Doce é o Amor (2020)

Well, I my review is probably useless since there is a lot on this classic Chinese drama.
But hey, I'll go anyway.
So, let's be clear: I loved it. The mix of humor, romance and realism make it a spicy cocktail that I love. But I would say that the biggest asset of this drama is clearly our two leads, whether it's the fictional relationship between them, the crazy chemistry between the two actors or even simply the two actors separately. The mix of complicity, teasing and devotion between Jiang Jun and Yuan Shuai is just a real delight and we love to see these two confront each other, bicker, reconcile, have fun, kiss... Obviously, Luo Yun Xi and Bai Lu are on an equal footing in their acting performance and the chemistry between them perfectly reflects the relationship between two teasing childhood friends.
However, there are a few flaws in this relationship that I will come to later.
I will now come to the plot: what I like is that it is simple but realistic, referring to the workingplace without doing too much but is not boring, being full of rhythm. The supporting characters are (almost) all interesting.
BUT : there are still some flaws in this drama that prevent me from giving it the 10/10 that I REALLY wanted to give it.
At the very beginning, I mentioned the bubbly relationship between the main characters. But while as I said, this relationship is the drama's biggest asset, it's not without flaws. Thing is, Yuan Shuai's devotion to Jiang Jun is often at the border of a controlling overprotectiveness, especially in the first 10 episodes when he does everything to keep her out of his company because he thinks 'she doesn't have the strength necessary and wants to protect her, and so basically he bullies her to prevent her from working at his place. Not to mention the fact that the guy somehow manages to makes her move out and even finds ways to make her move in right next to his place. In short, even though his devotion was adorable, his overprotective side and his habit of trying to control her life and to bully her supposedly to protect her were quite infuriating (it all depends on your tolerance). While we thought we had gotten rid of this after the first 10 episodes, it comes back running around episode 21-22 (something like) but the writing tries to make it pass with the female lead punish him (okay, I admit, this part was really fun) but it comes way too late and fails to catch up with the mistake made for some reason I'll explain.
Also, the tropes of "I use crazy methods to make her be my neighbor" and "I bully her because I love her" have been used and abused, and have long been out of trend in an increasingly feminist society, so people should think twice before using these ! Also, although I love Jiang Jun (because I just can't hate a character played by Bai Lu), I think that although the drama tries to present her as a strong and smart woman, she's often in "damsel in distress" situations where she needs the male lead or second male lead to come save her. Even when it was for her father's case, they still had to take care of it. I think it would have been beyyer for the writers to make her a bit stronger and more resourceful, and give her situations where she saves herself instead of relying on others. Another trope which is no longer in trend and would have been dispensable. This is also what makes that when Jiang Jun "punishes" Yuan Shuai for having kept her in the darkto protect her, although it is fun, it is not enough to make up for the mistake : with Jiang Jun constantly needing others protecting her and never proving her own strength by herself, this "consolation" that they try to offer us for his bad methods of protection does not manage to make up for this.
Then the supporting characters. I mentioned they were almost all interesting and they were. I would say what is best about them is the fact that they are all constantly evolving. BUT there are still two characters in particular who are exceptions to this : the second couple in the story, Xu Li, Jiang Jun's best friend (played by Xiao Yan) and Xiao Chuan, the hero's cousin (played by Wang Yi Lun). Clearly, the intention of the writers was for us to be as attached to them and their story as we were to the leads. But this is a total failure, and believe me, I'm not the only viewer to feel that way. There are plenty of reasons but I would say the most important is that their story is uninteresting, childish, boring, even annoying. When we all see your the nonsense that Xu Li is ready to do to conquer Xiao Chuan (like working at the convenience store when he goes), when she barely met him... well, it's embarassing (clearly, even if I love this drama, feminism takes a blow here). Also, she and Xiao Chuan (well, especially her) are pretty childish, which makes them kind of annoying. To continue, the two actors don't have any chemistry, don't especially show any acting talent here, and their characters aren't particularly likable or attachng, since they're so immature and kindavstupid. The problem is that these two have a lot of screentime, a screentime that the viewer will basically skip out of boredom. So if these two had much less screentime the drama, it would have been better.
Finally, one last point that REALLY left me disappointed. I say it again, a point that I like in the drama is the constant evolution of the supporting characters. But there's one in particular that gives me the feeling of a piece of food stuck in my throat, because it's so frustrating and poorly exploited. As in any good romance drama, our male lead has a rival, Du Lei. His rival who wants to defeat him professionally, who has a complicated and difficult past which explains why he became manipulative and cold, and who gets close to the heroine to use her against Yuan Shuai but ends up getting sincerely attached to her and even falls in love with her. During the first 30 episodes, his evolution was fascinating to follow but also touching: to see his difficult childhood which allowed us to better understand him, to have pity on him without approving him, to see him slowly change and reevaluate himself after spending time with Jiang Jun, finally realizing his toxic xays, his past faults, seeing him work as a duo with Yuan Shuai to help Jiang Jun and do justice. There was even a cute little bromance profiling between him and Yuan Shuai. ANYWAY : the guy was the one who had evolved the most since the beginning of the drama and I loved it, to see how this character had freed himself from the toxicity in his life and seemed to move towards peace and happiness.
And there, tragedy : the last 6 episodes. This last arc of six episodes which, frankly, brings nothing to the plot, is even rather useless and above all, ESPECIALLY, makes a COLOSSAL throwback to the character. We had taken 100 steps forward since the beginning of the drama, he suddenly takes a 1000 steps backwards. This guy who had managed to get rid of his manipulative and cold personality thanks to Jiang Jun suddenly becomes a crazy and obsessive psycho precisely because of his love for Jiang Jun. Damn, what a waste...it left me incredibly frustrated for the character who made me feel incredibly sorry because the harsh, cold environment he grew up in, with no love and warmth.

