1
Hyukfied
Perfect Off The Path Drama From Your Typical Idol Drama.
if you're serious about acting, non-idol dramas, and slice of life genres of the old days, this is the drama to go for.
Romance in the Alley focuses mainly on two neighboring families through hardships and growth. Personally, this is my cup of tea, albeit the 70s-80s Chinese household policies were quite confusing to me.
With that aside, I love watching what the 70s and 80s of China would've looked like, and loved it when they gave us a glimpse of the 90s. The hairstyle, fashion, and environment change tickled my brain. ^^
The acting of the veterans were superb.Everyone felt natural and embodies their characters well. I particularly really enjoyed watching Song Yi and Ms. Ling's sisterly bond. Also how realistic they were towards certain neighbors LOL.
Initially, Zhaung Tu Nan(Fan Cheng Cheng) had a more reserved, studious role as the eldest in his family. I thought Fan Cheng Cheng's acting was quite good because the actor himself is typically loud mouth, and unserious. The actor's personality is the exact opposite. Suddenly, he brought back a bit of Fan Cheng Cheng in him in Tu Nan's adult years and it just threw me off course. This wasn't the Tu Nan I watched growing up. o.O Granted, people can change but I can see the awkwardness of Fann Cheng Cheng in the character, Tu Nan. It's difficult to explain, but it eventually felt like Fan Cheng Cheng was being himself and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Overall, his acting was passable, this was my first drama of his. He just needs to work on it imo. Unfortunately, his love line was pretty short and it really disappointed me. I was expecting more between Tu Nan and Li Jia (Lu Yu Xiao) but it just didn't go the way I was I hope it'd go.
Wang An Yu's character, Lin Dong Zhe, is for comedic purposes and boy was he a rebel kid and annoying. LOL At around 8-9 years old, the kid wouldn't stop complaining, butting himself in places he shouldn't be, or crying. I was so fed up with him. Wang did a great job maturing his character into a more responsible adult. He still embody the mischievous personality of his character and acted quite well. I believe this was my second drama of his and he improved a lot.
Zhuang Xiao Ting played by Guan Xiao Tong. Tong acting was okay. For a child actress, I kind of expected her acting to be really good but her crying scenes were cringe if I'm being honest, but other than that everything else was pretty good. she also embody her character quite well, there was a smooth transition between her and the child actresses.
The connection between Zhuang Xiao Ting and Lin Dong Zhe was adorable. Usually people don't like it when two characters grew up to be together because of the sisterly-britherly bond. However, the gradual feelings for one another was very natural that you can not help but be supportive of the childhood sweethearts.
Li Jia (Lu Yu Xiao) is a confusing character. one minute she likes Tu Nan then she flakes. Understandably, she believes that she needs to find a specific significant other and Tu Nan wasn't checking it off. Granted, all of it was due to family pressure and it is quite relatable in Chinese society. This drama didn't really showcase Lu Yu Xiao's acting ability as she's barely in it so I don't have much to say.
Speaking of Chinese society, this drama touches upon many Chinese family topics that we suffer from today. The eldest baring all the responsibility, and being expected to take care of all their family members disregarding whether or not it's a selfish request. The expectation of being the perfect child, studying well, having a good future is what all parents expect.Of course, not all kids ended up following what their parents expected of them and I like how realistic it is. Some kids weren't able to fulfill their wishes because of the financial status which was disheartening to watch.
The youngest being in the shadows of their older siblings. Favoritism.
Family drama always end up spreading everywhere nobody how low your voice was.
The acting kind and polite but is the opposite personality really speaks to me because I don't like those kind of people. And I've experience these kinds of people in my own family.
Anyhow, I love that the drama showcase their financial struggles, and difficulties caring for their children, and juggling crazy family members. Extremely relatable imo.
Overall this drama was one of the rare dramas that's off the beaten path, a drama not many cdrama fans would enjoy or look at today because it's not xianxia, wuxia, modern romance, nor is it historical romance.
