Really loved this show. The storyline was good and solid although I hate that they were separated so long and took so long to understand each other. The actors did a great job and made the show even better. Also a nice ending. You won't be disappointed if you enjoy dramas.
Add a Review
-
misswritercreates7 January 2019
-
lia0002726 September 2014This drama is excellent the first time i found a mature yet touching drama like this, different type with typical Taiwan drama which a bit non sense and comical this drama depicts a lover story with 2 strong main characters and give a new wave of declining quality for Taiwanese drama. It's 2014 but I still feel that this is the best drama ever comparing it with Thailand, Japanese, Korean, Chinese mainland, Hong Kong that now very much declining in the quality and the acting and other Taiwanese drama. The scrip writer showed mature side of human nature that taught us yes we can be good in terms of work or other things but in terms of feeling what we need is proof and courage. The director truly showing the best acting of the actors. For the main actors Ady An and Vanness i never see their best acting after "the outsider" for Ady and "meteor garden and peach girl" for Vanness but these two acting great as a on screen couple and portrayed the character really well. Other actors are OK since i am not really care about them. This is a high quality drama that not only showing dating side but marriage couple with kid, the bonding between parent-child, the understanding of married couple n the ultimate focus is love always needs to be said not just showing.
The ost are good, long time since heard Emil Chow sing yes i know this drama is 2009 but after 5 years the soundtracks from Della Ting and Emil Chow are still memorable, there was another song that portrayed Hua to ye's feeling but i don't know the singer however the song is beautifully sing.
I gave 9 out of 10 since the ending it too short i prefer if they give 1 more ep special for the happiness of the main couple. Even "fated to love you" cannot beat the quality of this drama. -
Liang Mu Cheng was born into privilege until it all disappeared in a moment when she was a tween. Instead of working to become a concert pianist she then had to work to survive. She also ends up w/ a peeper-creeper for a step-dude. She's doing her daily hustle when a convertible driving rich @$$hole crashes into her life.
Rich dude is Ren Guang Xi, a lackluster law student and lustful, but cynical, womanizer. They end up trading insults at the police station & Mu Cheng believes she'll never have to see that arrogant jerk again. Fate has them colliding often, though, as Mu Cheng's family operates one of the campus eateries. RGX, always looking for the next conquest, finds out from his friends that the 'lunch girl' is hot but she turns down every guy that asks for a date. RGX bets that he can conquer her w/in 24 hrs w/o even knowing who she is or what she looks like. When he sees who she is, & that she hates him already, he is undeterred. This is a non-spoiler review, so the following is the scantest of summaries - After the opening eps in which these 2 fall in love, they are separated in a heartbreaking manner. It is all skillfully portrayed. They meet back up again when the quick-tempered RGX must do community service.
If you are used to Chinese features and this one feels differently from the start, that's because it's Taiwanese. They are almost nothing alike except for the Mandarin. While Chinese historical & fantasy pieces are superb, Chinese modern-day features are dreamlike, often clumsy and substandard in the categories of acting, dialogue, wardrobe, character development - and virtually every other aspect - but they have a prozac-like quality that keeps me tuned-in. AC, rated 8.5 on MDL, feels real by comparison. It's either 21 90-minute eps or 34 45-minute ones.
