Devil Beside You (2005)

I've decided to watch this one after my friend told me about it.
In the beginning I thought the story sounded superficial, but wanted to give it a go anyway.
And it turned out to be a story full of humor, fluff and honesty. It made me want to continue watching after every episode!

Though the acting seems a bit exaggerated (especially in certain scenes during the first episodes) it levels out as the story progresses. I was really surprised by some of the support-roles. Especially Ahmon's father who I originally thought to be laughing stock-figure, turned out to have a lot of potential.

What I really liked about this drama:
The actors were well chosen and did a nice job conveying emotions, problems and the individual characters. I was afraid "the devil" would end up making a 180° turn and end up suddenly being all lovey-dovey (like in several other dramas), but his character remained consistent only gained depth!
Same goes for the supporting cast. I always get really frustrated when you have a couple of really good actors and their only function in the whole drama is to push along the storyline of the main characters. In this drama, they had there own stories. You got the impression of them being real friends, with honest and realistic behaviour.
(I would have enjoyed to see more of the relationship between Jang Ping and Li Xiang, though!)

After episode 5 I thought...
1. this is brilliant. 10* and 100% rewatch value.
2. There are another 15 episodes, what are they going to do? oO
3. Please don't let this turn into one of those dramas that just drag on and on and on...

Well, it didn't drag on.
I thought the screenwriter(s) did a really good job at tackling the whole "sibling-love affair" issue, in a realistic and honest fashion. I have to admit, I really liked this topic and was amazed at how well it was dealt with.

What I didn't like:
This is probably getting old and maybe I am biased by my own cultural background but I really hate it, when people do not talk about their feelings. They don't have to go confessing in ep 2 but how they always do whatever they think is right, always wanting to do everything on their own. As if they were alone in the relationship. Many of the dramas I watched could have been completed in half the time had people sat down for a decent talk.
(Sorry... getting distracted here...)
It's not too prominent in this drama though, but it is still there. And it's just frustrating to see the only time they ever sweet-talk to each other is after they have finally resolved one of these issues.
(Okay enough of that now... I am ranting...)

I know I said the drama is not dragging on, but during the last couple of episodes one does get the impression of the main characters just kind of going from one problem to the next. Mind, all problems are in line with the story and make sense, but I still got a little put off by too many problems and too little fluff.

So I had to deduct some points, because it spoiled the rewatch value.
The ending ... oh I won't ... spoilers ;)

All in all this was still one of the better dramas I have seen so far. I'd definetely recommend it. It was great to watch and very enjoyable. This drama will make you want to watch on after every episode, because it is exciting throughout.

Lire davantage

The following is an EVERYTHING HONEST REVIEW

Today I review a classic in Taiwanese drama, Devil Beside You.

A story that has paved the way for some of the biggest cliches in modern Taiwanse dramas. Meet Jiang Meng a.k.a Ahmon(Mike He), the biggest douchbag in Taiwanse drama history that has a nice side... because that is not cliche. Seriously even back then I would think that is a cliche idea. He falls for Qi Yue(Rainie Yang)the poster girl for plain women everywhere. In order to make their otherwise BORING relationship interesting the two are to become step siblings! Wow that twist seems incestuous... but who cares? Really no one in this drama cares as if there relationship is not odd even by a little bit.
But if that wasn't enough the two and by two I mean Qi Yue must face the most VIOLENT, MANIPULATIVE second leads ever. While Ahmon gets the laid back ones. Probably thanks to money.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy a romance satisfy all romance needs unless your into Twilight. Then nothing else can please you.

Starring
Plain ol' Rain( Rainie Yang)
Abs(Mike He)
Nice Guy finish last(Kingone Wang)
Ms. Steal Ya Man(Qing Zi)
Emo girl(Li Xiang)

Devil Beside you...wait what happened to Qi Yue's other friend. Not Qing Zi, the other girl. She disappeared towards the end. Oh well. She wasn't that important. But seriously am I the only one who noticed every time Kingone is in a drama with Rainie Yang he is ALWAYS the second lead. Just me? OKay now I'm done.

