Not for everyone

I really wanted to like this, believe me. Five episodes in, heck, TEN episodes in, I was convinced this would be the next big cdrama that would be talked about for ages. It was still a 10/10 for me then. But now I've miraculously finished and I feel like an 8/10 is already quite generous.

The good things first.

> Acting was without question, probably the BEST thing this drama has to offer. Every actor gave it everything they got and what I couldn't understand from pure dialogue, I understood from their eyes, demeanors, and attitudes. I have to praise Hu Ge for his acting as Mr. Bao in particular, as well as Ma Yili as Ling Zi. I enjoyed their acting the most. Li Li was a frustrating one for me, but that's probably because Xin Zhilei was just doing her job! There are also many other side characters such as the waitresses from the restaurants on Huang He Road, the cigarette stand owner, Mr. Bao's friend group, etc, who are lovely to watch. Mr. Fan also gets a special shoutout for being so humorous! 10/10

> The music took me back to the bygone era of Chinese rock in the 80s. These were the songs my parents had listened to, and songs they played for me growing up. I've seen on the net that netizens felt like the music was also reminiscent of Hong Kong movies from the past and I fully agree with that. This really puts you in the right headspace of Shanghai during China's reform and opening up. But I have to admit that by the end of it, it felt like it was just the same three songs playing over and over again. I wish there was more variety. 9/10

> I wish that cinematography got its own category in the MDL ratings because this would also score highly. I'd give it a 10/10 if there weren't just a little too many scenes that were too dark. Otherwise, the saturation and COLOR bring a great nostalgic factor to this drama. It just feels like one looooong Wong Kar-wai film. 9/10

> Story: I really really really love that this drama gave the spotlight to such a unique time period of China's modern history. It's also a realistic telling of what ordinary Shanghainese were going through and what the place looked like during economic reform. I thought it was historical fiction at first (which I guess is still true). Most characters also had GREAT character development, like Mr. Fan and most of the women leads. I rooted for them the most. Shoutout to Mr. Bao's friend group - they were perfect for showing the Shanghai culture of banter and family. They carried the Shanghai social culture for this drama, 100%.

> Characters: I read in another review that they liked that these characters weren't one-dimensional. I have to agree on that point. These people were as realistic as it got. The good guys had dark sides and the bad guys had.. well, they weren't all bad. In fact I wouldn't even go as far to say that there were "good" or "bad" people. They were all just PEOPLE. Good or bad only comes from what's shown in the drama and what's relevant to the plot. Economic reform begs societal change and I loved to see these characters adapt to challenges, emotional or monetary or both. Again, I absolutely adored Ma Yili as Ling Zi. She is my spirit animal! The other female characters are all commendable as well. Character development did not escape minor characters either. I'm happy to see them struggle to find themselves in business and work for THEMSELVES. Female empowerment <3
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Now onto the reasons I say that this drama isn't for everyone...

> Romance: I feel like it's my responsibility to warn you that this drama will disappoint you in the romance department. Trust me. It's better you know this before going in because I made the same mistake. Wikipedia listed Romance and Period Drama as the genres and I got my hopes up. Don't be like me. Do not get your hopes up. You will appreciate knowing this "spoiler" before you get emotionally invested! They should not have marketed this as a romance either because now I have to dock more points. (Minor minor spoiler: Mr. Bao, literally out of NOWHERE, seems to have the most interest in X with no reason at all. Let me just say he has the worst taste in women, if we can even call it "taste"...) The little bits of romance that exists have no rhyme or reason in my opinion. Romance was done so badly.

> It is heavily business-related. In fact, it's 90% about business and Mr. Bao's clever plans to outwit his competitors. If that's your cup of tea, you'll love this. If it's not, and minimal business talk gets you woozy in other dramas, maybe don't tune into this one. While I like how clever he is, I appreciate wittiness more in the form of social consequences, like in The Story of Yanxi Palace. I don't really sympathize with the money folks - it just feels like legalized gambling to me. While there were some moments where I was on the edge of my seat, I definitely prefer romance to business.