As for the players, Ady An is adorable & soulful as our FL. Her looks garner all the wrong attention. Vanness Wu plays n'er-do-well RGX. His voice is extra nice. Respecting nothing, he uses people as playthings & tosses them aside. He's never taken a bus anywhere - His mama is rich & connected, his lawyer is top-notch, & his medical records provide an excuse for his abhorrent behavior. He's spoiled, he's angry, & he's taking it out on the world. He's also "an expert in pretending to be strong. He puts up a wall when he runs into difficulties." Lin Mei Xiu practically steals the show as Hua Tian Xi Shi, Tuo Ye's mother. The viewer just wants to hug her. Chris Wu is also good as Hua Tuo Ye. He's had a crush on our FL for yrs. So he pines away. And he waits. And he pines. And waits & pines, waits & pines, waits & pines. I'm convinced that if one likes the right person, meaning someone who will be a good match, it's ALWAYS mutual. People who get caught up in obsessive 1-sided crushes are just focusing on themselves, what they want, & a projection of what they perceive the object of their affection to be, not the real person. If you believe you love someone but s/he isn't interested, then don't wait around for a moment. Just keep working on yourself. Maybe they are the one for you, but YOU aren't ready yet. (Whatever else is going on in our lives, we should never stop improving. The better we each are, the better all our lives will be). Never settle: 1 reason why relationships are in such chaos these days is b/c people hook-up out of convenience, not for true love. The acting is good-VG. Even though RGX is alittle much at times, I love him at every moment. The director has the characters devolve into giving monotone speeches w/ unnatural pauses in the 2nd half of the show, which is irritating, but we can't blame the actors for that; they showed what they can do in the 1st half. Benny Wen plays the child Liang Xiao Le and he is luminous at every moment he's onscreen.
The romance is excellent & this pair delivers. Unfortunately, the romance starts to lag in the later episodes. They manage some sizzle & steam, but they missed even more opportunities to get cookin. It could have been much better. There's plenty of good cheer & laughter. RGX arrives in town for his community service and, per village customs, they immediately get him drunk. He's passed out & Tuo Ye is charged w/ putting his rival to bed. There's a new blanket for RGX, still in its store packaging. Tuo Ye rips it open & drops it on Guang Xi's body without bothering to spread it out or tuck it in. The whole scene is so dude-like it's amusing. It's little touches like that that make a production special.
The show has several worthy themes. How the entitled trample those w/ less power, particularly male on female abuse is the main theme. We see at least 3 abused women who must be rescued from various socioeconomic situations. 'Don't go it alone' is a theme: "There are many ways to love. Perhaps I didn't choose the best way." Going it alone and lack of communication cause many problems. Everyone thinks they know how to fix things but they often think too highly of themselves and the impact they have to make improvements while at the same time they underestimate their ability to screw things up. Another theme is nearly ubiquitous, as there's not many Asian features that don't deal w/ toxic pride, often in the form of rigid and controlling parents. Parenting should be about forming the child into the best version of h/h-self to ultimately secure the child's happiness - which ultimately benefits society. Unfortunately, parenting often becomes about the parent and the parent's pride, which is why we see rageful parents suing schools instead of correcting their errant offspring. "Fairy godmother, this place is so cool! Did you ever bring {your son} here?" "{He} was a busy child. He had language mental arithmetic and essay writing lessons..." In our pursuit of excellence we've neglected the most important thing: We don't live. If you don't have downtime w/ your family you are neglecting the most important thing. That is when you bond w/ them.
"Some only feel happy and safe when they deceive themselves." Refusing to live the lie is a theme. Instead of worrying about the repercussions of doing what's right and letting the truth come out, our FL worries about the impact on her and her family. We witness her stepmother prefer to believe a lie, rather than face the truth. "This is no time for you to think about your stepmother, who has deceived even herself. If you really love her you should let her know {the truth}," RGX tells Mu Cheng. One of the benefits of hitting bottom is becoming familiar w/ the truth. People that become familiar w/ the truth start to see the lies everywhere. People love comfortable lies. We all like to think of ourselves as better than we are, and if we stay busy, we never have to pause and reflect. We are the hare, lies are the turtle, and the lies will always overtake us, in the end, b/c they never stop until they do. Persevering through hardship is a theme as demonstrated by the following quotes: "What is special about the Lotus? It grows in the mud, yet it remains pristine." "Do you know? One time, when Bach was performing in a palace, his cello was sabotaged. All the strings were broken except the second string. Just as he was about to make a fool of himself, he composed an entire tune using only his 2nd string. That tune is now known as Concerto in G major. It teaches us that no matter how difficult life gets, you can always produce a masterpiece." "Get up on your own after falling and don't blame everyone else while you're on the ground." This is all evidence of quality writing.