And so, it's for these reasons that even if I love the drama, I can't give it a 10/10 but I have to take away two good points.
This drama is nevertheless a classic: I recommend it to those who love romance and comedy without angst or anything complicated, and more particularly Bai Lu and Luo Yun Xi who shine here.
But for feminists who want a strong and smart female lead who doesn't need anyone's help and a male lead who leaves some space to the female lead, who hates some of the stereotypes mentioned above... uh, go your way, no kidding.
However, we can tolerate these flaws for the rhythm of the plot, the relationship and the awesome chemistry between our two main characters.

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You want romance? Definitely should watch this for the lead's romance

The lead characters Yuan Shuai & Jiang Jun is what made this drama one of my favorite. The story and history of these two from childhood, through high school and to the present time. The small misunderstandings Jiang Jun experienced as a kid was explained in Yuan Shuai's point of view. The great amount of chemistry between these two from bickering to the romantic cute scenes. These two characters and the music in this drama are what made this drama strong. It's comedic for the most part though there were a few episodes where this drama just suddenly turned dark (Eps 27-30). But once that passes, the comedy returns again.

There were some things I wasn't satisfied with.
- I normally like the secondary couple in a drama but this one didn't do it for me. Xu Li was the strange girl who all the sudden fell in love with Xiao Chuan just by how he looked when she first saw him and pretty much stalks him or waits for him everytime. He didn't do anything special that would make her fall in love with him. And then Xiao Chuan, smart in tech apps but not in the romance department. He completely ignored her feelings for most of the drama and then suddenly just falls for her. Eh... this couple wasn't handle very well in my opinion. I skipped a lot of their scenes unfortunately.
- Second male lead, Du Lei had character growth but the writers ruined his character in the last 6 episodes. They made him into a possessive jealous psycho when he could've been the best friend and supporter of Yuan Shuai towards the end.
- Yuan Shuai not getting his original position back at MH and instead works for rival group GE. This didn't make sense as the villain, who caused him to ​leave, was eliminated so he should've got his position back, regardless if Du Lei was given the position.
- Wasted last 6 episodes. The main problem was solved by Ep 30. This could've ended at 30 episodes. If they wanted to continue with 6 more episodes, give us 6 more episodes of happiness and comedy with our leads or show the other side couples, since these couple did kind of happened out of nowhere. I didn't want another issue within these 6 episodes.

Overall, the leads and their chemistry is what held this drama for me. You do have your typical main leads break up, a few characters who I wouldn't say are evil overall but do have an evil moment or two, mostly due to jealously. ML is pretty smart overall while the FL is all over the place but she does have her bright moments too. In the end, you'll likely enjoy this drama a lot of because of these two, Yuan Shuai & Jiang Jun.

