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Entertaining drama. Watch if 1) You want a light romcom, 2) You like it when the guy is mean to the girl about half of the show, 3) You want to watch one of the most popular shows in Taiwan (was for a long time the drama with the most views while airing). Don't watch if 1) You're vulnerable to the 2nd-lead syndrome, 2) You like strong female leads, 3) You're picky when it comes to humor.
THE STORY
From the beginning, the story is flawed. It's flawed because of the first encounter between the main leads and the incident that will provoke their ensuing romance. It's definitely, completely and undeniably surreal, making the show lose credibility. However, if you stick to the drama regardless of that flaw and refuse to give up, you'll find yourself entertained. The main leads are not as likeable as other protagonists are, and you might not understand just what attracts them to one another. There's a few loopholes here and there and at times the humor is a bit over the top. But if you're looking for some laughs and a few moving scenes, this drama does the trick.
THE ACTING
I wasn't amazed by acting in this show, but it wasn't bad. Some supporting actors were quite good (Mei Xiu Lin in the role of the mother and Baron Chen as Dylan, for example).
THE MUSIC
I don't care about the rest of the OST, there's My Happiness by Jin Xiu Duets, one of my favorite drama songs to date, so I'll just say the music is awsome.
REWATCH VALUE
I'll watch it again, for sure, but I don't feel an urge to do it right now.
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I feel the story as a whole is not very realistic, but for how everything was set up I thought it flowed pretty well, almost had me thinking something like this can actually happen.
The cast is what single handedly made this drama so great. The two leads had such great chemistry, their scenes together, whether it be funny, lovable or sad, always felt so sincere and real. The supporting cast was just as great. Xin Yi's family added that perfect comedic relief, same for the grandmother and assistant. Everyone was casted perfectly in my opinion.
I saw a few reviews complaining about how long this drama was and how things dragged but I didn't get that. Though this drama is 24 episodes long, I felt i got through the first 15 or so fairly quickly. 16 through 22 could be seen as dragged out episodes but to me the episodes flowed so well and complications lasted only a few episodes instead of 5 or more.
Music wasn't exactly in my taste, Mainly cutesy songs but the insert song by Walkie Talkie and their instrumentals really got you into whatever mood the drama had at that moment.
Overall, this is probably one of my favorite Taiwanese dramas to date. There was enough seriousness, a good punch of foolishness and of course cuteness from pretty much the whole cast. Would definitely recommend this to anyone who is considering (and would watch before the Korean Ver.) Such a great watch, extremely satisfied!
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This review may contain spoilers
All three versions were enjoyable. The original was the 2009 Taiwanese story listed as” You’re My Destiny” but I found the Eng. sub version under “Fated to Love You”. The Second repeat was the Korean drama in 2014 titled ”Fated to Love You”. Lastly, the Thai version is called “You’re my Destiny”.
Far too often in many of these dramas, scriptwriters seem to think more is better. It really isn’t. A well-crafted drama will carry the story without having to include multiple romances and numerous disasters. I know they want to put everything in the story to bring a wide and varying audience but like soup, if you add too many ingredients it becomes inedible.
Of the three, I found the Thai version to be the best. The story is much more realistic and flows naturally. You can see even from the beginning the Male leads internal conflict. He senses a connection to the FL but tries to logically push it away due to his constant love for his girlfriend who is off chasing her dream. His love slowly dwindles each time SF breaks her promises and he begins to love the FL because of her caring loving nature.
The first physical connection between the two main characters is probably the highlight of the original Taiwanese version. You can actually feel that sexual tension whereas the other two versions do the normal see them head under sheets wake up the next morning.
The 2014 Korean version I believe has the best acting although the ML can sometimes take his querpy persona a bit too far. I love Ester Supreelee and Bie Sukrit Wiserkaew in this Thai drama. The roles were almost picked for them. Ester has the insecure shy Nid down to a T and Bie plays his hard working business persona yet caring gentleman the best of the three actors.
The secondary actors are good as well but their story line varies from version to version. Their connection to the leads also differs due to the scripts intention. In the Thai version, I found the ML girlfriend to be more realistic in loving him but her focus was on dancing. Dancing is very rough physically on the body. The time a dancer can actually reach their peak is short so I can see this being believable. In all three versions, she is self-focused but more so in the Taiwanese drama to the point she will actually do something immoral to try to keep the ML.
