Watch it for Riley Wang's character
15 episodes that felt so much longer than that. The only reason I stuck with it was because I was able to binge watch it. If I was watching it an episode at a time, I would have given up and moved on. The concept was good, but the execution left something to be desired. Li Zheng and Shao Xi were children whose parents decided before they were born that they should marry when they grew up. That fact was mentioned numerous times, but was not explored at all. The female lead character of Shao Xi was good - she was rough around the edges, good at sports, and very loyal to her friends. I liked the fact that she was upfront early on about her feelings for Li Zheng. The character of Li Zheng is where I had the problem - every episode was him looking at her longingly and not telling her how he felt. I never understood why it took him so long. The trauma in his past affected him, but I didn't think it was enough to warrant him being so emotionless toward her. They were cute when they finally got together, other than the fake-looking kisses, plus the writers made us wait until too late in the show to bring them together. The ending of the show was a happy, though lackluster, one.The saving grace of this show was the second male lead, played by Riley Wang. When we were first introduced to him, he appeared to be a player, so I was slow to warm up to him. He was always around, and just never "got" her rejections. As the show went along, he definitely matured. Granted, there was a progression of years from the beginning to the end of the show, but let's be honest, some people never grow up! He appeared to watch out more for Shao Xi's physical and emotional safety than Li Zheng did. Even though he cared deeply for her, he was able to put that aside for her happiness. He was a wonderful character to watch.
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Never thought the 3 words "We are Friends" can be this annoying ...
Completed - 12/22/2021 - 7.5 (subjective); 8.0 (objective)The general plot is nothing extraordinary. It's a typical teen first love drama started from 2nd year of high school to 1st of college. I was looking for a cute and fluffy drama, but I ended up being very emotional and cried more than I expect to (I am a crybaby). If this drama is a like a typical J-drama that is about 10 episodes long (60 minutes each), the pacing would have been a lot better. I would also give it a higher rating.
I was initially annoyed with the over-the-top acting in the first episode. It's really not my cup of tea, but after a couple episodes, I got used to it and was able to enjoy the drama better. I like that we are introduced to a strong and independent FL. She stands up to bullies and defends her friends. She is honest with her feelings and not afraid to be vulnerable and expresses them. I also like our ML initially and understand his background story that affected him tremendously. I really quite like this drama in the first 5 episodes. I would have given it a solid 8.0-8.25.
However, in the middle of the drama between ep 6-10, I became annoyed. Our FL suddenly cries all the time because of a boy. I understand her sadness, but this lasted way too long. I initially like the reasons why ML turned down FL's affection. After all that he went through, being cautious and serious about his feelings is very admirable and understandable. But his wishy-washy behavior becomes annoying and it drags on forever. This is when I thought, if the drama is shorter, we might not have this problem. I really like ML in the beginning as he's my favorite type of ML - quiet, caring and shows affection through actions without much fanfare. But towards the middle of the drama, I wish our FL would just go out with 2ML. Our 2ML is just as good a catch - outgoing, adorable and caring. Oh and Riley Wang (2ML) has a cute dimple! :) I love that 2ML uses the caricature drawing to comfort FL. That was a great scene.
The supporting cast also took me a little while to like them. 2FL is cute as a button and has decent character growth throughout the drama. FL's parents are over-the-top hilarious, but I needed their absurdity to lighten the mood. Same goes to the 3 color-coordinated high school girls. Basically, everyone except our ML and FL are funny and provide colorful humor throughout the drama. Though there are minor annoying characters, there isn't anyone that I hate.
I don't mean to sound like I hate the drama or ML. I do enjoy the drama's unique way of demonstrating ML's inner thoughts and inner world by using the black and white room. It comes full circle when ML and FL both leave this room together at the end. The leads got together pretty late in the drama. I would have loved to see more cutesy scenes between them to compensate for my patience.
