Somente Por Amor (2023)

Beautiful acting and no one can deny that.

There aren't any major spoliers !!

Starting with the story first, yes, it was not the best storyline for such a huge star cast. BUT I have to give it up to the acting of all the characters. Not one character an their acting felt wasted.

The story was like the cliche normal C-dramas. They fell in love, there was some misunderstanding, and they got back together with a happy ending. Thats it. That was the whole story.

But to me, what stands out is their acting. Its how the main characters really did their best. The emotion portrayed by the characters, especially Shu Yi and Shi Yan. I don't really cry too much in emotional scenes, but Bai Lu was so much in character that I couldn't help but cry during the emotional scene. The cold, ruthless CEO has a soft spot for his loved one, and on the other hand, she is usually a very smart top journalist but is helpless when things go wrong.

Everything other than the story is really good about this drama. This drama can really be seen as something to binge-watch when you have nothing to watch. Take it as a light watch, and don't expect major twists and turns. Well, not every C-drama should have major stories. Some should be lighthearted and okay too.

Anyway, it was a good watch for me. I really hope someday both of these actors are chosen once again to act in a new cdrama with a nicer storyline.

Leia Mais

Typical Workplace Drama

I am fond of modern Chinese dramas and I felt this is actually good to some extent.

Dylan Wang as Shi Yan gave major CEO/ Boss vibes. He actually managed to look like an investor. His expressions added the cherry to the cake. His aloofness and cute jealous moments made me laugh hard. However, certain aspects of his character don't seem to gel well with the plot. His sense of aesthetics really amazed me. I am happy with the makers for not turning Shi Yan into a rude, toxic hero but rather a cute, responsible hero.

Bai Lu as Zheng Shuyi felt the same as Jiang Jun from Love Is Sweet. But the only modification here is, that her initiatives felt cringe. I understand that Shi Yan is the youngest top CEO, but she is also a journalist for Finance Magazine. Her work revolves around Finance and Entrepreneur Leaders, yet she was fangirling him like some school girl which truly felt weird considering the fact that she is a professional. It felt like the script was forcing the scenes of Financial Introduce and emphasizing repeatedly that she is a pro financial journalist, we were considering her to be a stalker fangirl!!

Miles Wei and Shen Yu Jie really surprised me with their chemistry. I am glad to finally see Miles Wei having a very satisfying chemistry with a female costar after so long. Shen Yu Jie had her cute moments and in one line, SHE NAILED IT!!!! Her character transformation was undoubtedly one of the most satisfying parts of the show. They deserve their own drama as a lead couple.

Liu Dong Qin and Jiang Pei Yao's Guan Ji and Bi Ruo Shan started as mature characters, but their perspectives on each other and relationships in general really made me concerned. It felt like their characters were kinda forced to be together by scriptwriters not because they were in love, but rather because they were best friends of the main couple. So the only thing they could do to the storyline was to drink with the main couple when they were upset and be together. That's it!

As far as chemistry is concerned, this drama is 95% extra content and only 5% chemistry which to be honest feels like those old Chinese dramas. No strings and emotions whatsoever attached. By chemistry, I don't only mean the couples but also the characters sharing relationships with each other. The story starts after Episode 31. So in my humble opinion, start straight from Episode 31, but then again not practical.

PROS
# The settings and set of the drama. The visuals were captivating.
# Side characters had their significant scenes where they just nailed it.
# Yu Yao and Qin Shi Yue's story
# Mutual Understanding between Shi Yan and Zheng Shu Yi.

CONS
# The storyline's pace was absolutely not justified at all. Better start from Episode 31.
# Lack of chemistry between all characters. Never felt like these characters knew each other from the beginning.
# Not the kinda modern drama you expect with veterans like Wang Hedi, Bai Lu and Miles Wei. Only the characters look good.
# Could have made Bai Lu look more professional. She looked like she could toss her career out for Shi Yan, if not for her repeated statement, "Career is career, Life is life."

Leia Mais

2015 female lead in a 2023 drama.

Why are we still writing unprofessional, inappropriate and cringy female leads? I understand if this is a youth drama but FL is in her 20s and a working professional.

The story is like any other tropey workplace drama with an evil coworker, long, endless boring work discussions, a serious CEO and a female lead that’s all over the place.

Perhaps it’s due to the age difference but the chemistry between the leads are of an older sis/younger brother. Even though she acts immature and he tries his hardest to act mature. No amount of filters can fix this.