The Secondary male lead on the other hand is selfless and giving. So many times I wanted to scream, “forget the lead and go for this guy! “ He is gorgeous and sweet…will do anything for the FL yet that spark just never flares to life. The Taiwanese SL is the most stern and is more like her teacher than a lover. The Korean SL is probably my favorite. The actor makes you really feel how much he loves her yet just wants her happiness.
China is making a new version. https://mydramalist.com/31762-you-are-my-destiny I were to give my advice, would be to keep that original oops love scene!! Do not throw so much into the story. Having more episodes is not a recipe for success. Stick to that which makes your viewers really feel a connection. Make the Lead strong enough to know when he is no longer in love with his girlfriend and move on not let it linger.
Highlights: Taiwanese: Opening love scene; ending scene. Could keep bad checkup results that seemed a different twist that was original yet touching. Please, do not add that grandma has a kid or the guys winding up in bed together…sigh. Everyone in your story having a partner is not necessary. Keep the story real unless you choose to make it a total comedy.
Korean: Acting is a highlight. Male lead strange behavior was a bit over the top but the story line behind the father leaving and the so-called second son…awesome. More background of the male lead made the story richer. While the ML takes longer to warm up to the female lead you understand because his love for his girlfriend has been has been since they were teens thus the deeper connection. This version hurts at certain points to the point of crying or screaming in frustration so get ready for a roller coaster ride but the ending is fantastic. I wish the Thai version had ended like this one.
Thai : Acting was great, story was believable . It was shorter than the other two but I felt great after watching it. There were painful moments but not to the point of that gut wrenching sadness. The main part I would change would be to skip the return to that fate childhood moment and add a moment with a child they had from their wedding night.
Music: Overall the Korean Fated to Love You Ost is by far the best. Fantastic songs that are haunting and beautiful. The Taiwan series has that comic style background music most of the time. The Thai version has Bie singing of course and is pretty good.
If you haven’t tried the Thai and Korean versions give them a try…they are definitely worth it!!
Thanks for reading!! ☺
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I saw this version and put it off a few years because I thought oh same story different actors and country.
When Legend of Fuyao was over I had to take in everything Ethan Raun has been in and hey I always liked the other version anyway.
I was really surprised. Although the story is similar it is not the same.
The acting in this version was even better. The emotion from both Ethan Juan and Joe Chen was great. This is not a faint of heart drama. You will remember this like you lived it yourself.
The quality of the sound is bad. The sets are ok. And some of the other acting is ok. But these 2 really deserve your watching.
I will always keep this in my top 20 drama list.
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All Time Favorite TWDrama
Story: It was the first time that I see a character about an unconfident lady as the female lead. It kinda remind me of some people I know. IT IS A MASTERPIECE! Because a lot of really unconfident people can relate to the character. The story is full of different perspectives, personalities of the characters and developed main and supporting roles. Everyone in this Drama has her or his own story to tell.If you understand the language it will touch your heart. Some lines in this drama are real lesson or what you will or want to hear in life. I CRIED and LAUGHED al lot.
It’s a comedy but also a very realistic well written story. Like the male lead, he is definitely a horrible person, screams a lot and is childish but you can understand because nobody is perfect. More characters are also very well written, developed with different perspective.
Acting: Joe Chen the female lead is a one of the best actress of Taiwan. She did a great job portraying her character as a unconfident lady, you can see it in the little details of her body language . The change between Chen Xin Yi and Elaine is very obvious and different. It’s amazing to see the growth and change.
Supporting roles are amazing! Everyone of the actors and actresses did justice to their roles. From the grandma, to the doctor even the dog acted AMAZING.
Music: the songs are meaningful and it played at the right timing with the scenes. When the female lead cried or when some horrible things is going to happen.
Rewatch value is hundred percent. It’s been 11 years since I first watched this drama. Almost every year I at least re- watch this drama one time. Everytime is a different understanding of the characters in this drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Funny and realistic
First I must say that I watched the Korean version first because it was more modern.Then I watched the The Legend of Fuyao and was impressed with the ML - Ethen Juan acting and how he was mischievous! Needless to say, I wanted to see him in another drama.