> My bone to pick with this story nearly 100% has to do with Mr. Bao. And it's hard to find *any* bone to pick with this guy because he truly is the most righteous and "good" person in this drama. Unfortunately, as the male lead, he's also at the center of all the romance troubles and like I said, there is virtually no romance. You can see why I'm frustrated with him. Although he does right by all the women at his side, he cannot and does not satisfy them in the way they want him to, and as the audience, my heart breaks for them. You have been warned!

> PACING: Oh my lord, what the hell was this pacing. I haven't read the book and I really don't have the desire to either so I'm just at a loss at how they split the book up. What even was this ending? There was maybe a bit of a slow start but things started picking up by episode 10 and it was a pretty smooth ride to episode 20. Then it was just a SLOG with new characters and reappearances of some old ones and I just found myself losing interest. (Mostly because of the lack of romance.) One of the main characters even straight up disappeared for about five episodes! Like what is happening? I pushed myself episode by episode hoping for this person to come back (and they did, thank god) but by then, I had lost hope for them to have an ending that does them any justice because there were only a few episodes left. Then the last episode just crammed everything in, without even proper closure for my favorite character. Just a complete mess with the timing.

> Rewatch? Even if it came out again with English subs, I don't think I'd dedicate so much of my time to this again. Maybe just to fully understand the business dealings but certainly not for his relationships, or lack thereof.
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OVERALL

> Outside of my gripe with the complete mess they made with the romance, I appreciate the aesthetic quality of the drama and the story. The title makes a lot of sense by the time you finish the drama and I guess I can say it was bittersweet. This had so much more potential and because I haven't read the book, I don't know which is to blame.

> There really is much to like about this drama. The characters are interesting and multifaceted. The story is pretty strong. The aesthetics were fantastic.

> Rounded up, 8/10.

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Action, romance, comedy, family- THIS HAS EVERYTHING

You would think that with a drama as ambitious as this one to cover all grounds of what makes a good drama a good drama, it would lose itself somewhere in the epicness and spiral out of control. Spoiler alert- it doesn’t. It just gets more and more and more awesome.

Admittedly, the first half is pretty slow, as others have mentioned, but patience is nothing but a virtue. The explosion when the main leads (finally) get together is well worth the wait- and I appreciated the way their relationship progressed at its own pace.

The HUMOR, by the way, is something I don’t see talked about enough. This is possibly the FUNNIEST historical drama I have ever watched, and it comes from ALL the characters, not just the token funny guy (though this has that too). The paternal grandma Cheng is just too funny, despite all her shortcomings.

The portrayal of family that comes mainly from the relationship (or lack thereof) between Shaoshang and her mother is an emotional one. I cried SO many times over it because it was so damn relatable and it wouldn’t stop hurting. It’s honest and raw and doesn’t show any mercy. On the other hand, her father is an absolute gem. Her brothers, as well, are amazing.

Chemistry between the two leads are off the freaking charts. You’ll get to it in part 2 ;)

Anyway, I’m gonna go finish the rest of part 2 and come back to finish this review later if I remember to! Toodles!! (All you need to know is that THIS is the 2022 cdrama for me!)

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This one is an insane tear-jerker but also belly-acher

This movie has EVERYTHING.

It made me laugh and made me cry SO many times over just the one and a half hours. My mom cried. My brother cried. It was a crying fest in the theater I was in. No one left their seats until the ending credits were over because of how we were still reeling from our emotions.

The characters made me just fall in love with them and their story. The acting is INCREDIBLE, especially from the little girl. She’s just adorable and thinking of her makes me tear up again lol. Her precious relationship with her father teaches us so many things about what we should be grateful for in life- namely love, life itself, and each other.

Being Chinese, the English title didn’t make sense to me until I watched the movie because the direct translation of the Chinese title 人生大事 is “The Big(gest) Thing In Life.” But “Lighting Up The Stars” makes so much sense and I don’t think I could come up with a better title.

