You Are My Glory (Chinese Drama, Youtube)
I was ridiculously excited for this one and fortunately, I was not disappointed at all! The first two episode’s pacing did feel a bit slow for some reason but from the third episode on I was pretty much squealing like a fool the whole time. After all, having Yang Yang AND Dilraba Dilmurat sharing a screen is simply a feast for the eyes. I went into Your Are My Glory knowing it would be a beautiful show but was glad to see the chemistry between our two leads is also super cute.
For those of you who are fans of Love O2O, you will be happy to know the novel this one is based on is written by the same author…which means the plot is fairly devoid of the typical pitfalls that most C-dramas loves to cram into their storyline. Thus far the show is sticking really close to the novel so I am assuming the show won’t be adding any unnecessary roadblocks to our two leads’ squeal-worthy romance.
Broker (Chinese Drama, Viki)
This one started out a bit slow and disjointed for me but the story came together once I was couple episodes in. My other beef with it is that it seems the scriptwriters couldn’t make up their mind what persona they want our heroine to have. In the first couple episodes it seemed as if other than being book smart our heroine lacked any sort of interpersonal skills yet the moment she was given a managerial position than she suddenly had impressive management skills.
Some big plot holes aside, I am liking the show thus far so I am willing to ignore the plot holes and just enjoy.
Songs of Youth (Chinese Drama, Viki)
Hmm… not feeling this one. The show had a surprisingly comedic tone, which is a good thing in my book, despite one of the central storylines being our heroine’s mission to clear her family name. The story and the overall show quality look solid thus far so I think my biggest issue with it must be that puppy-like hero type here is simply not my cup of tea. Now, judging by the synopsis and promo, I think the central storyline will be on how our heroine wins over the hero’s family in spite of the prejudices they would have of her due to the big status difference between our two leads. That seems like an intriguing enough idea so I might check back with this one later.
Crush (Chinese Drama, iQiY app or YouTube)
Based on the show’s title, I thought for sure this one would be another high school romance focusing on crushes. However, the Chinese’s native title is actually “Turns out, I love you very much” so the story is actually NOT about high school crushes but about how our heroine falls in love with our visually impaired hero at first sight and slowly peels away his protective shell of coldness and apathy. I know that sounds just about like every other C-drama but I do think this one has a fresh feel to it.
I am also really liking this one’s pacing, not too fast nor too slow, a perfect pacing to allow our heroine the time to get to know our very onion like hero layer by layer.
Serendipity (Chinese Drama, Viki)
This one has quite an interesting premise that has our two leads traveling through different storybooks gaining “energy points” as they change the tragic fate of certain characters.
The show is fast paced and while the premise of storybooks hopping to gain special rewards is a fairly common one in C-novels but it is not one that we have seen overly used in dramas so it still feels relatively refreshing. I liked the first two episodes enough to give it another couple episodes to see how the romance will play out.
Stand By Me (Chinese Drama, Youtube)
This one is a palace intrigue romance where two sisters were separated at youth and ended up on opposing sides when they are grown. The story looks to be quite solid with two very different yet equally intriguing strong female characters. The chemistry between our two leads (the younger sister and the young emperor) is also sizzling right from the beginning. Based on the first two episodes I checked out, this one looks like a good bet if you are in the mood for some palace intrigue + romance.
First Love Again (Chinese Drama, iQIYI or Youtube)
This one has been airing for a while but I just got around to checking it out the other day. There are plenty of “time travel back to your high school” dramas, however, this one piqued my interest because the story doesn’t start with either of our two leads being interested in each other and our hero, a mathematical genius is able to discover through trial and error how some of the seemingly small changes to certain moments in his past impact his future.
This show has a dry humor that just makes me want to laugh at the most ordinary scenes. I love that our two leads were classmates but weren’t even friends to begin with so the development of their relationship really begins after our hero travels back in time. I was also pleasantly surprised that while the whole “time travel” thing is the central theme, the show feels more like a fun high school romance when you watch it.
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I’m enjoying You’re My Glory. Read the novel a year ago and I thought both leads fit perfectly.
Will start YAMG this weekend. Usually YY‘s acting isn’t my cup of tea but a friend (who usually isn’t into C-Drama) highly recommend it to my fluff persona. Sometimes I need non slice of life stories.
Broker wasn’t my cup of tea. LL is looking so damn fragile that I couldn’t get into the story. Well, okay the story is partly at fault like you said.
YY’s acting really improved in YAMG. His character is an introvert, but you can see the micro expressions on his face and his struggles. Not going to spoil you on what he’s struggling about ,but give it a few episodes. Oh and the eye candies..lol
I just finished and maybe he may have improved but I didn’t notice it. He didn’t had much close-ups unlike all others and many of these with his hands in front of his face or from his back. I enjoyed the Drama very much but always wished they had choosen a different actor. His character‘s roommate would have been great since he has the looks and talent. But I understand that he has not the popularity and the Drama had to sell well, what it did.
I think me and YY will never become friends 😉 but there are enough other fishes in the pond and hopefully some of these will get a chance in future as well.