Ever read a fanfiction written by a twelve-year-old whose biggest concept of conflict is that she doesn’t have a boyfriend even though she’s only twelve? Now, imagine if this twelve-year-old had rich parents who paid for the most top-notch cinematography in order to make this fanfiction into a television production. And there you have it; this is what Long For You felt like from beginning to end.
I’ll give the production crew props for such pretty promotional posters and consistently beautiful shots throughout the drama. I genuinely appreciate their efforts in presentation which frequently resulted in brilliant results. But "don't judge a book by its cover" gets a whole new kind of importance in this show's context.
The story was absolute crap. That MDL has this listed as related to You Who Came from the Stars is an absolute insult to the Korean drama industry. I didn’t even like that drama as much as most people did, but I can still say with utmost confidence that You Who Came from the Stars would mop the floor with Long For You any day of the week. Aside from similar plot elements, you can’t even begin to compare the two. Forget being on the same level. They aren’t even in the same building. Or continent.
I have honestly never been so frustrated by a drama plot due to its lack of proper flow. What exacerbated this was the fact that the synopsis was the reason I started watching it: what’s not to like about a story that combines supernatural elements with romance? Yet, Long For You somehow took an interesting concept and turned it into something that was worse than nothing. The stunning cinematography was wasted on a plot that, again, felt like it was straight out of the mind of an immature pre-teen.
Conflict in this drama never feels like conflict. It always feels like a very slight inconvenience. Take for example, the main female character. You can tell from the story’s summary that she’s lonely as all hell. But the most we get of this characterization in the actual show is at most one minute of her being like, “Oh, woe is me. I am so. So. Lonely.” Are you now? Because I’m sorry, but just saying that you’re lonely doesn’t mean sh*t, especially when it only comes up once or twice. The problems in this show were written trivially, almost like the writers couldn’t wait to get back to the romance, but felt the necessity to include something else.
It was quite the shame, as well, that the romance sucked. There was zero chemistry between the main couple and zero logic behind their getting together other than the dramaland rule that states "main female lead and main male lead must end up together." For me, every time I saw them on screen, it was easier to picture them as brother and sister than a couple. Gross. The secondary couple was comparatively much more fun to watch, in addition to the situational pairing of the two male leads. These two pairings made this show slightly bearable.
We now arrive at one of two reasons why I didn’t drop this show like a hot potato: Song Wei Long. Not his acting, though. Kid’s got a long way to go. But there’s just something about those not-yet-legal-age eyebrows that entrance you. I swear I’m not being creepy. Going off of this, though, none of the acting really captured me as being amazing. Though, I imagine it must’ve been hard for the actors to play characters that are about as dimensional as a piece of paper that has been transported into the first dimension.
I’ll conclude this review with the second reason why I kept watching. I just wanted to see how bad it could get. It’s been a while since I’ve completed watching such an utter trainwreck. I’m sure you’ve gathered, but it only got worse with time.
(Also, if you would like to spare the production crew with the excuse that 20 minutes an episode at 20 episodes total is too short to do anything amazing, I will ask you to contact the closest weeaboo available. They can provide you a very long list of anime that construct stories infinitely better than this show's. And in only half the episode count.)
tl;dr: I'm more disappointed in myself for finishing this than I am in the producers of this show.
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I liked the fantasy/romance storyline, in some scenes it felt kinda disjointed, like they skipped over something, but I didn't mind that much since I still got a sense of what was happening and this made the storyline move along quickly. Afterall, this is less than 25 minutes an episode, so it's more like a 10 episode drama, instead of a 20.
The cinematography was on point, I felt like I was watching a high budget movie and there is a ethereal aura to the filming (it had that Goblin feel to it), The OST was great and went with the drama perfectly. I also loved everyone's outfits, props to the stylist.
What I enjoyed most was the leading female's character. She comes off as this happy go lucky person, but you soon realize very quickly that she is actually very wise and strong from the knowledge/experiences that she accumulated over the course of her 1000 year life.
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PLOT
Interesting: immortal girl trying to find another incarnation of her first love.
However, although enjoyable, the story didn’t flow as well as it could and the developments seemed a little rapid/disjointed at times. On the plus side, there were no obvious annoying or out of place events.
CHARACTERS
I dare to disagree with the review above. It was not the best drama I watched; but it was quite nice. It certainly didn’t feel as if the female lead was a twelve-year old whose only life aspiration was finding a boyfriend. I admit, she was quite capricious (especially at the beginning, this changed with time), but it makes sense from a perspective of someone who has been traversing the earth for 1000 years, who got to experience almost everything that life had to offer, except for a peaceful life with the one she loves. Furthermore, since she looked like a normal 20-year old, it would seem weird if she suddenly exposed her accumulated life-wisdom (but if you watch carefully, she was quite canny under-cover).
