431. Jiu Liu Overlord 九流霸主 (2020) Chinese

Bai Lu, Lai Yi, Fang Yi Lun, Xu Mu Chan

Drama Rating: 4.5/10     Neck Score: A

I started this one 100% for Lai Yi, having love him since he was Senior Disciple in 10 Miles of Peach Blossoms, and Heavenly Doctor in Legend of Fuyao, but I stayed (at first) because the couple had good chemistry. I loved that they were both super business nerds, and that she could press his buttons and break him out of his stuffy shell to try new things and improve his business even more. Sadly, that wonderful chemistry wasn't enough to carry the whole drama, because there was serious dragging issues. There was a mystery plot about corruption and the evil magistrate (father to the second female lead) obviously trying to kill our leads. But what is worse is that plot was super secondary to the unnecessary drama of the romance. Obviously the main couple liked each other and had enough reason to know that the other did, but still they were both too awkward and quick tempered to say it or stay on good terms enough to be vulnerable with the other, and so it dragged on needlessly long, giving fuel to the two second leads to be increasingly more annoying. Then it got even worse when the entire drama suddenly changed plots and became absolutely ridiculously bad. They literally made him allergic to women at the beginning and then just forgot about it later on. Honestly, I'm still not sure why I finished it, but I did, so here is a full review.

Love 020 微微一笑很倾城 (2016) Chinese

Jing Boran, Angelababy 

Movie rating: 7/10     Neck score: A

I figured having loved the show, I would have to give the movie a try sometime. I'm glad I did. It was very good. In some aspects I would say better than the drama, but both are definitely well worth watching. The movie obviously had a better budget, because the CGI and sets were way better, and way more realistic. I also think all the acting was better too. I think that both Jing Boran and Angelababy were able to show more realistic and fleshed out characters in less than 2 hours than in the whole length of the series. I love the micro-expressions that give us insight into the "gaming god" character of Xiao Nai. I also loved seeing a more nerdy, gamer girl version of Bei Weiwei. She was way more engaged and I actually believed she played games instead of just looking perfect and pretty. But there really was only 2 hours to put in the whole plot, so everything does feel like it's moving at a lightening pace and is way over simplified. I really missed them spending more time on the side characters, and especially the plotline of the awkward relationship between Hao Mei and KO. They only had time for like two scenes that mentioned that whole mess, which is a real shame. So on the whole, both are great for different reasons. It's only when you are comparing the two that you'll notice the production quality is way better for the movie, and the leads in the drama are so pretty that you don't really mind that they aren't the best at acting. It's fine. I still love both and recommend both as great. But if you only want to spend a few hours, the movie is the way to go, if you want to invest for a long haul, watch the drama.

439. My Little Happiness 我的小确幸 (2021) Chinese

Xing Fei, Tang Xiao Tian, Huang Yi Lin, Li Chuan

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A

I started this one because I needed a modern Chinese romcom to help me be more patient while waiting for Love Unexpected to be subtitled. I had been hearing good things about it, and I was curious to see Tan Xiao Tian be the male lead after watching him be the second lead in Put Your Head on My Shoulder (also seeing him have a serious glow up since then too, rawr). It's the same girl too, which is always funny. Something for all those SLS shippers, I guess. Totally different characters though, which gives props to Xiao Tian. I really loved the dynamic between the leads. They had great chemistry and also it was a much less misunderstanding filled plot than most. Which means that yes, there were a lot of misunderstandings (the biggest one was annoying but manageable) but that they were solved really quickly. Mostly, I loved how mature the main couple was for the most part. They were both working professionals (she was interning to become a lawyer and he was a surgeon) and respected the other's profession a lot.   In fact, their proficiency in their professions was even an attraction for them. The fact that she fell for him at first sight because she saw him save a man at the airport and he had that competent doctor glow is just cute. I really love how much they supported each other in their jobs too, and supported each other with their jobs too.

433. Mr. Queen 철인왕후 (2020-2021) Korean

Shin Hye Sun, Kim Jung Hyun, Bae Jong Ok, Kim Tae Woo

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A+

I had my eye on this one when it was announced, and it did not disappoint. Although I'll admit that it was not exactly what I expected. I was thinking it would be more like a body swap, but instead it was a gender swap/soul swap. So not Secret Garden, but Scarlet Heart Ryeo except the person going back in time in the soul swap was a free spirited, playboy chef named Jang Bong Hwan, ending up in the body of Kim So Yong, the soon to be queen of Joseon. I was immediately caught when that free spirited chef was played by Choi Jin Hyuk. A lovely unexpected special appearance that made everything even better, especially since he still did the voice of the chef's thoughts inside the queen's body. So imagine deep manly voice as the petite Shin Hye Sun acted it out. I thought their team work was amazing. I have an even deeper respect for Shin Hye Sun in this role. It really felt like she was channeling Choi Jin Hyuk even down to the expressions. Then add in amazing chemistry between her and Kim Jung Hyun and yes, this drama was awesome. I haven't raved while telling people about dramas in a while, but I was totally talking  my sisters' ears off about this one.

