You're my sunflower

I'm in the middle on episode 25. Starting from episode 1, I haven't stopped smiling. This is one of the cutest shows, with some laugh out loud moments. I especially have enjoyed Xiao Man's martial arts daydreams, where she's forever saving the scholar.

I have also enjoyed the relationship between Xiao Man and her Dad, who is incredibly sweet and supportive of her. Their love of the martial arts has bonded them in a special way.

So, why a review before finishing the show?
The two leads finally get around to figuring when they started noticing each other (it's a lot earlier than I guessed). And he's says, "You're my sunflower. Your existence is the most beautiful thing that has happened in my life." I just had to share this moment with you.

UPDATE for the completed series
The series took on a more serious note towards the latter end as Xiao Man, Zuo An and their friends grow up and face the world. The FL and ML really communicated well, esp. given that this is their first relationship and they're so very young. The side characters were great, and Shen Chen Yang grew on me.

I thoroughly enjoyed binge-watching this show!

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Conflicted about this

I was surprised that I enjoyed season 1 as much as I did, so I was lookin g forward to season 2, only to find that I had a difficult time getting into the story. Part of it was how sad it was for about 12 episodes until Tokyo when she was finally able to start letting go. But crying for 12 episodes straight was not fun. I put the show on hold a couple of times before deciding to continue.

After Tokyo, the story picked up and it was more enjoyable. As much as I like Sean Chen as Fang Ting Hao, I was pretty unhappy when he manipulated his 3-month promise from Qi Bai Cao. His obsession with her and wanting to control her was out of hand, even though he did many things to help her.

I felt that the second ML and FL had more chemistry in season 1 than 2. I know Yi Feng was away a lot in season 2 but I no longer felt their connection and rapport this season. It was so evident and cute in the first season. On the other hand, Chang An went through tremendous growth and was really fun to watch. I especially enjoyed his interactions with Fang Ting Hao.

The ending felt abrupt, even with 35 episodes. We did get clues about where everyone was headed, but it still felt very abrupt.

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Cultural norms and marriage

I really enjoyed my time with the He family as Mrs. He showered her family with love by feeding them. The He parents also allowed their twins, Can Yang and Fan Xing, to having more personal freedom. Even though Mrs. He drops hints about marriage into the conversation, she doesn't actually set her kids up on blind dates.

Fan Xing and Yuan Song's chemistry was great and I was rooting for them from the start. Yuan Song (played Song Wei Long) was pure eye candy but I was also impressed by Wei Long's acting. He displayed a wider range of emotions than he did in Go Ahead, where his kept his emotions restrained. This was my first time seeing Victoria Song in anything, and she played Fan Xing well, going from the emotionally naive woman to the straight manager to the girly girl when she's with her best friends.

I also enjoyed the other couples. Although I'm not a big fan of Esther Yu's character, Cai Min Min, I could see her growth in the series and was rooting for her and Can Yang in the end. Can Yang, played by Zhang Yu Jian, is an immature, fun-loving, professor, This is such a departure from Yu Jian's role in Le Coup de Foudre, where his acting felt more wooden.

Watching this show really made me think about cultural norms, not only about the age differences in the two couple, but also the relationship choices Fan Xing's best friends felt they had to make given their circumstances. There were also questions about marriage: do we marry for love, compatibility, security, a large house, children? I found the romance fun, but I found these questions, which were woven throughout the series, even more compelling.

I watched 1-2 episodes at a time for the first 13 episodes. After that, I binged watched. I really didn't want to stop watching. It was so good! I was a little disappointed about the ending. I really wanted to watch the main couple be together for longer than what we got.

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My favorite adaptation

This is the 4th version I have seen [previously seen Playful Kiss (Korean adaptation), Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo (Japanese adaptation), Miss in Kiss (Taiwanese adaptation)] and I have say this is definitely my favorite. While the other three have stayed truer to the manga series "Itazura na Kiss," I felt this version made both Naoki (TenTen in this Thai version) and Kotoko (Taliw) less extreme versions of themselves. TenTen remains a cold, genius-level student but he has a gentle side that's apparent even in the first episode. Taliw is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she is surrounded by her small group of loyal friends who are protective of her. Her insights in this version were spot on.

How this adaptation differed in positive ways (IMHO):
- kept the house destruction event believable [not an insect-related lab mishap (Miss in Kiss), 2.0 earthquake that destroyed the house (Playful Kiss), a small meteor hitting the house (Love in Tokyo)].
- made Kinnosuke (King in the Thai version) a lovable character. He was devoted without being stalker-ish and supportive in the most loving ways.
- although Naoki's Mom in the other versions was so extreme that she played a caricature and was a riot, I could see why Naoki felt he had to leave the house to figure out what were his Mom's decisions and what were his decisions. TenTen, on the other hand, had Mom Kaew who often insisted on her way, but they also negotiated. She also knew how to apologize and show her love for him. She never showed up at school and plastered the bulletin boards with dating rumors nor arranged his wedding without this knowledge. I felt that TenTen left the house partly to allow Taliw to rely less on him and to figure out what she could do on her own.
- Taliw did follow TenTen around to a certain degree, and TenTen encouraged this with respect to choosing their college degrees. But Taliw had more of a backbone, esp. at the end of episode 19.
- TenTen's and Taliw's back story in this adaptation was precious. I absolutely loved it.

I know many people prefer a version truer to the manga series, and I truly enjoyed those too. Having seen 3 of them already, I was ready for this version. I'm thrilled to have found this. The main leads had GREAT chemistry. Mike Angelo didn't have to shed a lot of tears to convey his emotions but I could feel his uncertainty and sadness. He is even more gorgeous without the platinum blond. I loved that he and Aom sang the "Kiss me" OST single.

TLDR: Highly recommended!

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Mai ChengHuan's growth to independence

TLDR: If you've read the discussions on Viki and MDL, you will have seen the overbearing, annoying and toxic mom labels. I won't deny that the mother was portrayed very well by actress He Sai Fei. And many people who are unfamiliar with Asian culture may not understand her portrayal, so they dropped the series because of her, even though she eventually strives to understand her children better, and they reach an understanding. Also, if you're just expecting a RomCom, this series is not for you.

This drama is more about family life and the relationships between the family members. Not many of us will have the economic background as the Mai family, who are living in government housing, and where the parents' big dream is for the government to demolish their building so they can collect the relocation money and move to the suburbs. Mr. and Mrs. Mai have sacrificed enough to be able to send their two children to college, and ChengZao had scholarships while also tutoring while attending school. He's in his early 20s and still sleeps on a cot in their living room. Older sister ChengHuan is 29 and diligently works in the hotel industry. She wants to be independent and to be able to alleviate her parents' difficult life. As her mom increasingly interferes with her life, the fragile balance between filial piety and independence breaks, leading to a public row between her and her mom.

Things I liked:
- the very gradual and realistic change in the relationship between Yao ZhiMing and Mai ChengHuan. They started off on the wrong foot. From my perspective, he fell first but could only support her without her knowing about it.
- Yao ZhiMing and Mai ChengHuan being there for each other, physically present and emotionally available, was the most romantic thing. Viewers define romance differently. Some go for the big ring, flowers, chocolate. Me - someone to hold me when I'm down and someone to listen so I can hear myself think.
- ChengHuan's journey growing up with an overbearing mom to being able to speak up for herself, not second-guessing herself, but being able to stand up for herself was a joy to behold.
- the friendship between siblings ChengHuan and ChengZao. They're the only ones who know their parents and know what the other is going through.
- the friendship between ChengHuan and MaoMao. They have each other's backs.

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