Other observations:
1. Too many flashbacks
2. They overplayed the theme song - though it's a lovely song
3. Love the weird "Negative Energy" teacher
4. "We are Friends" means I like you but I can't tell you right now until I am 10000% sure I really like you, or 10000% sure I can stop liking you secretly and forget about you
5. Same writer for "Someday or One Day" and "Rainless Love in Godless Land" - no wonder we see so many guest starring roles in all 3 dramas.
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I'm still stuck on their hair!
This is the first Taiwanese drama I have watched in a while. It was sweet, it made me laugh, it made my heart sink and it made me think. I loved the pacing. I loved the unrequited love. I loved the side characters. The last episode finished the story off perfectly; lots of laughter and a great almost-epilogue.This drama had a great cast of side characters. The parents definitely win the most points for best side characters as they were the oddest parents I've seen in a drama, yet obviously cared about their daughter so much. The way her dad rented the house of his old friends touches my heart, especially as its something you wouldn't expect from a 'gangster.' Notable mentions include Angelina, and the Fighters from the other school who were obsessed with South Korea.
It's not winning any awards for a trail blazing, never seen before plot but it does the simple plot justice. While I don't like the use of car accidents as a plot device to further the story, it did its job and furthered the story enough to see development without having to wait an age. I have an intense dislike of mid-episode title reels that are too cinematic to reflect that drama but those appear in every Taiwanese drama.
The only other issue I had with this drama was the styling. The hairstyles for both leads looked odd, more so for the male lead who's hair looked like a bad toupee at some points. However I have a feeling this is due to the need for multiple hairstyles to show the passing of time and changing of styles. You can tell they looked most appropriate to their roles in the epilogue.
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Eu rolava de rir de certos momentos de vergonha alheia que esse drama teve, mas não vou contar nada para não estragar a surpresa kkkk.
Preciso alertar você que por causa da personalidade do protagonista o romance nesse drama demora um bom tempo para se desenvolver, apesar de dar a entender desde o início que ambos se gostam.
A OST foi um show a parte, fiquei apaixonada pela música cantada pela atríz/cantora Joane Tseng e escutei ela um bom tempo depois de terminar o dorama. Não posso deixar de acrescentar que amei que uma de minhas músicas internacionais queridinhas era tocada em praticamente todos os episódios desse drama, duvido muito que vocês não conheçam: Close to You.
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Cute show, not the best executed, but sweet
In general, Attention Love, is a pretty light show that fits well into the high school/college opposites-attract rom-com genre. Joanne Tseng and Prince Chiu are well-cast as the scrappy, energetic heroine and brooding, serious male lead, respectively. But I agree with other reviewers that the second couple steal the show. There's definitely some second lead syndrome with the second ML and even though the second FL, An Xiao Qiao/Angelina, starts out kind of annoying, she will quickly steal your heart too, through her adorable persistence and cleverness. The supporting characters are sweet and hilarious too; special shout out to the FL's parents who are hysterical and my favorite parts of the show. Honestly, a lot of times the supporting characters were more interesting to watch than the leads.The plot is your pretty standard "waiting for the leads to realize they love each other" fare. I had some issues with the pacing; there are definitely conflicts that dragged a little and then got resolved surprisingly quickly, as well as conflicts that were raised early on and then basically ignored for the rest of the show. But the whole series is only 15 episodes, so it's pretty easy to watch in a short amount of time. The OST is fun, with a lot of classic hits from Taiwanese singers. Overall, if you're looking for something light and frothy, I'd say Attention Love is a nice to show to unwind to.
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The story is not something very original but I loved how they pulled it off. It wasn't draggy, had just enough plot for its entire run to keep you on your toes to go on watching the next episode. Its a great romcom for people who love watching cute first love stories and school drama without the super cliche parts. there are of course some cliches but they will make you swoon. What I love about this drama is that it is very relatable. It will strike a chord in your heart if you have ever had an unrequited love or at least a crush on someone. The feelings the drama will evoke from you is worth the watch.
