Totoro
Western Europe
The story starts out interesting, and to be fair, it had a lot of interesting ideas in it. A lot as in: too much. I always find it a bit painful when I realise what a show could have been, if it was just executed differently. There where some good plots started, but it all felt like 'so much to do, so little time'.
I did not really feel the romance in the story. To not reveal too much, lets speak of boy A and boy B.
I do understand why boy A liked her, because there is some development and some logic to it. I know love isn't always logic, but still. And to me it felt like boy B just out of the blue decided he loved her too.
And the boy she starts a relationship with.. arg... he just goes for it like: bang! I can appreciate that there is some action and he knows what he wants. But to me it felt like he nearly forced her into a relation she wasn't sure of she wanted anyway. I would have felt really pressured and uncomfortable. Isn't there something in between the 'I can't say my feelings' and 'you showed some interest, now you are mine until death do us part'.
And then the girl herself, she is a totally different story: make up your mind lady! The plot just keeps switching and switching and in the end it didn't feel like the choice was actually made...
The parts where she is 'writing her novel' were plain boring. I honestly think this whole subplot could have been erased. It was there that the acting was the most awful and the wigs made it even worse. To me it symbolized what a horrible story she actually must have writing, because the plot she wrote was worse than the plot(s) the actual drama had. Thankfully she had a change of career!
The Gumiho part was a nice twist, but it did make the story more confusing and forced in its plot.
There was only one scene I laughed. And it was a scene where she was crying. Because, you know... one of the boys she liked said he liked her like a little brother! (and not like a girl like she wanted).
Dear Bunny (horrible nickname), if you dress up like a boy, act like a boy, say you are a boy.. you can't expect straight boys to fall in love with you and develop feelings for you other than that of a brother or a friend. The rare exceptions who do develop feelings are what I said they are: rare.
I love the idea of people falling in love no matter there gender. But a straight boy normally doesn't feel attracted to another boy. And if he did say he was attracted to you, you would have a completely different problem: what if he only likes boys and he finds out you are a girl...
Anyway.
The music. Uhmm.. I just watched the last episode and I can't remember it. But it didn't bother me, so that's a pro.
I somewhat enjoyed watching it. But that is not enough. I normally love gender-benders! This one.. well.. this one was just there. I started really enthusiastic, watched it, got a little bored, skipped a little, watched again, felt confused, felt more confused, felt confused but also a bit amused by the confusion and then I was relieved the ending was there, because I couldn't take any more episodes, but at the same time I realised it should have had a few more to just explain all the story lines, and... well.. you understand.
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I liked the series. I remember it as easy to watch, with a lot of funny moments. If you are looking for sophisticated humour, you're in the wrong place, it is more of the slapstick kind.
The mother was a great character, but I loved Saul (Li Ya Shou) the most. He was very cute. Lei Sheng Da was quite nice too.
The acting is not great, but I had the feeling it was somewhat done on purpose. It was just the typical overacting you see in more of the Chinese drama's.
If you are looking for something light and funny, with a bit of gender-bender and cute romance this is a series for you. Be aware that there is a love triangle (I know a lot of people are getting sick of those).
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This review may contain spoilers
***** SPOILER ALERT! Even though I won't be revealing exact details, I did write down some parts of the story line. If you want to watch it without having any hint about the plot development, you should not read this review. *****
I'm not much of a Chinese drama viewer. I watched a few and I liked them, but I skip most of them. However, I'm a sucker for time travel and romance stories. When I saw the drama description and the good grade it got, I decided to give it a chance.
And before I know it I watched everything in one go. The story was so fluent.. I just couldn't stop watching. Like Ruoxi, I feel like I've been flashed back in time and lived a whole lifetime there.
I did never get completely used to the haircuts and clothing. I do understand it is because of historical context, but it still was an eyesore.
The hairstyles of the men where just plain ugly. And the hairstyles of the women reminded me a lot of times of Minnie Mouse. The women's clothing was also not to my liking. I absolutely adore the old Korean clothing, but these Chinese clothing just freaks me out. Throughout the drama I was thinking: how could people dress themselves this way? But don't let it keep you away from the actual story. It does say something that I had problems with digesting the fashion sense of this drama, but still was loving the characters.
The story is like a journey that sweeps you away. It is just in one word: complete. The acting is superb. I wouldn't rewatch it, at least not for some years, because I would not be able to watch the beginning with as much happiness as before.
Character development was awesome.
Every 'new year' you could feel de maturing, but at the same time darkening of the Ruoxi and the princes. There are a lot of big time jumps, but it works for the story. To be honest, I think it made it even better. The passing of time is a topic much mentioned in this series. Time passes so quick and with the jumps it feels even more so.
The burden Ruoxi caries is very big, but she isn't able to really share her story -even though she mentions it one time to 13 and also one time to 4-. And that makes it even more tragic. Ruoxi wanted to love and give, but even though she was cherished in return, she was never able to truly give herself completely. And in the end she was blaming herself for everything. Not to mention: all this time she had no idea if her real body was still alive, if she would return one day, what happened to the original Ruoxi, ...
There are no real bad guys in this drama. Even Ruoxi isn't always a nice heroine. Though overall she means well, she does willingly make some decisions that hurt others a lot. But that is the feel of the whole story. Everyone means well, wants to do good.. but that doesn't mean they make good decisions, or that everything turns out the way they meant it to be.
I did wish for Ruoxi and the princes that it all would have turned out different. But love is not rational. And Ruoxi is just too damn smart and caring for her own good. If she would have been dumb, she would have loved another man, married him and probably lived quite a pleasant live (for at least some time). But how can you blame her decisions when you know her feelings, sense and knowledge... and the struggle she is having with them. She comes from a society where she can take care of herself, but soon realizes that she now is within strict limits. Going away would have meant hard labour or no food. Fate won't let her die: and to be honest, it is not easy to kill yourself when you cling to life so dearly. She is a true survivor after all, just trying to make the best of it.
A lot of drama's have sad endings that leave me angry and frustrated. The persons separate or die because of certain decisions they made, but the decisions and hardship feels forced or unnecessary.
Even though this drama was filled with pain and suffering, it felt real. I could completely relate to why characters did certain things, even though I would sometimes have done it differently myself. And in the end it was just all about true love, friendship and passion.
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The music was really good. It was making the mood more exciting and fitted very well. There was even a little part that reminded me of the Godfather.
So, should you watch this? Absolutely! This is a series I would recommend to a lot of people. It has a nice balance and interesting plot, that makes it great material for a broad public. It is something both sexes will enjoy.
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Eternal Happiness is a gender-bender romance, but the other plots are just as important.
Some of the minor characters overacted a bit, or were lacking in skills, but the main characters were good actors.
The story gets more and more complicated, but is nicely tied up in the end. I was not able to guess from the first few episodes who she would end up with or where the story would take us next.
I would not rewatch it in the near future. The series did give me a lot of laughs, but not as many as My Bratty Princess (from which I still have tummy aches).
The music was okay. After 32 episodes it tends to stick with you. Maybe it would be different if I would understand what they were singing.
It is a series you can watch with your family: enjoyable, funny, lots of plotlines and nice ending. The romance is there, but it did not make my heart ache.
If you want to read more of my thoughts on this series, please read my full review: http://reviewasianseries.com/reviews/eternal-happiness/ Reviewers need love too ;).
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