There are several reasons that I picked up this show, and really, really wanted to like it.

For one thing, I was quite smitten by Miles Wei’s sweet, gentle and thoughtful outing in You Are My Secret (review here!), and was keen to have him on my screen again.

For another, lots of people seem to really, really like this little show. Not only that, based on the comments that I saw about this show, it sounded like Miles Wei’s character in this, would be sweet and thoughtful too.

Ooh. To have Miles Wei on my screen again, and in a character that promised to be at least a little reminiscent of his character Ji Yuheng in You Are My Secret?

I couldn’t sign up fast enough.

The only problem was, I couldn’t seem to love this one the way everyone else seems to love this one, no matter how hard I tried. 😅

If you loved Perfect and Casual, &/or if you recommended it to me, I’m sorry I didn’t manage to love it. Just know that it wasn’t from lack of trying. 🙈

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

Zhang Sinian (Miles Wei), with his exacting personality, is our titular Mr. Perfect, and Yun Shu (Xu Ruo Han), with her more chaotic, carefree vibe, is our titular Ms. Casual.

Through several encounters, they realize that they need each other’s help, and agree to enter into a contract marriage.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Like I alluded to earlier, I personally didn’t manage to successfully manage my viewing lens to a degree that allowed me to enjoy this show.

However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t know what the appropriate viewing lenses are, nor that you wouldn’t be able to make it work, even though I failed quite spectacularly at it. 😅

For the record, here are some things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. A manhua lens is essential

Normal logic often doesn’t apply in this drama world, whether it’s the logic around how people normally behave, or just plain logic in general.

I think a manhua lens could be very helpful with that, because thinking of our characters as cartoon beings in a cartoon world, can smooth over a multitude of logic fails.

2. Show is rough around the edges

I think it’s safe to say that Show is rough around the edges, on multiple fronts, from the writing, to the execution, to the delivery, to the overall production values.

Keeping your expectations low would be helpful, I believe.

STUFF I LIKED

Having Miles Wei on my screen

Ha. Of course this would be my first item on the list, because Miles Wei was the main reason that I considered this show, in the first place.

Bonus points that he’s styled very much like his character in You Are My Secret, Ji Yuheng, whom I loved.

Also bonus points that as our story progresses, we get peeks of what I like to call Precursor Jiheng, because his character Sinian shows glimpses of thoughtfulness and sweetness quite similar to Ji Yuheng.

Yes, I know. I could’ve just rewatched You Are My Secret, but I wanted something that was new and fresh to my eyes, yet still serving up the familiar elements that I liked, if that makes sense?

Overall, I would have liked more of these glimpses, and sooner, but I still did like having Miles Wei on my screen, so this was an overall plus.

The warm cozy feels – when they’re served up

I honestly wanted more warm and cozy feels, particularly since I watched this show as a drama nightcap, and one of my big wants in a drama nightcap, is that the drama in question serve up cozy feels that make me feel like I’m wrapped up in a warm blanket, as I wind down for bed.

Show does offer some warm and cozy feels, but I personally wished that Show could have served them up sooner, and in more generous servings.

To put it in perspective, if we were to think of my overall drama experience as a meal plate, I’d wanted about 80% of the plate to have been filled with cozy feels, but instead, the cozy feels only took up about.. 20% of the available real estate?

But yes, when Show served up the warmth, I welcomed it as a plus. 🥰

Cui Ke Fa as Gramps

Gramps is a lovely ray of sunshine, in our drama world.

He doesn’t enjoy a whole lot of screen time, but every time he showed up, the warmth meter on my watch experience definitely went up. 😁

He’s just really cheerful, goodhearted and encouraging, and he’s got a lovely bright smile too.

His instant connection with Yun Shu, which grows into an actual bond, was very sweet and heartwarming too. 🥰

STUFF THAT WAS OK

Xu Ruo Han as Yun Shu

This was my introduction to Xu Ruo Han, and I thought she was fine, as Yun Shu.

Perhaps it was in the way she was directed; perhaps it was also because this was her first drama, and she had to bear the instant burden of being the female lead; I found her delivery to be just ok.

Generally speaking, I felt like I wanted more from her, especially in the area of emotional depth, but I feel like I can’t single her out on that, because I feel like the entire show lacks in that area.

As a character, I also wanted Yun Shu to be better written, better developed and better directed, but I conclude that this desire basically applies to all characters in this drama world, so I’ll talk more about that in another section.

But I just wanted to explain why I’ve got Yun Shu in this section.

The handling of the OTP relationship

I think it’s safe to say that this was the area where I’d had most of my hopes, with this show, and this was also the area where I felt most let down, for lack of a better phrase.

What I mean is, if I hadn’t had hopes, I wouldn’t have felt let down, if that makes sense?