Leia Mais

Just watch it for the feels

There will always be this drama were we either hate it or love it, or just watching it for the feels. This drama for me is the latter. I stayed for the feels. Let’s be honest, this drama really doesn’t have any complicated plot. Both characters are already strong from the very beginning so character development was not necessary, in my opinion. I think the second couple had the most character development more that the leads tbh. Also Miles Wei and Dylan in one frame, holy smokes! You guys don’t understand! ? FYI Miles does really good kissing scenes! Shish!

But then again, a drama with little to no plot, did I hate it? No. Like I said i’m here for the feels and damn well, can’t deny Bailu and Hedi have that strong chemistry. They are both very known actors and they also carried this drama really well.

If you guys watched Hedi’s drama before, you can really tell the growth of his acting and how much his tone and facial expressions have changed and they are all for the better. If you still question if he is a good actor, watch LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL, trust me, it’s really good and then watch Meteor Garden, then see the difference. ? Bailu on the other hand, i just love her. I’m maybe biased but i really like her acting.

There are quite a lot of couples in here, and i’m not gonna deny, some of the scenes bore me a little, but that did not stop me from watching. Guys, you can skip a few seconds and you still wont get lost in the story.

If you’re gonna asked, whatever episode is this and that,

Episode 19- they got together

Episode 27- break up but not really

Episode 31- they solved their issues

Third party? Absolutely no chance
Happy Ending? VERY MUCH there’s a special episode, mangotv on YouTube already have it.

Rewatched value? Some of my favorite scenes.

Kissing scenes? YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT.

Leia Mais

Enjoyable with its flaws

I would say this was an enjoyable watch that has its own issues. Mind you, I came in damn well knowing what kind of trope this is and have read the novel. So, I was able to set my expectations right on the line of watching for enjoyment and the actors. The acting of the various actors are great and they acted their roles well. I would say the last 6 episodes plus the special episode were my favorite to watch. They are such a sweet couple mixed with a bit of jealous moments, makes me squeal. The beginning right up until the misunderstanding is enjoyable, nothing too extravagant or amazing.

I've seen other negative reviews, and I get what they are saying. However, I went in with a different mindset than them and lowered my expectations knowing damn well what type of trope this is. That helped a lot with my enjoyment of this drama. Also, I watched it mostly for Bai Lu and Wang He Di, so I may be a little biased there. However, I do recommend giving it a try, or at least the last 6 episodes.

My score is a little inflated as I can not let this dramas rating go below an 8. I would rate this drama an 8, enjoyable but not great.

Leia Mais

So close to perfect

I don't know why, but I OBSESSIVELY loved this. Maybe because of Dylan Wang and the way he just *waves hands* is. But both the leads were absolutely fantastic and I thought there was a really interesting, unique, and hilariously fun dynamic. Like it didn't take itself too seriously sometimes.
I skipped work to watch this show. I was so, so obsessed with it from episodes, maybe 4 to 24ish. But around the late 20s and early 30s, I started to get really annoyed. It was the same juvenile, intentional miscommunication that was used as a plot device. I skipped through a lot of parts during these episodes.
And I didn't love how some of the "reveals" were done. Reveals are my favorite part in a story, hahah. Like if someone is dating the hot, rich, millionaire and then the reveal to (other guy who likes her) or (her parents) or (her ex), etc. Some were okay but I wanted moooooore.
Either way, I loved this. I'd probably gladly watch another 30 episodes just to see Dylan Wang, lol.

Leia Mais

Romance Drama Perfection!

Disclaimer first: I'm a huge Dylan Wang fan since MG2018, so some bias may occur.

If you're a fan of the 'OMG when will they finally end up together and get over themselves??' - genre, this is the drama for you. The sweet taste of frustration when any of the characters does not speak their mind and/or heart, letting misunderstandings rise and being unnecessarily shy or insecure. It's horrible, but I love it. Especially when these shenanigans are being portrayed so perfectly as here. ALL 3 (or 4, if you count the boss lady and the uncle) have this trick down hard.
It's a drama like a one of those paperback romance novels. Including the hothothot kisses. I will for sure put this one high up on my re-watch list!!