Since I loved AC from the start, it hurts to say that as the eps play by it declines. Things get slightly soap-opera w/ big melodrama around ep21 and the show never fully recovers from that trend. There's also plenty of head-scratchers & things that don't make sense along w/ things that could have been better; but there's no major eye-rollers - AC never becomes insultingly stupid. As for the sour notes: The drawn out pace that starts around ep21 continues to the end, mostly. Along w/ that are long speeches, unnaturally long pauses mid-sentence, & logical pitfalls. The criminal case & the trial are oversimplified & all-out nonsensical. The viewer must put effort into disregarding a string of substandard dialogue & plot points in the latter eps. Mu Cheng becomes shut down & monotone - that may not be unrealistic given that she is an abuse survivor. Going from trauma to being the victim of longstanding predatory abuse, her behavior, while exasperating at times, is probably spot-on. Our ML vacillates erratically, & it's basically fantasy that RGX would become such an imposing & successful attorney in 3 short years. That whole go-it-alone after the bad guys thing is ridiculous. Hollywood does it too much - it's apparently a problem on an international scale, scarring otherwise good entertainment. Then our FL goes-it-alone in ep31 and my head started throbbing: It made no sense and it was painful to watch. The wardrobe vacillates between excellent & drab. Most notably, RGX 's low-cut tops are silly, not sexy.
The first 2/3 of the show is a delight, though. It starts so strong that I watched it straight through & never turned to anything else. If the last 1/3 was as good as the first 2/3rds, the rating would be close to 9. Unfortunately, it sinks into a morass of poor quality melodrama, never to crack the surface again. I would still choose to watch it again for the 1st time as the positives eclipse the negatives. If you are interested in other shows from Taiwan, watch Age of Rebellion. It is excellent.
QUOTE📢
You're only turning yourself into a piece of trash.
If you don't work hard, no one can help you.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣6.3 📝7 🎭7 💓7 🦋7 🌞6 🎨6 ⚡4 🎵/🔊7.3 😅3 😭4 😱4 😯4 😖3 🤔4.5 💤4.3 🔚8
Age 13+ $h!+ b@$+@rd Sexual situations including prostitution - relatively mild @ 4 or 5/10.
Re-📺? The 1st 2/3 only so probably not.
🐫 -
elainediantonio15 December 2020The story, drama....actually life lesson if taken to one's "think tank"...are all over the top great! The actors each (in my opinion) became their characters, and brought the viewers into their personas. I've watched this fantastic drama 3 times, and will absolutely watch it again...and again. Vanness Wu is an icon, so multi gifted, truly blessed. If I had a choice to meet any of the marvelous 10 star Asian artists I've watched (many, many), this "brother" would be my choice. Adi An was so perfect as a female lead, and although her role just made me want to see her communicate her feelings more enthusiastically, I love watching her. This is a story that teaches the best and worst, weakest and strongest in human nature. It certainly has been a source of deep reflection for me. I so wish that this story could go on and on. Hey, Viki, step up & give us more of Vanness Wu!
-
I watched it when I was 12 - that was eight years ago now, and I remembered being so touched by it that I binged it.
This is a story of kindness, love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and more.
These characters are scultped this way that make you hopelessly fall in love with instantly. The kind-hearted Mu Cheng who always places other people before her, is a true heroine. She makes me want to be a better person and to empathise others.
If I was to change anything in the drama, perhaps I include Mu Cheng getting an education with Guang Xi's help, and pursue her own careers alongside Guang Xi. :))
And the CAST!!! With Ady An, what more can I say? She really just glows from the inside. -
boyddeirdre31 December 2018I binge-watched this on Netflix and sobbed and had every kind of feels imaginable. It may be a little formulaic but the acting was what kept me committed. If you need a good cry-out or relationship examples of what to do & what not to do (any type!) - this show gets right to it!
-
kaer-597394 April 2021Drawn out and she acted too much like a martyr and victim , give me a break.
-
cclopez-7080810 November 2021I loved this show!! Loved that happy ending !loved the plot , the actors the whole thing it was one of those shows that majes you believe in romance ..