The delve into Sichuan culture specifically was also heartwarming to see on the big screen. I don’t often get to watch Chinese movies so it was really a treat to get to hear the Sichuan accent/dialect and catch a glimpse of life there.

As an ABC, this movie was everything to me. It gave me a peek into a life I would never live, but also made me reflect on the life I DO live.

10/10 on everything. Acting, music, story, production. This one gets all the stars.

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No frills, no fuss, only pure and sincere love!!!!

If you’re like me and need a drama to wind down on after a long day at work, this is the one. It’s exciting enough to keep you engaged, yet not too emotionally draining for you to not get out of bed the next morning.

There are so many sweet scenes in this one, but just as many serious and important ones without which Sang Zhi and Jiaxu’s love would not be as strong. Sang Zhi shares joint MVP with Jiaxu for me in this one because they’re BOTH green flags. The greenest of green. This is what a healthy relationship with great communication, understanding, and trust looks like. The two have amazing chemistry!

Zhao Lusi never disappoints I fear. I’ve only seen Our Secrets from Chen Zheyuan and he is no slouch either. Together, they created something wonderful, safe, beautiful, and warm for all of us to enjoy on our saddest and happiest days.

The music is honestly pretty great too!

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So effing sweet... I watched this all STRAIGHT THROUGH

The age gap was a little "hmm... does he really have to be 36?" but I got over it pretty soon. And it's only because he's 36 that he's able to handle all the missteps with maturity. The female lead acts true to her age and it was interesting to see these two clash a little bit due to that (but also love and mesh really well together).

I watched this straight through. No stops. No interruptions. I did order food and eat it (while watching of course) but that was it. The best way I've messed up my sleep schedule, I won't lie. The only other drama I remember binging in its entirety is Ancient Love Poetry.

This is a drama that won't disappoint! I love Zhao Lusi but man, the male lead made me fall for him a little bit too! So freaking sweet watching them fall in love and fight for that love.

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Best youth drama, EVER!

I'm not going to pretend that I'm an expert on dramas as I'm sure many of you out there have certainly watched more shows than I have but as someone who's casually watched Korean dramas and Chinese dramas for the past few years, I can confidently say that this is indeed the BEST YOUTH DRAMA I HAVE EVER WATCHED. EVER.

The casting is spot on and each character plays their part PERFECTLY. I think they're mostly rookie actors but they did their best and the acting, though certainly not Oscar worthy, fit the drama extremely well.

As the synopsis says, this is a drama that tells the stories of five very different friends as they navigate their last year of high school in China. And it did it very well. There's the stress of the gaokao, the burden of financial problems, the loyalty amongst friends, the bond between teacher and students, family issues, and of course, some good ol' romance.

What was especially refreshing was the male lead. He's, surprise surprise, not some cold and arrogant CEO, not a bully to the girl he likes, and not a shitty guy to his friends or classmates. I really liked seeing a wholesome male lead for once in these dramas. The female lead was the most relatable character for me and I admired her so much. She's genuinely a positive role model for a lot of young kids out there. Not to mention their other three friends.

Maybe you've yet to experience what they have as 17 and 18 year olds or maybe you've already experienced that or maybe you're experiencing that right now. But I'm sure you'll end up seeing your youth in a positive light-- whether you're reminiscing it, anticipating it, or living through it right now.

You'll smile, you'll laugh, and you'll cry. But you're going to love every single moment of it. I can swear on it.

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Not bad at all, satisfying ending

I started watching this show based on a friend's recommendation and a few episodes in, I came to MDL to see what the folks here were thinking. Somebody said that the middle of the show was boring and that worried me because I was approaching the middle of the show but I soon realized that that wasn't a problem for me.

Rather, it wasn't boring to me. I thought it was interesting and well-paced. There were setups needed for later and I liked all the planning that went into this. It's not the most complicated storyline ever but it was fun to see these characters uncover secrets and exact their revenge. It's not as good as The Count of Monte Cristo, the most classic of the classics as far as revenge stories go, but it holds its own.