If I had to pinpoint one thing that dragged down this OTP relationship for me, it’s that I wasn’t prepared for just how much Show would lean into its webtoon vibe, in fleshing out this OTP.

In the beginning, Show exaggerates just how exacting Sinian is, and how chaotic Yun Shu is, in order to bring on the laughs, and also, in order to make the point that they are absolutely diametrical opposites.

I didn’t love this, but believed that Show would tone it down as it worked to draw these two people together.

And it’s true, Show does tone it down after our initial episodes, but the problem for me, I realize, is that I was expecting – well, hoping for – an emotional connection that felt real, despite Show’s webtoon vibe, and I don’t think I got that.

One of the key factors at play, I think, is the way Show makes Sinian out to be too robot-like, such that he’s not only completely clueless about feelings in general, as well as his own, specifically, he also doesn’t behave the way I would expect a normal human being to, when he’s with the person he likes / loves.

I think that Show’s using this in service of its webtoon vibe, &/or its Intended Funny, but I often found myself feeling quite perplexed at Sinian’s behavior.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, Sinian would get to a point of actually kissing Yun Shu and telling her that he likes her, then promptly revert to his more businesslike, robotic ways, while completely missing Yun Shu’s hints that she wanted more couple time with him.

There’s also the way Show serves up several ardent kisses that just.. kind of lead nowhere?

I’m not even specifically talking about ardent kisses leading to sexytimes, although there’s that too; they don’t lead to sexytimes even when circumstantially, you might expect them to.

I’m also talking about how the ardent kisses don’t seem to make a dent in their relationship progress, or their individual understanding of their relationship.

I found this all very weird.

[END SPOILER]

Another thing I found weird, is the fact that Yun Shu continues to address Sinian as “Teacher Zhang” through much of our drama, all the way to the very end.

I get that she’s used to it, because that’s how she came to know him, but this quirk reminded me, over and over again, that Sinian had been her teacher, even if only for a little while.

And, the term of address kept reinforcing this teacher-student dynamic, which made the romance seem very questionable.

I mean, how weird is it, that towards the end of our story, even after they’ve agreed to get married for real, and have even consummated their relationship, she’s still addressing him as “Teacher Zhang”??

I get that it’s not just Sinian’s students that would address him as “Teacher Zhang,” and that anyone in school, from his colleagues to his supervisor, might address him as “Teacher Zhang,” but the problem here, I think, is that Yun Shu addressed him as “Teacher Zhang” because she’d been his student.

Having her continue to address him as such, even after they become husband and wife, feels improper – or is that just me?

As a saving grace, Show does give us scenes of Yun Shu and Sinian coming to understand each other better, and providing support and encouragement to each other; I did appreciate those.

Overall, though, I have to say that this OTP relationship fell into the “just ok” zone for me.

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

The writing of our characters and relationships

I’ve already alluded to this, but thought it only right that I dedicate a section to the writing of our characters and relationships, because I do think that that had a big impact on my experience of the show.

Generally, I felt that the writing was weak, like the writers didn’t know how to properly tease out character development or relationships, or didn’t care to do so.

Most of the character and relationship development we see feels quite shallow and perfunctory, and didn’t strike me as having any believable emotional depth.

I feel like if Show had gotten this one thing right, I would have enjoyed my watch a lot better.

When Show’s rough edges show too much

I know I said to adjust your expectations around this, and I did do that, but there were some occasions when Show’s rough edges stood out too much, and interfered with my watch.

Specifically, I’m referring to the sound balance, which was sometimes so weirdly off, that the background music was much louder than the actual dialogue between characters, and I found it hard to hear what our characters were saying.

Sometimes, it was supposed to be a quiet scene, and the background music was pared down to the sound of a kick drum bopping rhythmically, but the sound level on the kick drum was so high, that it was extremely distracting.

I don’t know if it’s different across streaming platforms, but I watched on WeTV, and that was my experience.

Yun Lan’s loveline with Lu Yu

I cannot overstate how much I disliked this loveline, my friends. 😅

Mainly, I was not convinced that Yun Lan (Ma Ge) actually liked Lu Yu (Dai Yun Fan) all that much, and so, I found all the writing around Lu Yu’s efforts to court her, very stalkery and intrusive.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, I found it very uncomfortable how he basically forced his way into her apartment, in the early stages, when she was actively avoiding him.

It felt like stalker behavior to me, and I found it quite disturbing that she would fall asleep while he was there, and that he would carry her into her bedroom.

I think this was meant to be romantic, though I can’t be super sure, because I was very weirded out by it. 😅

And then later, when Yun Lan declares that Lu Yu is her boyfriend, I found it very random as well, even though he’s presented as defending her honor, and that’s a key reason why she softens towards him.