-
alaningle721 March 2021Arrogant self centred conglomerate heir meets a down on her luck orphan struggling to make ends meet and both of their lives are changed. The girl is played by Ady An so it is no surprise he is drawn to her and wants to be a better person because of her. Well acted with interesting side characters but I think it would have been better with fewer episodes and a more succinct story.
-
Makulit23 October 2023I don't understand why this show got such a high rating and has a lot of positive reviews. I guess it's great if you like abusive men. How can you fall in love with a guy that's abusive? There's being a jerk, and there's being a manipulative, abusive person. I had to stop watching after 4 episodes. The male lead is not just a guy who's suffering from PTSD that's why he acts the way he does. I'm sorry, there's no excuse for manipulating, mistreating and degrading women.
There's a part where he demands she strips in front of him because she accidentally trespassed on his property and started playing his piano. She says something to him along the lines of "Do you enjoy degrading women?" as she is trying to unbutton her top. So he feels guilty and stops her.
How is that lovable or acceptable? A girl who's been through so much loss in life has is supposed to fall in love with a guy like that?
It's just gross to romanticize that type of behaviour.
The thought is so ridiculous that I had to stop watching after a few episodes. -
spasek17 February 2018I've watched several Taiwanese shows, and it's funny (and a bit sad) that most of them follow a similar script and plot development. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that there's a template out there, in which all you really have to do is change some character names, a story arc here and there, and you've got another show.
I really don't understand how Taiwan can continue to shell out the same jargon. It's like they only know how to make ONE type of show!
I made it through nine episodes, because things were becoming so predictable, that I was actually able to map out the rest of the series. I was nearly right on every single detail when I read the synopsis for the subsequent episodes. That is how predictable this show is.
You almost always have a young man and a woman who start off disliking each other. Of course, things are arranged so that they end up together.
You always have a rival; someone who is also after one of the characters.
You almost always have a parent (a wealthy one) who disapproves of the match. This paints a picture of a culture so mired down in controlling children, as to be borderline abusive. Of course, the son/daughter can never stand up for themselves. Usually, they just take it, and even go so far as to allow their parent to abuse their love interest. Sweet, eh?
Of course, once our "love birds" come together, something has to break them up. If they get together early on in the series, then this "trick" is inevitable. And, near the end, they'll realize, yet again, their undying love for each other. Usually the objecting parent will come to some sort of a magical realization that they were wrong rather than their son/daughter have any power in helping them in their realization. It's like magic!
I'm officially giving up on Taiwanese dramas. They are all the same. The only one that stood out for me, was "Refresh Man" as most of the above-mentioned formulaic ploys were not used in that series.
I'll stick to Korean and Japanese shows, who are far more versatile and creative in their stories. As with all things, some work and some don't. But most of them, at least that I have seen, do work.
For those unfamiliar with the Taiwanese formula, you may enjoy this series. But after a number of times around the same old track, it's become tedious, boring, and sadly predictable...so much so, that I didn't even have to finish the series to figure everything out. That's not enjoyable viewing. -
The usual rich guy poor girl trope with a lot of distasteful scenarios thrown in. It's a typical enemies to lovers story with the inevitable forced separation for good measure.
The FL is a poor girl who lost both her parents at an early age - she has been brought up by her aunt and her aunt's husband. They run a cafeteria owned by the ML's mother - he too lost his father at an early age. The step father has lusted after the FL since she was young unknown to her aunt. He spies on her in the shower and stalks her outside. As if this wasn't bad enough the aunt encourages her to sleep with the ML - in her words "let him violate you" - I cannot believe that this was allowed to be said in this series - it is beyond forgiveness. When the stepfather tries to "violate" her the aunt does not believe that the stepfather was at fault - despite witnessing the incident. This too, was beyond belief. I lost interest in the series after this - and I certainly couldn't tolerate any more past their sell by date tropes of amnesia and new lives.
I'm bailing now. -
kaer-597394 April 2021So happy that he is now getting revenge , she was so selfish.