The drama had a lovely premise but it went all wishy-washy somewhere in the middle, loop holes popped up here and there into the story line because they tried to make the conflicts seem more complicated and instead it had dead ends or unexplained troubles which were left unresolved. Although this was the things I disliked about this drama, there were the perks of seeing my favorite character end up with the girl he likes. I'm not going to mention who it is because I wouldn't want to spoil it to prospect viewers but for me that is much of a happy ending and a drama with happy endings - works well for me BIG TIME.
As for the actors/characters, Aaron Yan has gone quite a long way and has matured from that role he had from "It Started With A Kiss". There was a really huge difference from his acting way back up to this drama and boy has he turned into a good looking guy! I like how he handled the complicated character of Ting-Yu. The seemingly bi-polar attitude, happy at times then all of a sudden angry and rigid. But when his character comes in contact with CJ which is acted by Jie Kai, Tung-yu's character seems to be more carefree and outspoken. Both actors had this awesome chemistry of being really good friends and they looked really comfortable on acting their characters.
The female leads on the other hand - I felt that they were slightly over shadowed by the male lead character, like for Alice - I know that the story is supposed to revolve more around her but it seems that her character was not written with a stronger conviction of who she really is. She was initially a nice girl, then suddenly a bad girl then gradually into the drama, she became a nice girl again then bad then nice again. It was sort of annoying that the writer didn't stick with a proper character for her. There was no sense of continuity. I know it was an act within an act, but there was not proper flow. It was too irritating to watch. As for Die Fei, there was so much potential in her character but the singing thing was like cropped out of no where. It was annoying how her story had to go in circle with Ting-Yu's, that everything she did was because of Ting-Yu and not basically about herself. She had to find herself because of the help of someone else, it's sort of sad. An awakening of a person's worth should not come from other people but from within. One thing I liked about her though was her voice, I swear it was like watching "Love at the Dolphin Bay" all over again and hearing Angela Zhang sing for the first time. My ears where momentarily in heaven.
I only wished the female's characters had stronger back bones - like the older one named Lisa. I loved her character in so many ways. It was rich and full of story and she had purpose in the first place. The actress gave justice to her role as well.
I have already re-played my favorite scenes with all the cutey stuff and musical stuff, so for me this drama is basically re-watchable. Hopefully, the story line won't be too disappointing - over all this series is not a waste of time because it stirred my heart and made me smile a lot.
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I have to admit that along watching that drama I didn't really see what was the point of that drama...
But after finishing it, I'll say that it just tells us a simple story. Do we need more? From a certain moment, though I didn't say it, I felt like I was watching a Jdrama. It was so simple. We could see people's sorrows, love, and hope.
The music was really fitting, sometimes a bit too dramatic, yes. But all in all it was superb, and you can't go wrong when classical music is well used. Although, please don't talk to me about Für Elise ever again. This piece was way over-used in that drama
As for the acting, I was tiny bit disappointed by the main actress play, but it was bearable and not too annoying. Aaron Yan really did great (I'm not saying this because I'm totally biased by him). I mean it.
All in all, if you're looking for something not too complicated, this is for you. (Although some parts are a tiny bit confusing.)
You like classical music? it is for you as well. Are you looking for a comedy? then you can skip it.
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Shortly after this dream Hai Jei meets and falls in love with a girl named ALICE, but after a night of making love, she disappears. Hai Jei then meets Lan Die Fei (Lara) who is working at the concert house and this meeting results in Hai Jei’s chance to play his violin on stage. The concertmaster, Ting Yu, is late to the scene and his famed violin turns up missing. Hai Jei lends his violin to Ting Yu and the stage is set.
Ito Seiko (Tracy Chou) comes on the scene searching for her mother and becomes involved with Ting Yu. It is clear that she is working for someone and searching for more than just her mother.
Two Violinists, He Ting Yu (Aaron Yan) who plays with genius and perfection and Chen Hai Jie (Xiu Jie Kai) who plays with heart and soul, come together as competitors and in friendship. Lan Die Fei idolizes Ting Yu and falls in love with Hai Jei who is still in love with ALICE. Ting Yu first dislikes then falls in love with Lan Die Fei he encourages her to find her dream and have the confidence to hold on to it. But will Ting Yu and Hai Jei find their dream and who is ALICE?
With a touch of magic and whimsy, violin concertos and classical music (just a little too much Fur Elise) carry through the drama of romance, mystery and danger. I enjoyed this drama and the music and think this drama is well worth watching.
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I have watched other Aaron Yan dramas before... but this one, he really amazed me. In fact, I started to respect him more after this. He shows you the feeling of his character, you can see how dark it is. I watched Just You, but in this one, I wish we could have just a drama for this character!
I think the show could have more songs by Lara, because I thought she was good, but I was tired of hearing the same two songs all the time, every single episode.
The Alice and Hai Jie part, for me, was depressing. I thought they were the main couple at first, also because the name of the show. I'm glad that they weren't. Xiu Jie Kai was good playing the nice guy, but I didn't felt engaged about this part of the story. Alice for me is the worst character of the show. Her story was suposed to be mysterious, but I really hated it, didn't caught my attention.
It just worth watching because of Aaron Yan acting, really. I have never saw anything like that, so its good because you can see a side of him that you don't usually see in his romance comedy dramas. He is the best part of the show.
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The story was what I got into this drama in the first place. The beginning was great. But it got a little weird and got really confused. I thought it was about Alice, giving the title. But she was kind of overshadowed by the other leads. Some of the problems in the drama was either rushed or overlooked all together. There were so many plots to this story that I lost count
The Die Fei and Ting-Yu's chemistry was amazing. Ting-Yu and CJ's friendship was amazing too. Aaron is getting a lot better in acting & I think this character was the maturest role that Aaron has gotten & he did his character justice. Lara was an okay actress. She could have been better but not too bad either. I could of wished that Die Fei had more of a back bone in the second half. Xie Kai was pretty good too. I have seen him as supporting character but not one of the leads. I liked his character, but he was pretty single-minded throughout the show. But his character was light-hearted type while all the drama was going on. Tracy Zhou was good, but her character was overshadowed by the other plots of the story( like I said above). But it was also becauase she had less screen time than anyone else's. I liked Lisa a lot. She was spunky mother- type of character.
The music was what kept me going beside the acting. I loved the classical music & Lara's singing was phenomenal! The opening theme was good too. Aaron & Xie Kai must practice for days to get the musical element of their character right.
Overall, I would only recommend it if you like classical music or like one or most of the actors/actresses in this drama. The acting is good, but the story had gone bonkers in the 2nd half of the story.
On a side note: the kisses were great! I just had to say it.
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the female leads are annoying as hell - Alice plot is very confusing , the the other female lead she acting is lacking perhaps it's because she's opposite of Aaron since he was so good in this it makes all the rest looks just average. Lisa character is just amazing. Tracy's character is just a waste how much go around and around about her loving JC seriously no woman is that stupid when it comes to a guy ... i feel the name of the drama doesn't really make sense since Alice is not really the main character....
stay tune!
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