DRAMA I WATCHED IN 2020, PART 2
Second part of my quick reviews of drama I’ve watched this year.
In the first part I covered the January-April period. I forgot one, which I’ll post first, then it’s drama I watched in May-August.
Less packed of dramas in comparison, but I was busy with reading The King's Avatar in June and July. Also, finally being able to go out after lockdown. ^^'
On with next reviews!
GANK YOUR HEART (2019)
Genre: esport, romance
Episodes: 35
Instead of the trailer, I’ll post the MV, since I really like the song :)
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Wang Yibo.
Actually I watched it first in November, in March was a rewatch with my friends.
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
It’s quite enjoyable as any idol drama can be. The esport tournament was exciting, the romance cute. I especially liked the protagonist story arc, which was a bit original. Yibo’s character is smart, straightforward, considerate, levelheaded.
Good balance between drama and light comedy.
The cutest parts were the female lead slow-motion, shojo manga style scenes of daydreaming about the male lead. That was 100% fangirling. LOL
Also for once, second couple was interesting to watch! That count as major point. Usually, in romance drama, the second couple parts are so boring, they are skippable. But these two were actually funny and cute.
And the rival… Pei Xi <3
THE BAD:
There are lots of clichés here, especially for the romance part… When the former girlfriend showed up, the drama overall value really dropped.
They didn’t have enough budget for CG, they have to fill the story with something exciting, maybe?
It was just too over-the-top to be really interesting.
After watching the drama in the next review, I feel like this drama was produced to follow the esport trend and because there were lots of buzz around the other esport drama which aired a few months later. All in all, the esport part is just background.
THE WTF
Obviously, tropes… *eyerolls*
And foreign players are extra rude… a bit too extra.
I don’t know which real game this drama was inspired from. It looked like some very old game or it was just really really cheap CG. >_<
THE KING’S AVATAR (2019)
Genre: esport
Episodes: 40
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
After rewatching Gank Your Heart I was still in a esport mood and coincidentally, people I follow on Twitter were talking about this drama and its novel. So I’ll gave it a try.
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD
EVERYTHING! Well, not really, I’m just over enthusiastic about this drama which I watched twice within 2 months (then I read the super long novel).
First, for those doubting about level of CG, the first 3 minutes should be enough to convince you about drama’s quality and that this drama is really about a game and that they had budget for it. *cough* Well, though, Tencent *cough*
Game sequences are so exciting!
Second good point: characters. Not only the main protagonists, all pro-players are great characters and their interaction is so enjoyable.
Third point: the story is light hearted and the most dramatic thing in the drama is turning 30s. LOL And I’m extremely pleased that they didn’t add any extra romance between the main protagonist and any of the three girls he lives together with. There are some sad parts as well, about the protagonist past, but it’s good sadness. ;__;
THE BAD
Alas, there is. It mostly came from the parts that were added in the drama and that are not in the original novel. They added a little extra foul play that looked forced.
And for me, dubbing. They used the same voice actors of the donghua. I think it ruined the drama a bit, especially Ye Xiu.
THE WTF
None!
THE LOST TOMB (2015)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: 12
Trailer:
LINK
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Because of Long-ge filming The Lost Tomb Reboot, this drama had been in my watch list since early 2019, like Sand Sea. It became available on Viki from my country early this year. And after learning that Yang Yang (the actor who played the main protagonist in TKA) was in this as well, it jumped the queue. ;)
SCORE:
Story ⭐
Acting ⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐
THE GOOD
Yang Yang as Zhang Qiling. And related fanservice.
Baby Wu Xie being the supreme damsel in distress.
Oh, and there’s Pangzi trying to blow everything up several times.
Basically, the iron triangle is the saving grace.
THE BAD
Where do I even start?
Let’s just say that this franchise is a mess.
It’s full of potential, but it’s a mess nonetheless.
In just 12 episodes, this drama manages to set everything that’s terrible in any other drama of this convoluted serie. Wow, great accomplishment.
The bad being: very badly characterized female characters (and badly acted too); mysteries that are left unresolved, poor CG.
THE WTF
The whole drama is a huge wtf!
I should add the part in which Zhang Qiling went to fight a zombie and came back shirtless, but since this illogical moment gave us 4 episodes of shirtless Yang Yang, I’d call it excellent fanservice! Still, wtf, but excellent.
