50FiftillidideeBrain
Flush the Fish Farm ¤ What Happens in Borcay is Meant to Stay °3.6° °interminable mess°
The quickie review: Leaving Borcay was a mistake. That's when LN starts it's loooooong flush. Don't take this trip; not before you watch everything that's better (and that'll keep you busy for years). Just be aware that more than half of LN is an extended skidmark.
LN is a bit ironic in that time is a central theme, but it has some of the worst time management I've ever seen. The leads are likable and the romance gets off to a hot start. I was thinking it had lots of promise. As …time… goes by, though, none of its promises are kept.
LN is a 2012 release that is rated 7.6 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 72 45-minute episodes… SEVENTY-TWO!!?! That's so Taiwanese. They put out slice-of-life romances with a high episode count and relatively low drama. The viewer lives with these characters for awhile, with the effect being either tranquil and decompressing or extremely frustrating. This is only my 6th TwDrama. One reviewer that I respect claims that she's completely fed up with their repetitiveness and her eyes have ‘left the island for good’ ~ She’s done with TwDramas. I'm still brand new to them, and out of the 6 I've seen, I love 3, like 2 (though one of those is carried by the beginning of the show and declInes in the 2nd half), and hate just this one. And, boy, do I hate this show. 1/10th in I couldn't fathom what would fill 72 whole episodes; 1/2 way through I tried to figure out what's filled 36 episodes - just everyday life with a heap of sugar on top. Sadly, nothing fills the last half of the show but pain and aggravation.
With 27 eps to go, I was tempted to abandon the show (something I rarely do) as it was leaving Netflix in 13 days ↪ That is more than 2/day, with no break, and it was starting to feel like a job. In the balance, I liked the characters (though nearly all of them are a bit annoying), but not much was going on. One character is pregnant and a big controversy is whether they should allow her to work. This debate goes on for 2 or 3 episodes, not 2 or 3 minutes. It's too far removed from anything I find familiar. It's astounding that Yi Ru's family supports her ex, Qi Ming, who is a serial womanizer. Sure, he's charming ~ Great guy to hang with ~ Worst guy to marry. The people Yi Ru works with are too goofy. Lan Shi De's mother is sweet, but something about her fawning relationship with grandma (her mother i/l) was too much for me. I wanted to shake her free. Perhaps I'm projecting. Sure, this show is 12 years old, but even still, some of the wardrobe is hideous in any decade. Taiwan seems to have a thing with men wearing low-cut tops. It just doesn't look right.
By ep50, I realized I never should have started this. Anything positive in the first half is obliterated by the doldrums of the second half. I played every single episode in its entirety. It was easy to force myself to do that. What I couldn't force my eyes to do was actually watch it, and I couldn't force my ears to hear it anymore. It became background noise as I did other things and peeked in every now and then just to keep up with the plot. This has nothing to do with the length of the show. I've seen Two Fathers, another Taiwanese series that has over 70 episodes, and I loved it. Here, the dialogue and plot are spread too thinly. There's too much filler and some cheaply manufactured drama. It would be much improved in the 20-30 episode range.
That isn't the fault of the actors, though. The romance starts strong. Yi Ru reluctantly falls for Shi De. Sure, he's good looking, but it goes deeper than that. There's something lovable (and sexy) about a man who truly loves a woman and doesn't expect anything in return. I've read that the 2 leads are a couple. That makes sense because the scenes they spark up feel genuine. Annie Chen (Inborn Pair, My Goddess, Tears on Fire) is FL Yang Yi Ru. She's pretty - pretty aggressive and driven. She's a workaholic. She has a horrible temper but a beautiful heart. The actress is not bad but her voice is too nasally, which gets tedious.
Yi Ru's family tricks her into going on vacation in Borcay by making her believe she has cancer. George Hu (Wacko at Law, Shards of Her, Prince of Lan Ling) plays ML Lan Shi De. Weaknesses in the premise aside, Briefly, I found the romance less than convincing, because he's prettier than the female lead. He's prettier than most women. I settled into the flow after a quick adjustment period.
His family owns a company that makes sinks, tubs and toilets. He's known as a stern and cheerless boss. He's been cheerless ever since his father died and the head-of-family responsibilities were foisted on him at a young age. He's on a business trip in Borcay - until he sees Yi Ru and his mission changes. His top business then becomes bagging her. You see, they were in college together. She doesn't remember, but he sure does. He's been looking for her for 6 years. When he's kind to Yi Ru, she has an emotional outburst and admits she's dying. She will never marry or have kids. Shi De talks her into marrying him. Why not!?. Yi Ru's in the mood to do something crazy.