Acting/Cast:
I would like to say that Joanne Tang and Prince Chiu did a great job with their roles. Each emotion was potrayed perfectly. The female lead exposed her sadness of being in an unrequited love in such a relatable way. One particular quote that I love is she said every girl when they say they like someone, they have hesitated, struggled for a long time to confirm their feelings for the other person before confessing. Since they are so serious about it, they are even more afraid of getting hurt by the response they get. Another one is "Its not that I don't have the courage to tell him I like him. I just don't have courage to face life after losing him." Prince chiu also potrayed Li Zheng perfectly. Those feelings of insecurity, struggle with losing his parents, confusion with his feelings and his jealousy was shown very realistically. The second leads were great too although I didn't have second lead syndrome because Prince is too handsome keke. The two best friends were a nice addition to the female lead's life.
Music:
I LOVE ALL the OSTs. they were really great, every one of them. the starting song was sung by our very own main male lead Prince and the ending song is sung by our female lead. "Close to You" was great too and international fans will be able to appreciate this song better because its in english haha.
Re-watch value:
I would definitely rewatch this again. <3
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However, what made this drama much more watchable than many other Taiwanese dramas was probably the pretty awesome side characters. Their introductions are less than stellar, but they really do help move the show along and add substance to it. As for the leads, they're not so bad. There were many comments about the angst in this drama. But, I mean, they're in high school and are freshman in college. Of course they act like this. It would be kind of ridiculous if they acted like the perfectly mature and reasonable adults they actually are. They are portraying teenagers, so get ready to really feel that teenage angst. In my opinion, the reasons holding back the main couple were more realistic than the usual dumb misunderstandings concocted by a jealous second lead. If you really think about Yan Li Zheng's back story along with what kind of person Zhong Shao Xi is, then the situations in the show aren't that hard to understand. The show could have done a little better reminding the audience about the backstory, but that did not take away from the story as a whole.
All in all, this is a pretty cute, light drama that is consumed much better in the form of a binge. The story was pretty cute, the acting wasn't bad. Casting was pretty on point. Music is super catchy. Especially the adorable opening sequence. The cuts to commercial man. So freaking adorable. I rarely rewatch dramas and this is no exception. Overall, pretty solid drama to watch if you just wanna see some cute moments of young love.
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2. Handles high school-esque problems well, other than the fistfighting, but the butt kicking makes it fun.
3. The chemistry between the leads was memorable. I liked the actors, even if they’re not particularly believable as high schoolers. I’d love to see them in a less youthful production. Something with meat on it.
4. Sometimes it was overly saccharine. To the point where I really wanted to stop watching it. Kept it up as background entertainment for most of the show while I did other things, I won’t lie.
5. It is what it is, and doesn’t pretend to be anything else. The opening song and beginning reel kind of prepares you for what’s coming, unlike others where it’s misleading. If the lot of them popping up in the beginning doesn’t immediately make you cringe then you may be ok. I however would not even half watch this again, it’s not my milieu. Share it with some 12-14 year olds you know, or those that need light, fluffy and fun in their life.
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Mixed Feelings but in a good way
Started this drama with low expectations but it turned out much better than I thought. Though the first episode reminded me of lower budget daily dramas from the cameras used and editing, it seemed to get better over time (or I just got used to it) and stuck around for the main leads I grew to like. Though slow paced, the main characters were still enjoyable to watch and pro tip if you decide to give this a chance: watch on 1.5 or 2 times speed!The Good:
-internal monologues: this added dimension to the characters and helped me become more invested in who they were.
-script (parts of it): they actually tried to TALK things out which is something I rarely see being done.
The Meh:
-cliches: this drama is jam packed with them. Certain elements of the story and characters reminded me of many other dramas that I've seen before like "Playful Kiss" and "Boys Over Flowers."
-slower paced: for some reason, these episodes felt really looooong even though a lot of different events occur in each episode.
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