421. Love Designer 爱情高级定制 (2020) Chinese

Dilraba Dilmurat, Huang Jingyu, Zhang Xinyu, Yi Da Qian, Hu Bing, Zheng Shui Jing

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A+

Love Designer was an interesting show in the fact that I never loved it, but I never hated it enough to drop it. It was kind of meh, to be honest. I liked how it was about a bunch of adults who communicated pretty well and generally worked things out maturely, and were looking out for each other, putting their partner's needs before their own, not getting in the way of each other's careers, etc. But at the same time they also got caught up in really weird things, which cause random drama. But for the most part, since they were so mature and cool, it came off as really blasé some times, like they had to really did for ideas to make it dramatic and that they would then act out of character to make those situations work.

So as I was watching it, I would be on and off. I would watch it, and like it, but then if something got inexplicably overdramatic, I'd be like "nah" for a while. Then it would never be as bad as I thought it was going to be, because they wrote everyone so chill/mature. They also didn't really have any true love triangles, because the second leads, if there even were any true second leads, were either not that big of a threat and gave up super fast, or they were the nicest people in the world and gave up super fast. Even the "villain" in the piece was a nice person who gave up super fast. Because I guess that's what happens when people actually reflect on what is going on and make changes for the better, and actually talk things out? Still, it made things strangely flat. I appreciated the maturity and conversations, but why set up things to be so dramatic to not follow through? I don't know, it made things, as I said, feel blasé.

I did like the character development of the little sister. She was a total angry young girl, blasting her music and shutting herself out, but then was able to actually develop a good relationship with her brother, because she made real friends and was able to communicate well through the good influence of her brother's girlfriend and her nephew, who becomes her best friend. I actually really love that the main couple's relationship is actually developed through their similarities of being "single parents" to their high school aged relations. Zhou Fang was watching her nephew so he could have some stability during high school while his parents were travelling for their work, and Song Lin had been raising his little sister since their parents died. Being able to bond over parenting, and him seeing how good she was with his sister, helped them form that connection that then lead to him pursuing her for real. Although he probably leaned on that relationship too much, but whatever.

It was an okay drama. As in, I liked it ok, but I was never passionate about it, and just watched it when there was nothing else to watch, or just to finish it. I never hated it, but it did take me a while to finish it, and then even longer to write about it. So, I guess that says something about it. Everyone looks pretty, so there is that. But there is one thing I must say. Because I did take a lot of breaks while watching it, I was rudely reminded every time I'd pick it up of how much I hated that everyone had the same stupid song as their ringtone. Why?!?!?!?! Why do you all have that same stupid clip of the same stupid song as your ring tone! YOU ARE NOT ALL THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD! JUST PUT YOUR FREAKING PHONES ON SILENT NOW!!!! Yeah, if there was anything I hated about the show, it was that song clip. Hated that song by the end of it.

So maybe watch it if you are a big fan of Johnny or Dilraba. They are both really pretty in it. But maybe don't watch it if you hate repetitive ring tones or dramatic without reason only to be resolved really easily plots. It was weird, because it felt both organic and forced... so yeah? Shrugs.