435. Legend of Fei 有翡 (2020) Chinese

Zhao Liying, Wang Yibo, Zhang Hui Wen, Chen Ruo Xuan

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A

Oh my heck, I loved this show, and not just because I'm a bit obsessed with Wang Yibo, but because this was a show with really bad-ass women. Like super strong, awesome women, and their men who respect and love them in all their awesomeness. Zhou Fei (Zhao Liying) is just an awesome female lead, who is strong but also chill. Who stands up for justice, is stubborn, but also soft and loving. Her relationship with Xie Yun (Wang Yibo) is just beautiful. The fact that they have different strengths, and she is usually the one protecting him, but he's just like: ok, be careful! And then helping her from the sidelines. The fact that they would both do anything to protect the other, but also respect each other's skills and know when they don't actually need to be protected. Chef's kiss. It's wonderful. Also, all the characters. I just loved everyone, even the ones who were bad, overly evil, or started off as annoying or stupid. This is a show about some serious growth, and for pretty much everyone. Even the elders learn a thing or two and become more open to the strengths of the younger generation, or get wrecked because they don't.

437. Run On 런 온 (2021) Korean

Im Siwan, Shin Se Kyung, Sooyoung, Kang Tae Oh

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A

Dang it, I started this and then it didn't save, and somehow got published before it was finished, lol. I'm not sure why this review was so hard to write besides all that. I loved this drama, but it's also hard for me to describe in words that will accurately show how great it is. It's like a melodrama that was instead turned into a slice of life, if that makes sense. It has all the tropes of a typical melodrama set up, with the orphans, the chaebols, the overly ambitious politicians, celebrities, and quirky artists. But instead of it being a dramatic mess, instead it humanized at these typically stereotyped characters and made them real people. Incredibly flawed and lovable people. I very much appreciated that there weren't those lame tropes like love triangles, but instead we got multiple sets of people developing their relationships in very organic ways, where the biggest tests of their relationships are getting to know each other and working out differences. Not that other things don't also influence and that there weren't any misunderstandings, there of course were, but they were the real kind and the couples were really good at talking through them instead of being dumb. That was probably the best part, it was full of communication, but also the dialog felt very organic and real. It let the characters be awkward, imperfect, and lovable.

Our Times 我的少女时代 (2015) Taiwanese

Vivian Sung, Darren Wang, Dino Lee, Dewi Chien

Movie rating: 8/10     Neck score: A

I randomly saw a review of Our Times in my YouTube suggestions, and I was like: is that Darren Wang? And then I looked it up and got super interested and found a subtitled version to watch. It's a really fun coming of age/high school/first love type movie, about a girl who gets a chain letter and sends it to the school's bad boy because she saw him picking on her crush, the school perfect prince. The great part is that he figures out who sent it to him (and made him get hit by a car) and she is forced to be his errand girl. But then of course they are going to actually become friends, especially when they figure out that their respective crushes are in a relationship and they team up to break them up and help each other get with their crush. It's definitely on the light hearted side, even though Darren Wang is playing a bad boy who is the leader of a gang and constantly getting in fights. He is more like a hurt puppy whose bark is worse than bite, which is honestly a role that Darren Wang excels at. 

436. Shanai Marriage Honey 社内マリッジハニー (2020) Japanese

Itagaki Mizuki, Matsui Airi

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A

Short and sweet perfectly describes this show. I hadn't watched a Japanese drama in a while, so when I saw all the praise I thought I would try it. It was exactly as they said. Super cute, with a couple who communicates well, and a heck of a lot of kissing. It's about a couple who get married after one meeting, for various reasons, and then we get to see them work it out into a really lovely marriage. They are super awkward at first, which is perfect, and then they slowly learn to open up, slowly get to know each other, and rather quickly get to the physical stuff because when you're already married and that attracted to each other, why not? But with every episode there is a newly discovered potential problem to figure out, but the great thing is that while they may not immediately just talk about it and try to solve it, they are constantly trying and they do talk if they can't figure it out right away. Basically this show is a cup of sunshine and a good short watch, especially if you need a huge dose of cute + skinship.