TOMB OF THE SEA / SAND SEA (2018)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: 50
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Same as The Lost Tomb
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐
THE GOOD
Qin Hao as Wu Xie. Or better, Qin Hao as a bitter Wu Xie.
Really, that’s it. There is no Zhang Qiling and Pangzi is very little in it. Wu Xie’s parts are the only good parts in this drama but he’s not the main protagonist here, so his presence it’s also very scarce.
THE BAD
*groans* I started this drama in April and only finished it in October. It’s so draggy, it’s either hit fast forward any time Li Cu or Wu Xie are not there or suffer from supreme boredom.
Lots of familiar faces show up in the drama and it takes a bit to place them or connect them to other series. I really resent how draggy it is!Tthe Lost Tomb world has many interesting and compelling events: the mystery of the 9 families, the disappearance of Wu Xie uncle, the tight relationship. But it’s hard to pay attention to the story when it’s filled with boring scenes, dialogues and unrelated events. It’s like your level of attention is supposed to be 10 but then it drops to 2 and you miss things. Frustrating.
Again, badly characterized female characters. The doctor is… what’s even the point of such an annoying, unrealistic character, who actually, doesn’t play any major part in the big picture?
I have no idea…
WTF
The snake thing… can someone explain it to me? I might have miss a key point, if there was one.
REUNION: THE SOUND OF THE PROVIDENCE 1-2 (2020)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: 32+30
Iron Triangle MV (it’s better than the trailer ^^)
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
It’s Zhu Yi Long long awaited drama! I watched it as it aired!
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD
It’s the best drama of the series that I’ve watched.
It gave the Iron Triangle the role it deserve. It’s the major drive of the drama and thanks god for that.
Their friendship is finally portrayed the way it should (AND THAT’S WHY THE TOMB OF THE SEA IS SO BAD IN RETROSPECT. ARGH!)
Their interactions are so great: the absolute trust, the affection, the level of understanding. Fantastic.
If you get rid of the zombie, the creepy crawlies, the mystery of Wu Xie’s uncle disappearance, their story is a great story.
Special mention: Pangzi’s t-shirts. A++++. LOL The Hello Kitty’s one in particular.
THE BAD
It has some draggy parts, they really can’t get rid of those. Sigh.
First Season is especially bad in that. The “love story” between Shades and the mute girl… ok cute, but those parts were a bit meh. Especially because they interrupt the thrilling part of the trio inside the tomb of the Souther King. It affected the rhythm of the story in a bad way.
Then, the Warehouse 11 part… Too long! It’s a complicated mystery, I get that. It’s just the pace is a bit too slow.
This drama cannot be watched as a standalone drama, and this is a negative point for me. It’s not like you won’t understand anything if you haven’t watch the other dramas; it’s more about not explaining some details because producers take for granted the audience know them or they’ll get the reference.
Hence, if you watch this first (or have watched it already) and are about to check the others, well, don’t get your hopes too high. The franchise is a mess. >____>
THE WTF
The point they decided to end Season 1…. Once you watch the first 2 episodes of Season 2 you cannot not wonder, why? At least the wait between the 2 parts was only 15 days.
Well, then some random decision like hiding in a hunted train and other questionable choices.
And the amount of times you end out shouting DON’T TOUCH THE THING! WHY DID YOU TOUCH THE THING!
CROSS FIRE (2020)
Genre: sci-fi, thriller
Episodes: 36
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
I was still in the esport bubble, reading The King’s Avatar novel when this drama premiered. The theme and the cast, Wu Lei and Lu Han, caught my attention right away.
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD
Lots of good in this drama! It was such an unexpected gem!
- Storytelling
- Cinematography
- Acting
- Soundrack
- Main characters
All of that was top top quality.
The story is so engaging: the relationship between team members, the budding romance, the mystery… argh, I’m so happy I decided to watch this. It was such an emotional rollercoaster.
The two female leads are such well rounded characters and that’s really not the norm. An Lan and Chu Ge rock!
There’s some over-the-top comedy that’s so ridiculous in a good way. Not always, but most times.
THE BAD
I think the two storyline are not equally strong. Xiao Feng and Team One Coin’s story is better structured, probably because it futures more mature character than the other story line. Lu Xiao Bei story is also nice but the part revolving around his team mates are a bit weak in comparison.
THE WTF
The kiss scene… wtf in a good way. It was certainly surprising, for a c-drama. But so much right when it happened.