This is the 3rd drama I've seen with Bai Lu and Dylan Wang as leads and I must say they are indeed a match made in heaven. Their chemistry is electric and they are so natural together. Bai Lu has great chemistry with more actors, but this pairing is exceptional.
Dylan Wang is getting better and better, but his best performance is still the 'Tsundere', the on the surface cold and distant man, but when thawed is a big bowl of charm.
This couple is playing the attract and reject game like pro's. I have been yelling at the screen at them en almost cried in frustration. They could have been married with kids in the first 10 eps, but instead choose to listen to horrible advise and their own huge inferiority complexes. Even a monk telling them they're meant to be doesn't help.
The 2nd couple is possibly even worse! 2 people very much in love but both thinking the other likes their freedom more than them and purposely misunderstanding or running away. Aarrrgghhh. I love it. It keeps me continuously entertained and invested.

Even though there's continuous drama, it never gets boring or bland. This is mostly due to the actors, who are so good at emoting and subtext. The best scene? For me the suduction sequence, where FL tries to get ML to sleep with her, but he has no clue, until he literally gets the message.

Does this drama have Red Flags? Ohhh yess. Many. Women as well as men. All of them have their own shade of red.
Does this drama have cliche's ? Almost nothing but. But that's also why it's so comforting and appealing to me. I really miss these kind of cliche's done well. Here they're done perfectly.
Is this drama for everyone? Probably not, but who cares? Give it a try!

Leia Mais

You will either love or hate this drama

As the title goes, you will either love or hate this drama. I guess the fact that I listed love before hate is a clue that I liked the drama. Admitedly it isn't the best drama but at the same time I don't consider it a bad one. For me this also isn't the best Bai Lu or Dylan Wang starrer, but one of the things I really liked about the drama is their very strong chemistry.

Bai Lu is Bai Lu what more can I say. She was perfectly cast to play Zheng Shuyi. Honestly I've never seen her look bad in any style of dress she wears in her dramas and she does look good in red and also black for that matter. I appreciate the way she can shift from being jolly one moment then sad the next. When she cries I feel sad too. Without being sexist IMHO Zheng Shuyi has the bigger share of the blame between the two. If I put it into numbers, I would say 55 vs 45. She was already told for the professor that the way she apologized to Shi Yan wasn't appropriate because she kept on using her work as the excuse instead of apologizing as proper boyfriend and girlfriend. She simply has too much pride that it is getting in the way of her love. The only thing that I didn't like about her character was she kept on accomodating the advances of the younger suitor. If she loves Shi Yan as she keeps on saying then simply tell the other guy sorry and be done with it.

Dylan's being cast as Shi Yan was also good because he looks the part of an aloof CEO. Between the two leads Dylan's character has less emotional range because he hasn't really let go of his emotions. Shuyi has cried a lot but Shi Yan tries to drown everything with alcohol. I said above that both are at fault for their break up, and the only reason why he had the smaller blame was due to the fact that Shuyi approached her with ulterior motive. But what he did after wasn't really good. He also has too much pride and regardless if Shuyi kept on mentioning the colloboration between their companies, instead of banging his phone on the table, he should have just kept his emotions in check. The straw that broke Shuyi's back was his double edged statement with the reporter's of talking things out instead of walking away. It was already too late when he tried to message Shuyi only to find out they are no longer friends in WeChat. Well he did do it first to Shuyi.

I guess the Chinese writers are taking notes from South Korean writers now. They are getting good in annoying the viewers by dragging out the suffering of the two lovebirds. I guess a polite way of saying this is too much filler episodes. Can't be helped though with a total of five pair of lovebirds in the story. Regarding the other lovebirds I prefer the niece and the professor over the reporter and the muscle car driving rich guy.

I know this is a happy ending because there is a wedding in the opening credits, so I will soldier on with the last 6 episodes. I just hope there is less scenes involving the annoying suitor and please please please don't reconcile on episode 36. Give the viewers a few episodes of happiness by reconciling in episode 34 or 35 at the latest. Depending on what happens in the last 6 episodes my rating of this drama will either go up or down.

Leia Mais

7 couples and phones, but still sweet

I came for Bai Lu, and despite the sometimes infuriating story with constant phone interruptions leading progression back to square one, and the plethora of couples to keep track of (almost like south American latin soap operas!) there were many nice moments, and a very sweet ending to this drama, especially for those who got to 36.5 to have the leads wedding ceremony and not only one of less colorful couples' one.