Its a historical family, and slice of life drama.
if you watched The Bond, which I have thoroughly enjoyed and one of my favorites, then this drama is for you!
Romance in the Alley focuses mainly on two neighboring families through hardships and growth. Personally, this is my cup of tea, albeit the 70s-80s Chinese household policies were quite confusing to me.
With that aside, I love watching what the 70s and 80s of China would've looked like, and loved it when they gave us a glimpse of the 90s. The hairstyle, fashion, and environment change tickled my brain. ^^
The acting of the veterans were superb.Everyone felt natural and embodies their characters well. I particularly really enjoyed watching Song Yi and Ms. Ling's sisterly bond. Also how realistic they were towards certain neighbors LOL.
Initially, Zhaung Tu Nan(Fan Cheng Cheng) had a more reserved, studious role as the eldest in his family. I thought Fan Cheng Cheng's acting was quite good because the actor himself is typically loud mouth, and unserious. The actor's personality is the exact opposite. Suddenly, he brought back a bit of Fan Cheng Cheng in him in Tu Nan's adult years and it just threw me off course. This wasn't the Tu Nan I watched growing up. o.O Granted, people can change but I can see the awkwardness of Fann Cheng Cheng in the character, Tu Nan. It's difficult to explain, but it eventually felt like Fan Cheng Cheng was being himself and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Overall, his acting was passable, this was my first drama of his. He just needs to work on it imo. Unfortunately, his love line was pretty short and it really disappointed me. I was expecting more between Tu Nan and Li Jia (Lu Yu Xiao) but it just didn't go the way I was I hope it'd go.
Wang An Yu's character, Lin Dong Zhe, is for comedic purposes and boy was he a rebel kid and annoying. LOL At around 8-9 years old, the kid wouldn't stop complaining, butting himself in places he shouldn't be, or crying. I was so fed up with him. Wang did a great job maturing his character into a more responsible adult. He still embody the mischievous personality of his character and acted quite well. I believe this was my second drama of his and he improved a lot.
Zhuang Xiao Ting played by Guan Xiao Tong. Tong acting was okay. For a child actress, I kind of expected her acting to be really good but her crying scenes were cringe if I'm being honest, but other than that everything else was pretty good. she also embody her character quite well, there was a smooth transition between her and the child actresses.
The connection between Zhuang Xiao Ting and Lin Dong Zhe was adorable. Usually people don't like it when two characters grew up to be together because of the sisterly-britherly bond. However, the gradual feelings for one another was very natural that you can not help but be supportive of the childhood sweethearts.
Li Jia (Lu Yu Xiao) is a confusing character. one minute she likes Tu Nan then she flakes. Understandably, she believes that she needs to find a specific significant other and Tu Nan wasn't checking it off. Granted, all of it was due to family pressure and it is quite relatable in Chinese society. This drama didn't really showcase Lu Yu Xiao's acting ability as she's barely in it so I don't have much to say.
Speaking of Chinese society, this drama touches upon many Chinese family topics that we suffer from today. The eldest baring all the responsibility, and being expected to take care of all their family members disregarding whether or not it's a selfish request. The expectation of being the perfect child, studying well, having a good future is what all parents expect.Of course, not all kids ended up following what their parents expected of them and I like how realistic it is. Some kids weren't able to fulfill their wishes because of the financial status which was disheartening to watch.
The youngest being in the shadows of their older siblings. Favoritism.
Family drama always end up spreading everywhere nobody how low your voice was.
The acting kind and polite but is the opposite personality really speaks to me because I don't like those kind of people. And I've experience these kinds of people in my own family.
Anyhow, I love that the drama showcase their financial struggles, and difficulties caring for their children, and juggling crazy family members. Extremely relatable imo.
Overall this drama was one of the rare dramas that's off the beaten path, a drama not many cdrama fans would enjoy or look at today because it's not xianxia, wuxia, modern romance, nor is it historical romance.
Its a historical family, and slice of life drama.
if you watched The Bond, which I have thoroughly enjoyed and one of my favorites, then this drama is for you!
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