Ugly Beauty (Chinese Drama, Viki)
Chased by debt collectors, our hero, a paparazzi with a sharp eye and keen sense noticed that something seems to be amiss with a popular actress on his radar. Trusting his gut instinct, our hero goes undercover as our heroine’s new assistant in pursuit of his next big story. Unbeknownst to our hero, the popular celebrity he is working for is actually not the star herself, but her twin sister. An ordinary girl who is used to working various part-time jobs to support herself, our heroine had been convinced by her twin to assume her identity for a short while. Utterly lost when what should’ve been a few short days turns into a charade with no end in sight, our heroine begins to rely on her new assistance to help her.
I went into this one with a really low expectation and was pleasantly surprised to find myself watching one episode after another. The acting thus far has been quite good with our lead actress doing an especially solid job portraying two very different characters.
Please Feel At Ease Mr. Ling (Chinese Drama, Youtube)
Barely scraping by as a package delivery girl, our heroine has no choice but to take our hero home with her after she runs him over. Believing that our hero has lost his memory, our heroine patiently puts up with our hero who seems to lack some of the most basic knowledge of surviving in the real world. Unbeknownst to our heroine, the seemingly innocent man living in her home is actually a tech genius who is the CEO of a very successful company.
I am three episodes in on this one and so far it is a pretty cute story. Actress Rosy Zhao is of course always so awesome playing these charming adorable type of female leads. There have been some speculations from the netizens that with Rosy Zhao’s soaring popularity that she will probably be transitioning out of these cutesy romantic-com roles. While I would totally understand if she does choose to do that but I sure hope she would still do this sort of dramas from time to time simply because she is so good at them.
Time Flies and You Are Here (Chinese Drama, Viki)
The daughter of a coroner, our heroine is determined to get back the land her family was forced to give up before. Having accidentally offended our hero, the infamous trouble-making prince, our heroine is dismayed to realize that our hero is the very person who owns her family’s land. As the drama gods would have it, through several unexpected circumstances our two leads will end up in a contract marriage. Forced to live together under the same roof, our two leads will go from clashing constantly due to a myriad of misunderstandings to finally become each other’s support.
The first couple episodes started out really cute and I was totally ready to recommend this one until I read comments from both English AND Chinese viewers all complaining how exhausting it is to watch the two leads go through one misunderstanding after another. To be fair, the synopsis did warn us that there will be plenty of misunderstandings. However, judging by the complaints from viewers, the issue seems to be stemming from the fact that it feels like the scriptwriters have no other tool in their bag other than relying on creating misunderstandings to propel the plot forward.
It really is such a shame because like I said, I enjoyed the first couple episodes and would’ve seriously considered putting it on my watch list depending on how the story progressed. Do comment though if you are watching this one and are actually enjoying it. I could probably be persuaded to liberally use the fast-forward button through the misunderstanding parts if the later episodes turn out to be a worthy watch.
Qing Luo (Chinese Drama, Viki)
Rescued from a river seven years ago, our heroine has no memory of her past nor the identity of her baby’s father. Convinced that she is in desperate need to find a father for her now super mischievous seven year old son, our heroine is set on finding a good man her son can’t scare away. Meeting our heroine and her son by chance, it doesn’t take long for our hero, a warrior prince, to figure out that our heroine is none other than the legendary “Ghost Physician” he has been searching for. Of course, what neither of our leads realizes is that our hero is actually the biological father of our heroine’s son.
This one is nicely light and fun. I probably would’ve preferred the romantic development between the two leads to be a tad bit slower but I am liking their sizzling chemistry enough that I can roll with it.
Moonlight (Chinese Drama, iQIYI)
A newbie intern at a well known publishing house, our heroine is determined to do everything in her power to keep her dream job…even if it means dealing with a very difficult writer. Despite his reputation as a sensitive and elegant gentleman among his fans, our hero is actually quite prickly in real life. Offended at the low contract price our heroine presented for his book, our hero refuses to give the newbie intern a chance to change his mind…that is until he finds out by accident that the newbie intern is the online friend he has been chatting with for the last three years.
I am about four episodes in on this one. The plot is pretty predictable but I am still enjoying it anyway so I would recommend Moonlight as an easy light watch.
New Horizon (Chinese Drama, Viki and Youtube)
Joe Chen’s new aviation romance where she plays a flight attendant who dreams of becoming a pilot one day. Our hero is a talented young pilot who takes his job very seriously and becomes a sort of mentor to our heroine as she tries to pursue her dream despite her mother’s strong opposition.