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This is a really good drama that, if not episodes 31-33 and the “tear effect”, if would’ve been a GREAT drama. The storyline flows nicely and the lead couple has good chemistry but, sometimes, the leading lady appeared emotionally challenged due to the fact that she could not cry or she would faint. Although her allergy to tears is an interesting element to the story, it took away from the opportunity to have great interactions and emotional expressions throughout the drama which the male lead compensated quite nicely. The romance progressed in a good pace and it is quite realistic. Although there are some misunderstandings, they were resolved quickly and the couple’s intimacy was believable and refreshing. The OST is beautiful and there’s also great cinematography. The supporting cast and their stories were nice to watch. Overall the drama is entertaining. Enjoy it!

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Qué bonita, qué bonita!

Me ha encantado, me ha gustado muchísimo. Recomiendo encarecidamente esta serie. Son adorables, achuchables, menuda química la de los protagonistas. Me ha tenido enganchada el amor, la historia, la trama, los antagonistas, ...
En el último capítulo lloré con esa escena tan tan especial!
Pocas cosas en contra, pero si alguna. La segunda pareja no me gustó, poco o nada creíble, me daban un poco de repelús y me aburría bastante su trama. La amiga pasó de ser una chica divertida, ingeniosa, creativa y resuelta a una mema y boba insoportable. Por otro lado, creo que el personaje del "malo", el prof. Du Leí (Gao Han Yu) demasiado tiempo en pantalla. Creo que chupa bastante cámara y en algún momento ya se hace pesado y obsesivo. La relación de hermanos da bastante grima.
A algún capítulo le sobra un poquito de tiempo, como cuando van a casa de la madre de ella por Año Nuevo, se me hizo un poco demasiado.
Por lo demás y quitando estás pequeñas apreciaciones insisto en que es estupenda y volvería a verla, sin duda alguna.
Luo Yunxi está aquí para comérselo y dejar que te coma ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Y qué decir de Bai Lu, ella simplemente me encanta y sale guapa, atractiva, con un papel maravilloso. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Mi recomendación es que no dejéis de verla. Es un amor sano, nada tóxico y muy muy natural.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Did not meet expectations

I was looking forward to this drama after reading the positive reviews. However I am sad to say that it did not meet my expectations. Overall plot was simplistic and the characters of the FL, Jiang Jun and ML, Yuan Shuai were bland. The second ML, Du Lei was more interesting with more depth in his character development. In fact I was rooting for him to get the FL instead of Yuan Shuai. The FL's allergy to tears formed the basis of the story but this sounds bizarre and I am not sure that it is medically correct. The first part of the drama was focussed on the relationship between the ML and FL but the scenes were mainly of them fighting each other and there was little sense of chemistry between the both. Although many reviewers mentioned the chemistry between the FL and ML , I did not get much sense of this. The second part of the drama was more interesting as it moved beyond the romance to the politics in business. Like mentioned by some reviewers, the drama could have successfully stopped at episode 30. The subsequent episodes 31-36 where the second ML reverted to being a villain seemed to counter the good effects of the earlier episodes.
Overall, the drama is watchable but it is nowhere comparable to some others which I have recently watched eg You are My Glory or Dine With Love.

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Really Sweet...

To this day, the second best marriage proposal I've seen in a drama.
Only surpassed by the marriage proposal from the drama "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" - The best!

Well.. The whole drama is very cute. Both main characters are adorable. I would say that the only flaw in the drama, and for me, a BlG flaw is that they gave a happy ending to all but the most wronged and luckless character in the drama.
Despite having made a mistake, he really had a good heart and deserved to be happy. I'm talking about Mr. Du...
I really felt bitterness that he didn't have a happy ending as he deserved.
She needn't have treated him so badly after all...

In addition, the relationship between the two male main characters could have been used more. It really would have yielded funny and even sweet moments. They loved to compete and it would be a really cute brotherhood. That brief moment when they both struggled to unmask the villain to protect their beloved women, when Mr. Lu, he himself named their beloved women as "our little sheep" was one of the highlights moments of the drama.

Too bad they separated those 3... my vision xD

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Main Couple steals the show

Ah, where do I start? Like strong and charming female leads? Like respectful, consistent male leads? Like a bickering couple with good communication and comprehension skills? Well, then you're going to love this one. I haven't watched a 10/10 C-drama in a hot minute, and I am truly delighted that I watched this one.