This entry was originally posted at https://powwie.dreamwidth.org/38433.html
In the first part I covered the January-April period. I forgot one, which I’ll post first, then it’s drama I watched in May-August.
Less packed of dramas in comparison, but I was busy with reading The King's Avatar in June and July. Also, finally being able to go out after lockdown. ^^'
On with next reviews!
GANK YOUR HEART (2019)
Genre: esport, romance
Episodes: 35
Instead of the trailer, I’ll post the MV, since I really like the song :)
Click to viewMY REASON FOR WATCHING
Wang Yibo.
Actually I watched it first in November, in March was a rewatch with my friends.
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD:
It’s quite enjoyable as any idol drama can be. The esport tournament was exciting, the romance cute. I especially liked the protagonist story arc, which was a bit original. Yibo’s character is smart, straightforward, considerate, levelheaded.
Good balance between drama and light comedy.
The cutest parts were the female lead slow-motion, shojo manga style scenes of daydreaming about the male lead. That was 100% fangirling. LOL
Also for once, second couple was interesting to watch! That count as major point. Usually, in romance drama, the second couple parts are so boring, they are skippable. But these two were actually funny and cute.
And the rival… Pei Xi <3
THE BAD:
There are lots of clichés here, especially for the romance part… When the former girlfriend showed up, the drama overall value really dropped.
They didn’t have enough budget for CG, they have to fill the story with something exciting, maybe?
It was just too over-the-top to be really interesting.
After watching the drama in the next review, I feel like this drama was produced to follow the esport trend and because there were lots of buzz around the other esport drama which aired a few months later. All in all, the esport part is just background.
THE WTF
Obviously, tropes… *eyerolls*
And foreign players are extra rude… a bit too extra.
I don’t know which real game this drama was inspired from. It looked like some very old game or it was just really really cheap CG. >_<
THE KING’S AVATAR (2019)
Genre: esport
Episodes: 40
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
After rewatching Gank Your Heart I was still in a esport mood and coincidentally, people I follow on Twitter were talking about this drama and its novel. So I’ll gave it a try.
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD
EVERYTHING! Well, not really, I’m just over enthusiastic about this drama which I watched twice within 2 months (then I read the super long novel).
First, for those doubting about level of CG, the first 3 minutes should be enough to convince you about drama’s quality and that this drama is really about a game and that they had budget for it. *cough* Well, though, Tencent *cough*
Game sequences are so exciting!
Second good point: characters. Not only the main protagonists, all pro-players are great characters and their interaction is so enjoyable.
Third point: the story is light hearted and the most dramatic thing in the drama is turning 30s. LOL And I’m extremely pleased that they didn’t add any extra romance between the main protagonist and any of the three girls he lives together with. There are some sad parts as well, about the protagonist past, but it’s good sadness. ;__;
THE BAD
Alas, there is. It mostly came from the parts that were added in the drama and that are not in the original novel. They added a little extra foul play that looked forced.
And for me, dubbing. They used the same voice actors of the donghua. I think it ruined the drama a bit, especially Ye Xiu.
THE WTF
None!
THE LOST TOMB (2015)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: 12
Trailer:
LINK
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Because of Long-ge filming The Lost Tomb Reboot, this drama had been in my watch list since early 2019, like Sand Sea. It became available on Viki from my country early this year. And after learning that Yang Yang (the actor who played the main protagonist in TKA) was in this as well, it jumped the queue. ;)
SCORE:
Story ⭐
Acting ⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐
THE GOOD
Yang Yang as Zhang Qiling. And related fanservice.
Baby Wu Xie being the supreme damsel in distress.
Oh, and there’s Pangzi trying to blow everything up several times.
Basically, the iron triangle is the saving grace.
THE BAD
Where do I even start?
Let’s just say that this franchise is a mess.
It’s full of potential, but it’s a mess nonetheless.
In just 12 episodes, this drama manages to set everything that’s terrible in any other drama of this convoluted serie. Wow, great accomplishment.
The bad being: very badly characterized female characters (and badly acted too); mysteries that are left unresolved, poor CG.
THE WTF
The whole drama is a huge wtf!
I should add the part in which Zhang Qiling went to fight a zombie and came back shirtless, but since this illogical moment gave us 4 episodes of shirtless Yang Yang, I’d call it excellent fanservice! Still, wtf, but excellent.
TOMB OF THE SEA / SAND SEA (2018)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: 50
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
Same as The Lost Tomb
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐
THE GOOD
Qin Hao as Wu Xie. Or better, Qin Hao as a bitter Wu Xie.