I am enjoying this one thus far despite some obvious shortcomings such as over-the-top acting from some characters, the 47 episode count seems long, and the meandering storyline. Perhaps because I find the whole airline thing interesting…since that has become a rare experience in a pandemic, I am liking this one enough to follow it for now. By the way, I am liking the pairing of Joe Chen with Ryan Zheng here even though I am not sure I would’ve seen them as an online couple before this drama.
My Dear Guardian (Chinese Drama, iQIYI)
It was difficult not to automatically compare this one to You Are My Hero since the two seem to have a very similar set up with our hero in special ops and our heroine a military doctor. However, the story arc and character set up of My Dear Guardian is different enough from You Are My Hero that I don’t find myself comparing the two when I am watching this one.
To give you a good idea of this show though, I will still compare it to You Are My Hero here. You Are My Hero’s storyline is focused more on everyday hospital cases and serious city crimes. My Dear Guardian has a military setting so their storyline fits into more national securities and international crimes. I do have to say though that My Dear Guardian’s story transition is fairly choppy, which is one area I felt You Are My Hero did a good job with.
One thing I love in My Dear Guardian is the chemistry between the two leads. That is not to say the two leads in You Are My Hero didn’t have great chemistry because they certainly did but theirs was a more sweet and innocent sort. I love sweet and innocent but I LOVE sizzling which is more what this couple here has.
The Trick of Life and Love (Chinese Drama, Youtube)
Horrified to see her nightmare professor from her college days showing up at an important business negotiation table, our heroine knew there is no way she could help her company win the business deal if she doesn’t figure out a way to make her professor “disappear” for a few days. Stunned when our hero’s car was hit right in front of her eyes, our heroine rushes him to the hospital only to find out later that our hero has lost his memory. In a flash of brilliance, our heroine introduces herself to her old professor as his fiancée and begins the journey of convincing our hero that she is madly in love with him.
This one’s premise is quite fun and the story is indeed shaping up to be that. I am eight episodes in and while the show will probably milk the amnesia troupe longer than it is wise but I am liking the sizzling chemistry between the two leads that I think I will be in a forgiving mood.
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I am new to Chinese drama. To my surprise, there are so many handsome actors and beautiful actresses. The stories are variable but often sweet, chaste and with modesty. I thought, of my own ignorance, that Asian slanted eyes were unattractive or even ugly; but as I take a closer look, these eyes are beautiful and very attractive. They are not “all the same” but with hundred of different shapes and sizes and slanted angles. When the eyes smile, it could light up the whole room. I fall in love with these eyes. I repent the idea that difference means ugly or unattractive. My apology to all.
I commend you for having the courage to admit your ethnocentrism and to come to the conclusion that there is beauty in all races. Often people don’t really “look” at others from other ethnicities and don’t see past the features that make them Asian. My daughter is often mistaken for the other Asian girls in her class because her white teachers don’t see past her Asian features. Nevermind she has grown up in this village all her life and gone through the school system. All the kids have unique features that make each other different, yet the insensitivity of the teachers not able to distinguish among them is frustrating and tiresome to her. We really need to do better. So, thank you for becoming more sensitive to this.
Hi Ninja, thanks for your insightful drama roundups – have been a fan for years now and absolutely love your work. I tried Time Flies and was really hoping to pick this up but unfortunately couldn’t get past episode 5 – the misunderstandings were already rolling in and made the show draggy. On the flip side, I adored Ugly Beauty – both leads were amazing – acting, chemistry and the plot was interesting. The acting by the lead commendable. I was convinced there were 2 different persons – probably better done than another recent drama involving twins, She’s the one – which was also enjoyable but more light-hearted and comedic.
Hi Ninja. By chance I watched Romance is a bonus book and it is an amazing beautiful love story for adult. Even the poem and the soliloquy at the end of the episode is lovely poetic expression. Have you reviewed it? Your thought? thanks.
Ahh, I remember that one! I am a sucker for a good noona romance. Plus Lee Jong Suk is always awesome! I liked that the heroine had to face some very real-life issues after her divorce. It was also interesting to have a noona romance where our hero started off the show already successful in his profession. By the way, have you seen I Can Hear Your Voice? That one is also a noona romance with Lee Jong Suk.
Thanks Ninja. I will watch I can hear your voice as recommended. BTW, what is noona romance means? I am kind of ignorance. For now, Romance is a bonus book and Eun-Ho is my favorite ever character.
Sorry, Noona Romance is a K-drama term for older women paired with younger men. Noona means older sister in Korean, thus Noona Romance.
LOL! Thank you Ninja.