Bobby Dou (The Little Fairy, Proud of You) plays Sun Qi Ming, Yi Ru's ex. He still hangs around, has a key to her house, and calls her father “dad.” He functions as a mischievous gremlin and causes much of the trouble. According to Yi Ru, the upper half of his body is delightful - that's not the problem: The lower half is the problem. He's an irredeemable philanderer. All those years he was running with other women, Lan Shi De was devoted to Yi Ru.
Vivi Lee (In Time with You, Luo Que) plays Lan Shi Yun, the elder Sister of the ML. She's a relationship expert, author, and (to her embarrassment, given her profession), terminally single. The actress is attractive and does a nice job. I'm not sure if it Is her or the directing, but they kept her part in the 68°-72° range. Slightly cool -to- slightly warm. No fire or ice. I grew weary of her slightly concerned stares. Harry Chang (Autumn's Concerto-7.2, Marry Me, or Not?) Portrays Zheng Yu Xiang who is a younger fan pursuing a relationship with Lan Shi Yun. Esther Yang plays Yi Ru's bratty but cute little sister, Yang Yi Qing.
Shen Hai Yung (The Perfect Match, Better Man) is the most childish character of the bunch as grandma, the matriarch of the Lan family. Grandma's infantine fits are used to forward the plot into fill time. Yen Chia Le (True Meaning of Love, W Series: Love Yourself) is grandma's spinster daughter, Lan Yi Ping. Her part is a little overdone. She ends up shamelessly chasing a man and wearing the worst clothes of the show while doing it. Yet, I still found her adorable. That's some serious presence. She plays a sharp-tongued director in the show, Love You, which is imperfect yet still far better than LN. Mandy Wei (Memory Love, Piggy's Counterattack) really shines as He Cai Rong, though her bangs direly need a trim. She's the best character in the show. She is intuitive and, out of all the characters, she says the most intelligent things. The screenwriters are Lin Pei Yu (We Best Love series) and Shao Hui Ting (A Thousand Goodnights).
LN does have a couple themes even though it doesn't take any deep dives. The title is Love NOW and time is a running theme. Shi De has been wanting Yi Ru for over 6 years. There's ⏲⏱hourglasses and watches⏲⏱ featured frequently on screen. "Women are used to sacrificing while men are used to enjoying women's sacrifices," we hear. 'Fish farms' vs committed love is showcased: Qi Ming calls his floozies his "fish farm" and Yi Ru's little sister thinks that's pretty cool. She starts one of her own. When Yi Ru falls for Shi De, Qi Ming has a major identity crisis. He tries to get her back, but no-nonsense Yi Ru moved on long ago. His character goes through the most growth and change by the time the credits roll. There's quality touches and real smiles in the first part of LN. Someone is always sneezing because they are being talked about, and it makes for nice segues. I think when the series first aired it was popular which led to an unplanned expansion of episodes that the creators couldn't sustain, quality-wise. LN is a broken ⏲ that's only right twice a day. Don't trust it; in the flusher it goes!
〰 IMHO 〰
RATINGS
Directing 3.5
Writing 3
Acting 5
Romance 5
Flutters 5
Art 3
Sound & music 4
Ending 5
LEVELS
Warmth 5
Action 2
Laughs 2.5
Tears 2.5
Fright 1
Tension / Anxiety 2.5
Gore 1
Thought provocation 2
Snores 7
📣3.5 📝3 🎭5 💓5 🦋5 🎨3 🎵/🔊4 🔚5 ▪ 🌞5 ⚡2 😅2.5 😭2.5 😱1 😯2.5 🤢1 🤔2 💤7
Age 13+ Adult/sexual situations
Language: @$$h0le and other rare PG-13 verbiage.
Re-watch? Ain't gonna happen -shoulda skipped the first time
In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:
Taiwan
Two Fathers-7.5 (73 episodes of slice-of-life and i loved every one)
Autumn's Concerto-7.2 (declInes in the 2nd half)
The Fierce Wife-8 (starts iffy, ends magnificently)
Age of Rebellion-9.5
Romance -
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine;
Accidentally in Love 6.5 B-level scripting, acting, and directing, but still fun/strangely relaxing to watch
You are my destiny 6.8 ‘20 cute and sweet and 1/2 padding
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1
K :
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;
Period -
C: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
K:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9
Fantasy
C Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain 7.5;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Eternal Love 8.3,
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10
LN is a bit ironic in that time is a central theme, but it has some of the worst time management I've ever seen. The leads are likable and the romance gets off to a hot start. I was thinking it had lots of promise. As …time… goes by, though, none of its promises are kept.