I had my doubts when I first saw the poster. Being very honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of Luo YunXi. He certainly did not make me fawn in Ashes of love, and I hadn't seen him in anything else. I have watched Bai Lu have palpable chemistry with Xu Kai, so naturally, I was a bit dubious. Rookie mistake. This man is an absolute charmer, with perfect comedic timing, a gorgeous smile and sizzling chemistry to boot. As per usual, I drooled over Bai Lu throughout the show.

The first point to make is that I absolutely adored the female lead. She was fiery, stubborn and independent. I loved that despite Yuan Shai's protests, she fought her way into the company and proved her mettle to him. Even in a relationship, she does not lose her head and remains grounded and true to herself. Seeing her become a career woman by her own capability was refreshing to see, as opposed to the usual trope of the male leads, helping female leads achieve their dreams. Even when Yuan Shai did her wrong, she wouldn't forgive him easily, stood her ground and made her points, ensuring he understood what he did wrong. I do, however, think that her tear allergy could've been used to move the story more. In the beginning, I thought her allergy would build the crux of the story, but I was completely wrong. I'm not mad though because it became just a part of her character as opposed her entire character. Despite her potentially life-threatening allergy to tears, I'm pleased that they didn't write her to be completely cold and emotionless.

At the beginning, I wasn't fond of Yuan Shai. He tended to think that he knew the female lead just because they were childhood friends, a personality she completely outgrew. Along with the usual "I know what's best for you because you're too stupid to think for yourself so I have to make decisions for you," he also did, "I'm hurting you to protect you, but you don't need to know why so I'd rather you just hate me." As much as I loved Yuan Shai, I'd be a pathological liar if I claimed this didn't turn me off. But thankfully, Jiang Jun sets him straight. And thankfully, he redeems himself. The highlight of this show is undoubtedly the palpable chemistry between the leads. Dare I say; I enjoyed them more than Bai Lu and Xu Kai (I bring this up because this seems widely discussed among the audience.) I enjoyed their banter, but I enjoyed their dynamics even more. Yuan Shai being her boss, one would expect him to be more dominant in the relationship, but surprisingly it's her. It was also refreshing how Jiang Jun wasn't shy or timid when it came to skinship. Their kisses were phenomenal!! Not a single fish kiss in sight! I like the nonchalant manner in which they portrayed sex. Unpretentious and natural.

If not for the adorable main couple, there were several reasons to have docked points.

1. Du lei is far too unpredictable and far too frivolous. For a fraction of an episode, I imagined that I found catch second lead syndrome. He put aside his bitterness towards Yuan Shai and worked together with him for the sake of Jiang Jun. But then he takes such a 180 after the time skip, to the point of becoming unrecognizable. And just like that, the minuscule amount of affection I had for him evaporated. He becomes creepy and delusional, still pining after a woman long gone. If anything, I think he received way little resentment from Jiang Jun for the part he played in her father's death.

2. The second couple was not nearly as interesting as the first. Nuff said. I found myself skipping their scenes. Not even my irrational crush on Riley could save their love story. I respect that Xu Li was brave enough to give up her career and youth for Xiao Chuan. Couldn't be me, but I respect it. There's often some scorn towards women wanting to settle down quickly, and start a family, when there shouldn't be. I enjoyed that this show portrayed the female leads as on two ends of the spectrum but equally happy.

3. Some might argue that the 6 episodes after the villain was defeated was unnecessary, draggy and pointless, but I beg to differ. It establishes Jiang Jun's growth as a person and as a career woman and establishes the growth in their relationship. It asks several important questions about the profound sexism in the corporate industry, with women often having to choose between their careers and their relationship, due to societal expectations of "stability" being defined by the marital status of a woman. I would gladly have watched 30 more episodes of this. However, I see where they're coming from, and I see why one would think that those 6 episodes were unnecessary. I DO, however, agree with those who felt like the first 30 episodes and the last 6 were written by two different people. In fact, it was. And it's very evident.

BUT I enjoyed the main couple too much to dock points. I, personally, did not find the show draggy. I felt that most, if not all, the characters were well written, with their own variety of issues. I, unexpectedly, found myself enjoying the relationship between Qiao and Yuan Ji. This is definitely a show to rewatch.

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Great CP chemistry and romance but questionable values did not sit well with me

So many c-drama are set in the corporate world that is itself a trope. Sometimes it works but a lot of the time the plots are filled with jargons and then a bit of magic drama dust to create a company collapse or save the company in the nick of time. This show is heavily business focused and there was no ends of "intrigue" and dirty tricks.