The starting of this drama give you an introduction to the cast. It also have some cheesy stuff but I kept watching...
The storyline was about a guy caught in a love triangle between his girlfriend who he really loves and the FL who he mistaken slept with.
What I got from this drama was one decision can changed your life and relationships and one must be careful to make decisions that will place value on their relationships.
The ML was great too in this. He was torn between the two ladies. He was unable to resolves his emotions and he was really great in showing his emotional struggles . It give you the sense that Males really goes through these struggles in real life. Especially when there are children involved.
I like that they didn't pen the second FL to be evil but they did show her weakness and why she did what she did
There are some cheesy joke but overall I found it super funny! They could have ended this drama at 20 because there was some unnecessary stuff there. I loved the ending too. I will rewatched some parts of it . Overall it's a drama worth watching.
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I haven't seen the Korean remake which I have heard is really good and has better reviews than the Taiwanese version. Maybe they will smooth out the rough edges on the Korean version. On the whole, Fated to love you is a good watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
I love this show so so much. Like it's so good and no one ever talks about it. The only thing I don't really like about this show is the twist towards the middle, however, I understand the relevance of it. I also felt like the whole show was misunderstanding and hatred that there was barley even any romance in it at all other than the beginning, the end, and the longing they both experienced during their two years apart. The actors did so well in their roles that I felt like I was literally watching someone's life play out in front of me. Was this review helpful to you?
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Superb chemistry let down by poor writing and directing
I started watching this drama out of boredom after I'd finished the Korean remake. To be honest, I wasn't too enthusiastic about watching it because the leads seemed like an odd fit based on promotional photos and thumbnails. To my great surprise, their chemistry stole my heart in a big way. The two leads connect so well they make a cliché-ridden story compelling and heartfelt. But the unnecessarily slapstick, stretched out second half prevents this from being anything better than average. The direction and writing are slipshod and competency in those areas could've made this a much better, less dated drama. Ultimately, if you view this as a live action Cinderella cartoon (where Prince Charming is initially a dickhead, and the Fairy Godmother disguises herself as Cinderella's alternative suitor), this drama is a lot of fun.Pros:
1. Chemistry! Chen Qiao En and Ethan Ruan were fire together. I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but they have the best chemistry out of all the leads in all the versions of this drama, and dare I say, out of all their romantic pairings? Ethan is great at making heart eyes at Qiao En. Qiao En, on the other hand, conveys the silent pain of what we initially believe is one-sided love (What a pleasant surprise it is to learn it isn't) really well. How I wish they would reunite in a swoony romance soon, something more mature and profound now that they're in their forties - but alas, they probably won't.
2. Great acting by Lin Mei Hsiu: Lin Mei Hsiu was the standout performer. She plays the overbearing but ultimately loving mother so well. I love the scene where she confronts Cunxi. There's a reason why she's such a well-loved veteran in the TW industry and the Chinese industry at large.
3. Raw emotions: The remakes are technically superior but this version is much more heartfelt. Every single emotion is palpable.
Neutral:
1. Acting in general: While the two leads are great at acting out the being in love part as well as the angst, their performances on the whole could have been much better. While Ethan Ruan excels at being swoony and tender, he tends to overact in funny scenes and is a bit too shouty for my liking. He also looks quite strange in the crying scenes, almost funny, but to be fair, I think that's how Ethan Ruan actually cries, having seen him in his critically well-regarded movies Paradise in Service and Monga. Qiao En gives a more balanced performance but I do think there were a lot of scenes where she could've shown more variations and nuances in her expressions. Also, she does this weird whining thing which I've seen many other Taiwan actresses do (haven't seen Mainland actresses doing it, so it's probably a regional thing). Baron Chen is gorgeous but quite lacking in charisma and has zero chemistry with Qiao En, so I can't ship Dylan with Xinyi in spite of his great qualities (I think I would have had Ethan played Dylan). Bianca Bai looks the part but her character is deeply annoying and her suffering seems to be a ploy for attention. Supporting actors are hammy, as they tend to be in old idol dramas from TW.