LN is a 2012 release that is rated 7.6 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 72 45-minute episodes… SEVENTY-TWO!!?! That's so Taiwanese. They put out slice-of-life romances with a high episode count and relatively low drama. The viewer lives with these characters for awhile, with the effect being either tranquil and decompressing or extremely frustrating. This is only my 6th TwDrama. One reviewer that I respect claims that she's completely fed up with their repetitiveness and her eyes have ‘left the island for good’ ~ She’s done with TwDramas. I'm still brand new to them, and out of the 6 I've seen, I love 3, like 2 (though one of those is carried by the beginning of the show and declInes in the 2nd half), and hate just this one. And, boy, do I hate this show. 1/10th in I couldn't fathom what would fill 72 whole episodes; 1/2 way through I tried to figure out what's filled 36 episodes - just everyday life with a heap of sugar on top. Sadly, nothing fills the last half of the show but pain and aggravation.
With 27 eps to go, I was tempted to abandon the show (something I rarely do) as it was leaving Netflix in 13 days ↪ That is more than 2/day, with no break, and it was starting to feel like a job. In the balance, I liked the characters (though nearly all of them are a bit annoying), but not much was going on. One character is pregnant and a big controversy is whether they should allow her to work. This debate goes on for 2 or 3 episodes, not 2 or 3 minutes. It's too far removed from anything I find familiar. It's astounding that Yi Ru's family supports her ex, Qi Ming, who is a serial womanizer. Sure, he's charming ~ Great guy to hang with ~ Worst guy to marry. The people Yi Ru works with are too goofy. Lan Shi De's mother is sweet, but something about her fawning relationship with grandma (her mother i/l) was too much for me. I wanted to shake her free. Perhaps I'm projecting. Sure, this show is 12 years old, but even still, some of the wardrobe is hideous in any decade. Taiwan seems to have a thing with men wearing low-cut tops. It just doesn't look right.
By ep50, I realized I never should have started this. Anything positive in the first half is obliterated by the doldrums of the second half. I played every single episode in its entirety. It was easy to force myself to do that. What I couldn't force my eyes to do was actually watch it, and I couldn't force my ears to hear it anymore. It became background noise as I did other things and peeked in every now and then just to keep up with the plot. This has nothing to do with the length of the show. I've seen Two Fathers, another Taiwanese series that has over 70 episodes, and I loved it. Here, the dialogue and plot are spread too thinly. There's too much filler and some cheaply manufactured drama. It would be much improved in the 20-30 episode range.
That isn't the fault of the actors, though. The romance starts strong. Yi Ru reluctantly falls for Shi De. Sure, he's good looking, but it goes deeper than that. There's something lovable (and sexy) about a man who truly loves a woman and doesn't expect anything in return. I've read that the 2 leads are a couple. That makes sense because the scenes they spark up feel genuine. Annie Chen (Inborn Pair, My Goddess, Tears on Fire) is FL Yang Yi Ru. She's pretty - pretty aggressive and driven. She's a workaholic. She has a horrible temper but a beautiful heart. The actress is not bad but her voice is too nasally, which gets tedious.
Yi Ru's family tricks her into going on vacation in Borcay by making her believe she has cancer. George Hu (Wacko at Law, Shards of Her, Prince of Lan Ling) plays ML Lan Shi De. Weaknesses in the premise aside, Briefly, I found the romance less than convincing, because he's prettier than the female lead. He's prettier than most women. I settled into the flow after a quick adjustment period.
His family owns a company that makes sinks, tubs and toilets. He's known as a stern and cheerless boss. He's been cheerless ever since his father died and the head-of-family responsibilities were foisted on him at a young age. He's on a business trip in Borcay - until he sees Yi Ru and his mission changes. His top business then becomes bagging her. You see, they were in college together. She doesn't remember, but he sure does. He's been looking for her for 6 years. When he's kind to Yi Ru, she has an emotional outburst and admits she's dying. She will never marry or have kids. Shi De talks her into marrying him. Why not!?. Yi Ru's in the mood to do something crazy.