I'm also usually big on romance but I found the subtle hints of romance here suitable and extremely fitting for the vibes and characters of the drama.

Overall, I'd recommend this for a weekend watch. It's fun, interesting, and plays with the idea of justice and power. These characters are interesting and new and fresh. I think you'll enjoy this show.

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Wholesome and Heartwarming Romance

I'm actually quite surprised this drama doesn't have an overall higher rating on MDL. I think it should average at about 8.2 AT LEAST.

What really turned me away from kdramas for a while was how I just was not coming across true love stories that were just pure and actually full of love. This is probably the only one I've watched, that I can think of, with such a beautiful and strong bond between the main leads. This is the kind of love that does not leave you questioning at the end. There is no doubt in my mind how much they actually love each other.

The two leads were MADE for each other. MADE, I'm telling you. None of that misunderstanding nonsense that drags on for episodes. These characters get to the point and actually communicate and it is so gosh darn refreshing to watch! The acting is superb as well, and I'm genuinely so impressed by the leads. Kim Rae Won played the gentle and charismatic male lead so freaking well, as did Park Shin Hye. They were so convincing on screen and the chemistry was so incredibly cute! There are many touching moments between the two, and cheesy ones, but everything just makes sense. I can't even nitpick anything about their relationship. I really can't!

This really is a drama that's slice-of-life, like Hospital Playlist. Honestly, if I'd watched this earlier when it'd first aired, I'd probably be thinking that Doctors walked so HP could run lol. The script for this drama actually impressed me in a couple of episodes (like I had to PAUSE the video and sit and think about how great the script was) and I had to admit that it was genuinely good writing. Being a medical drama, there are also many heartwarming scenes of patients and interactions with their doctors. I guess the only thing I can nitpick about this is how choppy some of the appearances of these patients are. What happened to the Congressman? I wish they could've stuck to the traditional, let's wrap up minor patient stories within the episode, or two episodes. Sometimes they introduce patients at the end of an episode and don't bring them up again for a while and then you're just left wondering what the hell happened in the middle. Or some longer term patients just pop up randomly for a few minutes an episode, or even not appear at all, so it's a game of Guess Who sometimes.

Patients are so important to this story though, and the integration of these real people with mundane lives (like those of us who are watching the drama), brought a smile to my face. This drama doesn't shy away from hard hitting topics like orphans, abandonment, trust issues, suicide, depression, etc. There's a lot in the 20 episodes. And it's all painfully realistic. We don't even have a clear cut villain. We really just have a more-or-less regular guy who seems to be evil because he fucks up something related to our main leads. It's just like real life.

If you're gonna watch this though, watch it for the love story. It's so fucking beautiful because it's so REAL. There's something fairytale about it, but a lot of it is what adults actually go through with the person they love. It's about sacrifice, communication, and commitment. Beautifully done. Excellently cast. I wish I had watched this one sooner. (Kim Rae Won really has a chokehold on me!)

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The good and the bad, but mostly good!

Honestly, I really liked this drama!

My biggest problem with it was probably the pacing. The pacing near the end was really off because the big issue the drama had built up was resolved quite abruptly, not to mention we never learn of Hanbada's CEO's issue with Tae Su-mi lol. Like WHY? What's the hate about? I also don't really understand Jun-ho's existence. He wasn't really a big part of the drama despite being the male lead interest, which maybe was the point? But you'd expect him to really help with Young-woo's character development which didn't really happen. There was *slight* growth, but really not a whole lot. I appreciated her finally making it through the revolving door though lol, which I understand is supposed to be symbolic, but looking at the drama as a whole, it unfortunately didn't really end up symbolizing much character growth.

As for good things, literally everything else. Music was awesome, the appearance of whales every now and then, the script, the casting. I loved all the side characters! Character growth for Min-woo was satisfying to see, especially considering how gray he was in many of the early episodes. You could never tell if he was a good or bad guy lol! Glad to see him grow into a good guy under Suyeon's awesome influence. You couldn't ask for better wingwomen than Suyeon and Geurami!

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