Review: Mr. Bad [China]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show isn’t going to win any awards for Best Drama, or Best OTP, but if you’re looking for a spot of silly, fluffy drama, this might just do the trick.

It took a while for me to warm to our male lead, but I found Shen Yue’s turn as our female lead delightfully charming, and that more than balanced things out for me.

On top of that, Show’s absurd premise and snappy pace kept things moving along in a pretty pleasing way, so that I didn’t even mind so much, when I didn’t find some of Show’s comic moments all that funny.

Add on a secondary loveline that I was genuinely interested in from early on in our story, and this worked out to be a pretty pleasant diversion, for a little while.

And sometimes, that’s just what you need in a drama, yes?

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Review: The Bond [China]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

The Bond is basically a sprawling slice-of-life family drama, that is showcased in a pretty condensed sort of format.

Show does a very good job of making its characters feel like real people with real flaws and real struggles, and one can’t help but be interested in the lives of these characters, as a result.

Our cast is strong, in the sense that you don’t really feel like these are actors putting forth their best performance; you just feel like these are real people, with some flaws more glaring than others, all trying to do their best, with their varying lots in life.

A solid watch, particularly if you enjoy everyday insights into Chinese culture and China’s modern history.

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