The basic story is straightforward. Two old school mates met up again after many years apart and found love. The twist here is that the ML was in love with the FL since their school days and he tasked himself to protect her. The reason is because she is allergic to tears and it could kill her if she is not treated quickly. He tried to toughen her up so that she won't cry but it was seen as bullying. He was going to confess to her before he went aboard to study but circumstances made them part in bad terms and he missed that chance and lost touch for years. This misunderstanding lasted well into their new working relationship as he became her boss in her new job.

There were no doubt that the pairing of Bai Lu and Leo Luo was a masterstroke. They looked great together and have bucket load of chemistry. They did not shy away from the touchy feely stuff either so there were lots of skinship. The 2OTP was cute and they tried hard to tell their story but there were a number of plot holes. In the end, it was underdone as their romance felt contrived. The 3OTP (noona romance) came out of nowhere and it was a stretch. 2 other pairing of fellow workers overflowed the CP quota.

The romantic story of the OTP would have been good enough to sustain a shorter run but they had a lot of business subplots to get through and it is here that the tone and plots did not sit well with me.

Most of the early episodes have the OTP investigating various companies as part of due processes before the company goes public or are bought out by another company. However, instead of doing the sums and highlighting dodgy transactions so that the authorities can follow up, they (including junior analysts) behave like private investigators and some kind of corporate crusaders riding out to right wrongs. That would be ok if the message is clear but again and again, the punishments do not fit the crimes. We are talking about someone who embezzled a lot of money as well as a manager who drugged and raped a young worker. That is a criminal offence, is it not? This type of moral greyness ran right through the whole show. The FL was drugged and dumped in a hotel room (unharmed, thankfully) and even though it was obvious who did it, there was no retribution. Other people who did wrong were just spoken to or cut a lot of slack. With that, what appeared to be a righteous stance soon turned into a mess of confused messages. It speaks volume about the business environment in China if it is even partially true.

I also have issues with the SML storyline. There was little chance of a second lead syndrome from the start but he was given a lot of screen time in the last few episodes. Once that subplot started, there was little doubt how it would end. It did little to progress the main plot but managed to turn the SML into a despicable character.

There were funny moments and lots of swoon worthy moments. I did liked how they set up the OTP as competitors after the time skip and their interactions were cute but it ended almost as soon as it started. If they did the time skip and just have them working in their own small company or even in competition, I'd ship them even more. The ML's proposal short movie was clever and the doggie is so cute throughout. :D

Production value is high but there are gaps. OST was fine. If I ever want to rewatch this, I would start at ep.20 and then watch the next few episodes where the OTP was white hot then skip to the last episode just for the feel good fan service.

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Love is Sweet - The Best Chinese drama

Someone recommended this to me and boy good thing I've checked it, I do not regret it at all watching this!
* Totally agree with the title, the love story is so sweet!!
* Love the chemistry between lead is on/off-screen - they're so good together
* Bai Lu is my favorite, have seen her other dramas too.
* First time to watch *Handsome LEO* and I'm totally Impressed. I didn't like him before in Ashes of Love but when I saw him in here, I was so addicted/hooked on it straight away
A DRAMA YOU WILL MISS AFTER ENDING It and definitely want to repeat it again.
* Can't wait to watch Leo's other dramas, I can see there are more upcoming, I will definitely keep an eye on them!!
I strongly suggest this drama to everyone!!!!

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It's a very sweet show. I almost go diabetes. I was swooning over the lead couples again & again. Every male character of the show was attractive & among the female characters I'd say only the female lead. I really wasn't interested in the story. I was just watching the leads &I skipped all the other things. The 2nd leads were annoying & boring. The chemistry between the main leads was the life & everything of the show. It's the best chemistry I've ever seen in a cdrama. Their talking. fighting, flirting, romance everything felt so real, I was sure they're couple in real life (but then I saw they're not 😔) This show is the rom com couple goals.

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No better love

It is the most amazing cdrama ever... Atleast one of them in my list
The chemistry is amazing
Both the actors look damn good
One of the few girls who looks cute and has facial expression that can be understood by a non Asian person
The story line goes as the bickering friends, enemies and lover,.
The main lead is protective but not controlling. He helps the female lead be a better version of herself which I think is one of the key points in a good relationship.
I mean the character of the male lead is something I would personally like in a guy....(not talking about the handsome face of this actor)
Anyway its an amazing drama in which every minute is a good scene not just a few but all of them.

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