The male lead’s character (Shi Yi) was ok, but a little uninteresting. He was quite reserved and didn’t really do much… Second lead (Li Zhe) was of more interest – he understood Xue Ji very well, was always protecting her and seemed quite capable in life, in spite of his own problems…
The second couple was also fun to watch…
ACTORS
I really liked Zhou Yu Tong in Love Through a Millennium and this show didn’t disappoint me. One could argue that she was not very expressive in this drama, but in a way that seemed quite appropriate to me – at the end of the day she is a 1000-year old girl, so had a lot of opportunities to learn to hide her emotions and not to expose her inner suffering…
Song Wei Long is also a very promising actor, but at times I felt he was quite stiff. This made sense at the beginning, but was a little over the top as the story progressed.
The supporting actors were also very good.
OST
Very nice, one of the better ones I heard in a while. Check out the song??? (Gang gang hao)
There is a full OST list on Chinese wiki (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%88%91%E8%88%87%E4%BD%A0%E7%9A%84%E5%85%89%E5%B9%B4%E8%B7%9D%E9%9B%A2).
LANGUAGE
Sadly, to date, no English subtitles are available. However, if you have a basic grasp of Chinese, I recommend to have a go at this show – the language is not very difficult, and a lot of events make sense even without understanding everything that is being said (but I recommend spending some time to translate some of the phrases in the first 1-2 eps to understand the issue with the family politics and the inheritance).
REWATCH VALUE
Not too high, because of the simple story line. The romantic scenes are not very abundant and quite scattered, so if you like to rewatch for the sake of those, it wouldn’t be very convenient. However, the episodes are very short and the shots (both outdoor and indoor) are really beautiful, so it might be possible after all…
In summary:
Strong points:
- beautiful cinematography (this show is truly beautiful to watch!)
- interesting story
- very nice OST
Weaker points:
- not a breathtaking acting – actors could be more expressive…
- did not make the most of the story concept
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Watchable but not perfect
First Impression: This drama is very short, only 20 20-minute episodes, so I thought that this will be a quick walkthrough. I have seen some thriller-romance drama, so at first i thought the story will be heavier than regular chinese dramas.Story: A bit complicated but can be understood. Actually the story is not boring. It Has some Goblin touches and supernatural stuffs like immortality. There are sibling issues and badass FL. It becomes a more puzzling as the story goes on. Note: it has both happy and sad ending, but still not recommended for happy-ending seekers as the happy ending doesn't really make sense and the sad ending is more logical.
Acting, Cast, and Production: To be honest, the acting is just acceptable. The chemistry between the main couple is so-so and not sweet enough, and the chemistry is stronger in the 2nd couple. The production is ok. The cast themselves are actually good. The actors picked are actually talented as Song Weilong and Riley are both very successful afterwards. They could've acted better, and they haven't reached their max in this drama.
OST: The thing I liked the best from this drama. I never skipped the Intro and Outro because the OST is very good, and the OST and its usage in this drama are better than many chinese dramas. Perfect.
Overall the story is actually watchable and is a very quick walkthrough as the episodes are very short.
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Starting few episodes so confusion one.drama was so not organised well .Drama introduced her relatives and in whole drama they were disappeared . Then at starting in her dream there was a man whose face not shown and he was saying sorry then how she know his face an d what scenario she saw of him it had been be a part of a thousand years past history .Totally boring story . What story she had with old man not convincing one. Only one character I liked the second lead male character . Not well organised story. Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Liked the fantasy in the drama (as usual haha) such as teleportation.
The parts where Xia Xi can summon Ye Gu to her location whenever she feels fear after his tear dropped onto her pendant feels like Goblin. But I guess the difference for those parts is that Ye Gu is unhappy about her summoning him, especially at the start, but Goblin is usually happy about it and anticipates and prepares for it. Besides, Xia Xi just needs to feel fear and Ye Gu will be summoned. Enjoyed watching Ye Gu completing missions as a time messenger. His missions are usually to prevent people from dying or getting injured when they are not supposed to die/get injured.
It is funny that for the 2 times Yang Mu, the villain, is involved, Ye Gu’s mission is to cause a person’s death when the person could have lived. It is cool how he uses his supernatural power to turn back or stop time and make certain changes to obtain the outcome that matches the mission. It is funny how he has to improvise. The mission that left the deepest impression on me is the one where he doesnt have his supernatural power but he still had to continue with the mission and he uses his own body to save a boy from getting into a car accident.
The ways that Ye Gu appears every time Xia Xi is in danger, ranging from smaller issues like falling down and being afraid of bugs to life threatening situations, are very cool haha! All his entrances to the scenes are well-executed and are nicely combined with his face that shows no feelings. Xia Xi gets into so many accidents haha… It is funny how there is one time that Xia Xi was sleeping and dreaming that she needs to prevent her food from being stolen or eaten and summoned Ye Gu to her house. Liked the scenery when they go into some time gap space that looks like galaxy.