Bobby Dou (The Little Fairy, Proud of You) plays Sun Qi Ming, Yi Ru's ex. He still hangs around, has a key to her house, and calls her father “dad.” He functions as a mischievous gremlin and causes much of the trouble. According to Yi Ru, the upper half of his body is delightful - that's not the problem: The lower half is the problem. He's an irredeemable philanderer. All those years he was running with other women, Lan Shi De was devoted to Yi Ru.
Vivi Lee (In Time with You, Luo Que) plays Lan Shi Yun, the elder Sister of the ML. She's a relationship expert, author, and (to her embarrassment, given her profession), terminally single. The actress is attractive and does a nice job. I'm not sure if it Is her or the directing, but they kept her part in the 68°-72° range. Slightly cool -to- slightly warm. No fire or ice. I grew weary of her slightly concerned stares. Harry Chang (Autumn's Concerto-7.2, Marry Me, or Not?) Portrays Zheng Yu Xiang who is a younger fan pursuing a relationship with Lan Shi Yun. Esther Yang plays Yi Ru's bratty but cute little sister, Yang Yi Qing.
Shen Hai Yung (The Perfect Match, Better Man) is the most childish character of the bunch as grandma, the matriarch of the Lan family. Grandma's infantine fits are used to forward the plot into fill time. Yen Chia Le (True Meaning of Love, W Series: Love Yourself) is grandma's spinster daughter, Lan Yi Ping. Her part is a little overdone. She ends up shamelessly chasing a man and wearing the worst clothes of the show while doing it. Yet, I still found her adorable. That's some serious presence. She plays a sharp-tongued director in the show, Love You, which is imperfect yet still far better than LN. Mandy Wei (Memory Love, Piggy's Counterattack) really shines as He Cai Rong, though her bangs direly need a trim. She's the best character in the show. She is intuitive and, out of all the characters, she says the most intelligent things. The screenwriters are Lin Pei Yu (We Best Love series) and Shao Hui Ting (A Thousand Goodnights).
LN does have a couple themes even though it doesn't take any deep dives. The title is Love NOW and time is a running theme. Shi De has been wanting Yi Ru for over 6 years. There's ⏲⏱hourglasses and watches⏲⏱ featured frequently on screen. "Women are used to sacrificing while men are used to enjoying women's sacrifices," we hear. 'Fish farms' vs committed love is showcased: Qi Ming calls his floozies his "fish farm" and Yi Ru's little sister thinks that's pretty cool. She starts one of her own. When Yi Ru falls for Shi De, Qi Ming has a major identity crisis. He tries to get her back, but no-nonsense Yi Ru moved on long ago. His character goes through the most growth and change by the time the credits roll. There's quality touches and real smiles in the first part of LN. Someone is always sneezing because they are being talked about, and it makes for nice segues. I think when the series first aired it was popular which led to an unplanned expansion of episodes that the creators couldn't sustain, quality-wise. LN is a broken ⏲ that's only right twice a day. Don't trust it; in the flusher it goes!
〰 IMHO 〰
RATINGS
Directing 3.5
Writing 3
Acting 5
Romance 5
Flutters 5
Art 3
Sound & music 4
Ending 5
LEVELS
Warmth 5
Action 2
Laughs 2.5
Tears 2.5
Fright 1
Tension / Anxiety 2.5
Gore 1
Thought provocation 2
Snores 7
📣3.5 📝3 🎭5 💓5 🦋5 🎨3 🎵/🔊4 🔚5 ▪ 🌞5 ⚡2 😅2.5 😭2.5 😱1 😯2.5 🤢1 🤔2 💤7
Age 13+ Adult/sexual situations
Language: @$$h0le and other rare PG-13 verbiage.
Re-watch? Ain't gonna happen -shoulda skipped the first time
In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:
Taiwan
Two Fathers-7.5 (73 episodes of slice-of-life and i loved every one)
Autumn's Concerto-7.2 (declInes in the 2nd half)
The Fierce Wife-8 (starts iffy, ends magnificently)
Age of Rebellion-9.5
Romance -
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine;
Accidentally in Love 6.5 B-level scripting, acting, and directing, but still fun/strangely relaxing to watch
You are my destiny 6.8 ‘20 cute and sweet and 1/2 padding
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5;
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1
K :
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Touch Your Heart 8.2;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;
Period -
C: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
K:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9
Fantasy
C Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain 7.5;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Eternal Love 8.3,
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10
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