Really, that’s it. There is no Zhang Qiling and Pangzi is very little in it. Wu Xie’s parts are the only good parts in this drama but he’s not the main protagonist here, so his presence it’s also very scarce.
THE BAD
*groans* I started this drama in April and only finished it in October. It’s so draggy, it’s either hit fast forward any time Li Cu or Wu Xie are not there or suffer from supreme boredom.
Lots of familiar faces show up in the drama and it takes a bit to place them or connect them to other series. I really resent how draggy it is!Tthe Lost Tomb world has many interesting and compelling events: the mystery of the 9 families, the disappearance of Wu Xie uncle, the tight relationship. But it’s hard to pay attention to the story when it’s filled with boring scenes, dialogues and unrelated events. It’s like your level of attention is supposed to be 10 but then it drops to 2 and you miss things. Frustrating.
Again, badly characterized female characters. The doctor is… what’s even the point of such an annoying, unrealistic character, who actually, doesn’t play any major part in the big picture?
I have no idea…
WTF
The snake thing… can someone explain it to me? I might have miss a key point, if there was one.
REUNION: THE SOUND OF THE PROVIDENCE 1-2 (2020)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: 32+30
Iron Triangle MV (it’s better than the trailer ^^)
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
It’s Zhu Yi Long long awaited drama! I watched it as it aired!
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD
It’s the best drama of the series that I’ve watched.
It gave the Iron Triangle the role it deserve. It’s the major drive of the drama and thanks god for that.
Their friendship is finally portrayed the way it should (AND THAT’S WHY THE TOMB OF THE SEA IS SO BAD IN RETROSPECT. ARGH!)
Their interactions are so great: the absolute trust, the affection, the level of understanding. Fantastic.
If you get rid of the zombie, the creepy crawlies, the mystery of Wu Xie’s uncle disappearance, their story is a great story.
Special mention: Pangzi’s t-shirts. A++++. LOL The Hello Kitty’s one in particular.
THE BAD
It has some draggy parts, they really can’t get rid of those. Sigh.
First Season is especially bad in that. The “love story” between Shades and the mute girl… ok cute, but those parts were a bit meh. Especially because they interrupt the thrilling part of the trio inside the tomb of the Souther King. It affected the rhythm of the story in a bad way.
Then, the Warehouse 11 part… Too long! It’s a complicated mystery, I get that. It’s just the pace is a bit too slow.
This drama cannot be watched as a standalone drama, and this is a negative point for me. It’s not like you won’t understand anything if you haven’t watch the other dramas; it’s more about not explaining some details because producers take for granted the audience know them or they’ll get the reference.
Hence, if you watch this first (or have watched it already) and are about to check the others, well, don’t get your hopes too high. The franchise is a mess. >____>
THE WTF
The point they decided to end Season 1…. Once you watch the first 2 episodes of Season 2 you cannot not wonder, why? At least the wait between the 2 parts was only 15 days.
Well, then some random decision like hiding in a hunted train and other questionable choices.
And the amount of times you end out shouting DON’T TOUCH THE THING! WHY DID YOU TOUCH THE THING!
CROSS FIRE (2020)
Genre: sci-fi, thriller
Episodes: 36
Trailer:
MY REASON FOR WATCHING
I was still in the esport bubble, reading The King’s Avatar novel when this drama premiered. The theme and the cast, Wu Lei and Lu Han, caught my attention right away.
SCORE:
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Acting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Production ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE GOOD
Lots of good in this drama! It was such an unexpected gem!
- Storytelling
- Cinematography
- Acting
- Soundrack
- Main characters
All of that was top top quality.
The story is so engaging: the relationship between team members, the budding romance, the mystery… argh, I’m so happy I decided to watch this. It was such an emotional rollercoaster.
The two female leads are such well rounded characters and that’s really not the norm. An Lan and Chu Ge rock!
There’s some over-the-top comedy that’s so ridiculous in a good way. Not always, but most times.
THE BAD
I think the two storyline are not equally strong. Xiao Feng and Team One Coin’s story is better structured, probably because it futures more mature character than the other story line. Lu Xiao Bei story is also nice but the part revolving around his team mates are a bit weak in comparison.
THE WTF
The kiss scene… wtf in a good way. It was certainly surprising, for a c-drama. But so much right when it happened.
This entry was originally posted at https://powwie.dreamwidth.org/38433.html