[END SPOILER]

Overall, I found the back-and-forth between these two characters of very little interest to me, and I mostly felt like Lu Yu was not being respectful of the boundaries set by Yun Lan.

Did not like.

Zhiyi’s loveline with Lin Nuo

I also really didn’t like the loveline between Yun Shu’s friends, Zhiyi and Lin Nuo (Zhao Ruo Lan and Sheng Gang Shuai).

[SPOILER ALERT]

With their bickery, on-again, off-again dynamic, and the way Zhiyi was always disdaining Lin Nuo and actively looking for a boyfriend, I didn’t even realize that Lin Nuo was Zhiyi’s endgame, honestly. 😅

I was convinced that Lin Nuo liked Zhiyi, but I was not convinced that Zhiyi actually liked Lin Nuo, and so, when Show ramped up this loveline, I found it quite hard to understand.

I also didn’t like the way Zhiyi treated Lin Nuo, so I couldn’t quite convince myself to root for them to reconcile, when they break up again, near the end of our story.

[END SPOILER]

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

Despite my expectations being pretty low by the time I got to the finish line, I still managed to feel underwhelmed by the finale. Oops? 😅

There was even less logic at play than usual, and I just found it all a bit much to deal with, I think.

When Yun Shu accepts the invitation to work at the Kobayashi Studio for a year, it’s with the understanding that Sinian would then take Gramps overseas for treatment, and that they would then all reunite a year later.

However, Gramps makes it clear to Sinian that he absolutely doesn’t want to go, but refuses to let Sinian let Yun Shu know about this.

So when Yun Shu is leaving for Japan, she tells Sinian, at the airport, that she’ll be back in a week, to send him and Gramps off, and Sinian says yes??

But then she is so moved by Sinian’s little booklet of thoughtful tips that he hides in her bag, that she drops everything and rushes to his side in a taxi – and just gives up on the job posting entirely.

Weirdly, though, the issue that Gramps and Sinian aren’t going overseas for Gramps’s treatment, is never dealt with?

Show never actually addresses whether Yun Shu actually knows that Gramps isn’t going, or how she feels about it.

We just seem to skip along, as if this had never existed as an issue, and Yun Shu and Sinian move into Gramps’s house to live with him, and it’s all very weird to me.

Another thing that didn’t work for me in this finale, is the treatment of the relationship between Yun Lan and Lu Yu.

She discovers that she’s pregnant after she and Lu Yu break up, but doesn’t tell him about it.

Instead, she tells Yun Shu, but in doing so, makes it clear that she doesn’t intend to tell Lu Yu.

But then Yun Shu goes and tells Lu Yu about it, saying that she feels that it’s his right to know.

And so Lu Yu promptly bulldozes his way back into Yun Lan’s life with a marriage proposal, and she lets him, but jokes later, that he’s on a 3-month probation period, and whether she accepts his proposal, will depend on how he does during the probation period.

I don’t even know where to begin, to express why this whole thing feels all wrong to me. 😅

Yun Shu shouldn’t have taken it upon herself to tell Lu Yu, because Yun Lan should have that decision-making right, and also, it feels like the repeat of a bad dream, with the way Lu Yu is pushing his way into Yun Lan’s life again, except this time, there’s a baby and marriage proposal involved.

Oh, and in the meantime, Yun Shu finds out that Lin Nuo had gone to Africa alone instead of with that female colleague with whom Zhiyi had believed he was cheating, and tells Zhiyi, who promptly decides that she needs to go to Africa too, to be with him.

We don’t get to see this reunion, but we do see a text message exchange, where Zhiyi texts, “I’m coming to Africa; just you wait,” to which Lin Nuo asks when Zhiyi will stop being so hotheaded, and Zhiyi replies, essentially, “Well, whatcha gonna do about it?,” to which he answers, “I’ll just pick you up at the airport, I guess.”

Yeah, I guess this is just the way they communicate – is my way of making the best of it. 😅

And finally, Show gives us a highlight reel of all of our OTP’s key moments, as Sinian tells Yun Shu, with Gramps as witness, that if he hadn’t met her, his life wouldn’t have been “完美,” (wánměi) which in this sense, means complete, but which is also the phrase that means “perfect” in our show title.

I thought that was a nice play on the phrase “完美,” with Mr. “完美” saying that Yun Shu’s presence in his life is what makes his life “完美.”

Which is a nicely positive note on which to end my watch, despite the sometimes bumpy ride.

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Fine, if you’re able to keep some seriously thick Disney-esque webtoon goggles on.

FINAL GRADE: B-

TRAILER:

MV:

WHERE TO WATCH:

Show is available on WeTV, iQIYI, Viki and YouTube*.

* There appear to be licensing issues around some of the music on the YouTube version, so certain stretches are muted, as a result. So the show is available, but I would recommend watching on one of the other platforms, if you can.

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