying characters HAVE to be annoying all the time? Is it because i dropped the drama too fast? Should i just went on to see the silver linings of these characters???

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WELL.... THAT WAS NOT BAD

but not good either.

mahiro takasugi really has this puppy, younger brother aura that made him so non-threatening and in line with chihiro character. I love him in 'cursed in love' and 'kakegurui'. but what made me really stay tune to this drama is Akamine and Kaoru lmao. Nimura Sawa has this flair and flamboyance that NONE of japanese actress has able to pull and instead of being an annoying character, she felt very genuine and endearing. When I saw both of chihiro's brothers, i thought "wow, they really won the gen pool lottery" cos all of them are so fucking HOT!!!!! but Furukawa Yuuta as Kaoru was the one who caught my eyes. i love his extravagance and funny support to chihiro. I look forward to both of these stars work in the future!

aside of the actors' portrayal, the plot itself try to sell "breaking the societal norm and gender role" trope, but i feel like the screenwriter keep going backwards about it... it was pitiful to see how hard chihiro going for honoka in the first half of the episode. also there are a lot useless love triangles here and there. i can't say i enjoy it, but i don't hate it.

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I KINDA UNDERSTAND WHY MIKURI KEPT PUSHING TSUZAKI AROUND

HELLO???????? THE LEAD CHARACTERS ARE MARRIED IRL? I NEED TO BREATHE FOR A MOMENT....

okay.

this work of akiko nogi is by far THE MOST ENTERTAINING of all of her works ive watched. it's from the way she wrote the main characters issue about marriage, (or the lack of marriage), relationship between two strangers that had entangled in holy matrimony. the romance and comedic relief are balanced pretty well. what i liked the most is that the main character isn't your everyday natural airhead girl who can't stand on her own feet. on the contrary, she was bold, while the male character made me SO FRUSTRATED a number of times, i need time out.

also i watched MIU404 first before jumping to this drama, so the stark difference between Shima and Tsuzaki ARE A FUCKING WHIPLASH. anyway, i can relate with mikuri a lot, but i don't have a sliver of patience as she did, so i would not be able to stand tsuzaki even for a week, so.

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