The story has no less than 7 couples :
1/ Shi Yan and Shuyi, of course (Wang Hedi and Bai Lu manage to make their contradictory characters keep interesting, even though detractors will have a ball that a successful capitalist is so little outspoken, and the successful reporter is so flirty, childish, and unable to escape the snares of her own deceptions. Before the satisfying owning up and getting to last episodes, with hearts, flowers, and everything romance audience wish for.) ;
2/ Yu You and Qin Shiyue (Miles Wei Zheming and Shen Yu Jie, very young woman and an older university professor, reluctant to accept her forthright requests);
3/ Guan Ji and Bi Ruoshan (Liu Dongqin and Jiang Peiyao ; one of the "three musketeers" of the company, wealthy heir, but profligate, and seemingly butterflying best friend of Shuyi despite working in a different news agency) ;
4/ Yue Xingzhou and Qin Lezhi (from the start, they are despicable and represent the worst of yuppies who rely on schemes and corruption to hide their lack of trustworthiness, of filial attitude, and of work ethics.)
5/ Guan XiangCheng and Tang Yi (Nie Yuan and Zeng Li, the father of Guan Ji and the editor of the financial news company, who have a hidden affair) ;
6/ Chen Sheng and "Nan Nan" Kong Nan (Liu Ming Hao and Vian Wang; Shi Yi's assistant and Shuyi's tablemate in the office, who strike up a sweet acquaintance in the first half of the drama, but don't hog much time) ;
7/ Shi Wenguang and "Song Le Lan" (Kou Zhenhai and Zhou Xuan who has sung a couple of well-received songs in the past, but is not really that well known a pop singer, more known as actress in support roles ; they play Shi Yan's dad and his idol singer mother, who are so discreet that Shuyi does not get to,know their identity until last episodes.)
To these 7 couples, we might add the mother of Shuyi who wants her to get married asap, perhaps wanting more security for her daughter Shuyi, who also has a stepdad (played by Shi Yu) This couple is not much shown together.
Yu You's dad and mom are also not much shown.

Some third wheels, either over confident or straight antagonists are :
Xu Yuling (played by An YueXi) who is the jealous colleague of Shuyi ;
Fiona (played by Tu Zhiying) a young student returnee who thought her familiarity with Shi Yi would help her romantically and professionally, but had to realize it was her wish thinking ;
Yi Yang (played by Daniel Zhou) a "dark horse" indeed who set his aim too high and ended up, as expected, beaten into toeing the line set by Shi Yi in love and business;
and the relentless phones!

The story was adapted from Qiao Yao 's novel " Wrong Flirting ", supposedly rather true to original. Despite a good start (albeit rather expected story line there in those beginning episodes) it became rather chaotic, even frustrating at times. But it also had some beautiful, cute, exciting, or fun moments : the visit to the temple, the quote of a line of poetry (Du Fu's famous poem 客至 ké zhì, that is attached to the landmark Du Fu thatched cottage in Chengdu, Sichuan), the climbing tree and fairy coaxing, the standing together for inspection of factory; the comforting Shi Yi in his "darkest moment" when Yi Yang snatched the lead in the tech companies ; the last episodes of Shi Yi and Shuyi's relationship, the "Call Me Uncle" quip (that embodied the complicated Chinese family ties hidden in the drama)..... These ending episodes made up for some frustration that could have accumulated on the way. I even found myself going back re-watching some of the cute and sweet moments, looking at the Beijing cityscape of the high tech district, the pictures of the temple (perhaps Zhizhe temple in Jinhua, Zhejiang) and other cityscapes : "jiang Cheng" city could be in Zhejiang, there is a brief glimpse of the Zhejiang water city of Wuzhen, and perhaps another city. Filming took place in Zhejiang according to Baidu, between November 22, 2022, and March 20, 2023, so it was remarkable that it took so little time to air 2023-Nov-03 to 2023-Nov-22, with the 36 episodes scheduled + the 36.5 additional one that shows the wedding of the leads.

The 11 song OST with theme song Passer by (sung by Zhou Shen) and episodes' ending theme song Lemon Soda (cute song, sung by Lai Meiyun) was quite nice. Full OST can be listened to on YouTube, and translation MVs of Only for Love songs lyrics have been posted there by Peachey Blossom. But I am not sure what were the titles of the snippets of songs Dong Xuan sang nicely, when she acted the singer on stage, in episode 10.