Cons:
1. Awful direction: continuity errors, goofs, weird camera angles. I wish they'd hired the director of either ISWAK, Autumn's Concerto or My Queen.
2. Equally bad writing: soooo many logic lapses, characters acting strangely, corny slapstick. The writers added too many unnecessary obstacles in the path of true love in the second half of the drama. There was absolutely no need for Cunxi to agree to get engaged to Anna especially when he knew he was in love with Chen Xinyi. I do understand why he'd agreed to marry her, since he felt guilty about ruining her career as a dancer, and she, being the expert emotional manipulator she was, made sure to remind him ALL the time. But I do think the story could have progressed without them getting engaged. I know I'm digressing here, and this review is getting too long and rambling, but I'm thinking of a very famous drama from my homeland. The male lead (let's call him A) in this drama too is forced to marry a woman he neither knew nor had anything in common with. Of course, they end up falling madly in love (although here, they confess their feelings to each other and share several romantic moments) before the machinations of the villain force them to split. I ADORED how they showed the angst felt by A. The torture mixed with longing painted on his face whenever someone mentioned his lost love was glorious to watch. They could've attempted something similar here. They just showed montages of Cunxi looking sad and missing her but I think they should have had an entire episode where they showed him in the throes of longing, self-loathing and pain. A doesn't remarry. He doesn't start a relationship with anyone either. It's like he's dead from inside, unable to love anymore. I know FTLY is a romcom and not a flat-out melo, but Cunxi could've been honest with Anna.
Similarly, the Anna suicide plot, the kidnapping plot, and the faking blindness plot were all unnecessary. It was as the writers added these obstacles just for the sake of adding them. In my opinion, the main two obstacles i.e. Ji Cunxi's bad behaviour and the baby's death were enough. That's the thing about commercial dramas: once their makers see them succeeding, they stretch them out like taffy and end up harming the product. Xinyi and Cunxi should have sat down and had a nice long chat where Cunxi apologizes for his shitty behavior and reaffirms his love for her and Chen Xinyi tells him what she wants from a relationship with him once the misunderstanding about the abortion document was cleared in episode 19. The remaining episodes should've been them being cute together, settling into married life and becoming new parents.
3. Poor production values: It looks extremely dated for a drama released in 2008. Just to put it in context, It Started With a Kiss came out in 2005 and Coffee Prince came out in 2007, and both look more modern than FTLY. Even in HD the quality of the visuals is quite poor. The styling choices for Xinyi and Dylan are awful. IMO, Xinyi looks far more beautiful in her Sticky Note phase.
In defense of Ji Cunxi:
Based on the comments here and on other websites, a lot of people seem to dislike Cunxi and favor Dylan. I get where they're coming from but I think he's misunderstood. His uncertainty regarding whom he loves in the first half does make sense. Imagine you've been infatuated with someone for three years, for the longest time you thought the two of you would be *endgame* and out of nowhere you make an unfathomable mistake, your past life is upended and you're forced to pretend to be with a stranger. I do understand why he felt resentful and clung forcefully to the past. When he finds himself developing feelings for this strange new girl, who is so far removed from the world he occupies, he tries to dismiss them. Of course, the situation gets more complicated when Anna returns and he's in this state of guilt and confusion and he deals with it in the worst possible way and this of course sets off a chain of events that culminates in Xinyi's miscarriage.
I've also seen people in the comments call Cunxi unsupportive compared to Dylan and Lee Gun. I don't agree at all. He arranges pottery classes for her as part of her alimony. He would have definitely supported her artistic ambitions had she not ceased communicating with him after her miscarriage. Also, he constantly sends her words of admiration and encouragement as Mr Z. I wanted to strangle him in episodes 10, 11 and 12, but if you think about it, Chen Xinyi does extract revenge in the episode where she stuffs him in a barrel and kicks it off a hill.
Also, he seems like an angel compared to the male leads of two of the most popular idol dramas from TW (Kiss series and Autumn's Concerto). At least he seems to learn from his mistakes, while Zhi Shu's standoffishness never seems to fade much and Guangxi's behaviour is occasionally criminal. I think the writer was also inspired from Kim Samsoon while writing his character as well as the arc with the disappearing girlfriend but Cunxi is a much more likable character.
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