Liked the development of relationship and chemistry between Ye Gu and Xia Xi. It is funny how Xia Xi is not affected by Ye Gu’s supernatural power and is amused when she sees him completing his missions. She calls him rude once when he points at her face, attempting to erase her memories but to no avail. It is fun to watch how Xia Xi finds Ye Gu’s identity funny but cool. Liked the characters, Xia Xi and Ye Gu. Xia Xi is cheerful but with a sense of loneliness. It was fun watching Xia Xi purposely watching a horror movie at home to summon Ye Gu and her delighted face when he appears.
Xia Xi plays the active role and is often keen to interact with Ye Gu, helping in the development of their relationship. Ye Gu, on the other hand, doesnt express much feelings but is slowly being affected by Xia Xi. Ye Gu plays the role of a protector both in front of Xia Xi and silently behind such as making important decisions without her knowing. The similarity between the two is the loneliness both feel. Ye Gu doesnt make friends and build relationships due to how he lives an ever-lasting life and Xia Xi lives under the roof of a family who adopted her as the son knocked her down. Liked the part when Xia Xi moves to Ye Gu’s house as she cant stand her adoptive mother’s discrimination against her anymore.
Can feel the joy and simple bliss in them. Felt that Wang Yi Lun looks more good-looking when he doesnt smile (or doesnt smile too widely) haha…One of the characteristics of Ye Gu that left a deep impression on me (and I found it funny) is that he sometimes just leaves when he wants to for example, when Yi Chen asks him a ridiculous question, he doesnt reply and just walks off. And this characteristic adds more sadness to the scene where he meets Xia Xi for the last time and (if I didnt remember wrongly) Xia Xi replies to what he said and turns back only to realise he is not there anymore.
Liked how Ye Gu’s butler is cute. It is funny that Gu Ning buys everything that Xiao You promotes in the home shopping channel. Liked his interactions with Ye Gu. Ye Gu is cold towards him at first but they gradually become more of friends than just servant and master. Admired how he is persistent in his love pursuit. His relationship with Xiao You shows that everything is possible haha. Liked the character Yi Chen, Xia Xi’s adoptive brother, as he adds humour to the drama. Laughed at the scenes where he is amused the first time he sees Ye Gu teleporting, and when he tries to understand the type of guy Yao Xin likes and imitates Ye Gu.
Liked the interactions between Xia Xi and Yi Chen such as the playful ones and when they provide support for each other. It is seldom that the second male lead snatches the second female lead and it is good to watch Yi Chen doing that haha. It is funny how Yi Chen moves to Ye Gu’s house too to protect Xia Xi from Ye Gu. It is nice how Xia Xi’s adoptive brother and father treat her like family despite how they are not biologically related. Admired Xiao You’s fighting spirit when she chases her dream and how she treasures and makes good use of every opportunity she can get. Liked how she tries to help Xia Xi get together with Ye Gu towards the end. Felt that Yao Xin’s punishment is too light. She commits such a great evil deed and shows no remorse for so long but still gets to live and be with Yi Chen…(Sry for the spoiler) Liked the acting by the cast!
The plot that involves life and death situations gives the drama a layer of grimness. The company related plot is quite boring to me haha. Felt that this drama lacks enough tension and suspense to make me chase it but overall still good enough.
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CAN THE WRITER AND I PLEASE TALK
Before I begin to breakdown the uniqueness of this show, who is watching this just because of the male and female leads (not gonna lie I did that too so it's okay we are pussies together we love a fine face)Now to the main point the show
- who the hell brings up flashbacks or creates scenes that make absolutely no sense. like if you are to create a flashback can please make that shit make sense like what is wrong with you. you don't just pop shit into a show and not explain it or react to it
- its okay to be low on budget and want to cut some scenes short and make the interesting ones shorter but this show has a total of 20 episodes so you ain't broke bitch you fucking lazy like fucking put the scenes in the right order and let's watch in peace
- having a good storyline is one thing and not being able to portray this story well is another like what is wrong with you. anyone can see that the story had a bit of potential but it was just portrayed poorly
- ALSO WHY THE FUCKING HELL YOU WOULD END A SHOW LIKE THAT LIKE THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU.
you were like oh how about a little suspense than the end like be a bit sensible.
to all my fellow watchers if you are going to watch this show please do it is actually really funny and the lead actings were superb but if you see yourself cursing out at the writer, I warned you
all in all, can the writer and I please talk so that she can explain the show as I am a bit confused why would I be meeting someone to guess the ending of your show
so if anyone knows the writer kindly tell me
(also the whole find the writer for me is a joke but seriously?)
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PLOT
Interesting: immortal girl trying to find another incarnation of her first love.
However, although enjoyable, the story didn’t flow as well as it could and the developments seemed a little rapid/disjointed at times. On the plus side, there were no obvious annoying or out of place events.
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