In a year when three dramas featuring Bai Lu were aired (Till The End of The Moon earlier, and Story of Kunning Palace, almost simultaneously to Only For Love) this drama of course elicited heated comparisons and even some controversies. To my mind, it is not really fair to compare such very different dramas. In my personal scale of Bai Lu dramas, it may remain among the "lesser ones", because TTEOTM and One and Only, even Arsenal Military Academy and SOKP are going to rank first in costume categories (ancient or Republican era) and OFL will also rank behind Love is Sweet in the modern office drama category, where Luo Yunxi proved a more versatile actor than Dylan Wang Hedi in this one. Nevertheless, although I had a bias about his acting too much with same expressions as his former Daoming Si (MG) and Devil (LBFAD) characters, I still think Wang Hedi did honorably well as Shi Yi in this drama enough that this drama will not be dismissed in his growing filmography.

Do I recommend Only For Love ? Yes, this drama is, despite its quirks and flaws, quite watchable for those who have time, don't mind the quirks mentioned, like either or both leads, and don't go fast forwarding at each secondary couple or phone alarm. But maybe it is not for everybody if the frustration level outweighs the rest. But it does not deserve the venom of a certain Youtuber lady (who never watches till end what she guns down, and is proud to spew what she read elsewhere after having "watched" trailers, or a couple episodes). Since I liked Only For Love nonetheless, I will not be stingy with rating, but it is my own rating for my own list. I totally understand others could disagree, or even rate it higher.

Leia Mais

Only when You have Time

This series was packed with a wonderful cast, good locations and decent storyline. However, when our overly educated leads lack decent critical thinking skills personally, it makes the flow of the series lack-luster. This drama was a slow burn romance with swoon-worthy moments near the end. The ML and FL had good chemistry yet on and off relatable communication which led to filler episodes that could have been left on the cutting room floor. The support cast was great with their give and take of trial tribulation, minor distractions and sub-plot romance developments. The business aspect was intriguing and not overbearing. The OST was just right for the 'feel' and 'tension' of the intent of the drama. The series overall is good with parts that drag and an opened-end finish. Nevertheless, due to cast and production, it is a solid watch.

Leia Mais

Misunderstanding, Misinformation, Misleading, Misinterpretation; Just an Overall Miss

Have never seen the leads before this so was interested to see how they did. All I can say is that I hope their past and future work has better scripts than this absolute mess of one. The novel readers made it sound great and interesting with a new concept but instead it was a misunderstanding, with misinformation, misleading, misinterpretation, basically an overall miss.

Pros: Literally the chemistry of the leads and second leads, working relationships. The business aspects of it as it showed how different firms worked. Some comedy. That was it! The actors did as well as they could with the shredded mess they were given. I under no circumstances fault them.

Cons: Who in the 21st century still writes FL's with zilch EQs? Nearly 30 episodes of 36 revolved around a misunderstanding so absurd I don't know how it was even pulled off. FL took some dumb chick's who broke up her already ridiculous relationship words as gospel instead of finding out the truth as she was supposed to be some brainiac reporter and with that proceeded to act cringey beyond belief trying to get close to ML a CEO at new but major company. The bestie with her dumb as bricks advice that made things worse when she couldn't make her own life work made you want to scream.

When the truth came out finally, the FL still didn't reveal it to ML even though both had genuinely fallen for each other. Their relationship was originally built on a lie and once exposed it naturally crumbled. The FL was a selfish, self-absorbed moron that I wouldn't have forgiven as easily as the ML did. This show could have been made just fine with 24 or 26 episodes. The dragging of the ridiculous lies and misinformation, was unnecessary.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely not. This is probably one of my shortest reviews but nothing after the leads got back together even redeemed it for me. I am watching BL in a costume drama right now where she's killing it and I hope to see Dylan in the future in a great written drama. Save yourselves the aggravation and just run.

Leia Mais

Another overhyped mediocre drama

The obvious drag of a simple story line, mature but cringe fl,their phone playing 50% role in the drama,the flaws goes on.The toxicity this drama shows makes the drama a little overwhelming.
Let me start with the middle school flirting skills of the fl though the drama shows her as someone mature. The bestfriends having no quality of being Bestfriends cz nobody actually shares what they are upto with each other.Always lying or trying to cover up.The bestie of fl pissed me off so much,cz she was a major source of bad relationship advise anyone could give,she herself was unable to have a proper healthy relationship.The lack of communication between each other,The miscommunication is such a overkill throughout the drama.The only sensible character being the niece. And female antagonist being actually a victim of constant criticism and lack of support which the fl gets everywhere.Started at a good pace but ends up being an obvious skip able drama

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