Cliche Counter
1. Male lead is rich.
2. Male lead is a douchebag, but is nice to the girl he loves.
3. Female lead social status is noticeably different from the male lead.
4. Female lead friend hooks up with one of female leads love interest.
5. Female lead gets physically bullied...wait this is actual rare in Taiwanese dramas.
6. Male lead and second male lead dual via basketball game or something similar. This happens twice.
7. Male lead's grandma tries to to set him up with a girl of her choosing.
In case you guys are unaware this review have a lot of sarcasm based off the Honest Reviews and Everything Wrong With videos about movies. You should check them out on youtube under the usernames Screenjunkies and Cinemasins. If I missed any sins let me know.

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"Devil Beside You" was my first drama love, even though it wasn't my first drama. It was the one drama that got me into all this madness, so of course I had have some bias towards it, but looking over it now, I realize that not everything is perfect about this drama.
Story: The story deals with more than the synopsis lets on. It's not just about love and the problems the man characters face in their love lives, it's about family and healing old scars. True, the plot it a bit slow at times, but each episode teaches the main character, Qi Yue, a little bit about love. The pacing in this drama was fabulous, because the writers let the relationship develop just like a real one and covered each and every facet of Qi Yue and Jiang Meng's relationship. We saw them go through rough spots together and come out victorious.
Acting: There's a reason Rainie Yang and Mike He are A-list actors right now. They were really good in this drama. Mike He had an awesome smirk and Rainie Yang was really good at playing the more comedic scenes. Not to mention the fact that they had sizzling chemistry. Kingone Wang was pretty good too, but he wasn't as great as he could have been (on a side note, it was impressive watching his acting improve in his later dramas.) Qi Yue's mom was a really good actress too and was great as far as comic relief went.
Music: I absolutely adored the theme song in this drama. All the other music was great too, though. The OST here is one of the better ones in dramaland.
Rewatch Value: For me, yes. It was the first drama I actually *liked*, and that's a pretty big achievement.
Overall: Of course, this is hardly perfect. It's a bit slow, and more than a little frustrating, but it's realistic and told with a lot of heart.

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If you love romantic comedies then this is a drama you should never miss! I never thought that I would fall for a Taiwanese drama and that it will be as good as a Korean drama. This is my second Taiwanese drama, and I started watching with a slight hesitation wondering whether it will meet my expectations. After watching first few episodes, I was completely hooked. It was so magical, I couldn't stop watching it. The story was strong, cast was great (especially Mike He), there were no time fillers, and music was also great. I will not deny the fact that there were few places where it was dragging, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this drama. I completely enjoyed this drama. And so after watching it I gave a straight 10 rating :) And now I am gonna rewatch it!!

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If you ask me for classics I'll tell you about this one

Ah nostalgia ... this is the first drama I've ever watched. Is this drama cliché ? the answer is no, yes you may have watched those thropes a hundred times but it is simply because it is the blueprint, this little jewel was broadcast in the early 2000 it is not cliché it is what invented the clichés, simple.
The craze around this one was so strong as well because of the wonderful cast, the multitalented Rainie who sings a lot of this drama's OST and the most handsome face you will ever cross Mike, the chemistry of those two was so strong that everyone thought for years that they were dating, everyone wanted to see them together again and that led them to film another drama called Why Why Love starring the amazing Kingone Wang ( we don't change a winning team ).

Conclusion : it would be unfair to to judge this one by today's standard, for the early 2000's standard this is undoubtly a 10.

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this is actually my first drama so far i can remember. it made me fall in love with dramas.

there are always the one perfect role for an actor and for mike, it was definitely this role. rainie and kingone did a really great job too and since this drama i loved seeing them together in a drama.

the drama is lacking things (like some scenes are not flowing smoothly), i agree, but this drama is quite old already and for that time it was a very good drama.

the drama is tense, heartbreaking, heartskip-making and lovable. this drama is also funny too. and ioved how the drama didn't just tell the story between rainie and mike but also from their friends.
for me, a good romance drama must make me believe in their love. and this drama made it. i can still remember the tense and strong love between this couple while going through hardships.
the last episode made me tear up because it was ending and the story was great.

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I enjoyed watching this drama. The story was good, although it took me some time to get over the fact of the step brother/sister relationship. Considering they're not related by blood and are 2 different people, I got over it. Instead I found myself loving them as a couple. Rainie and Mike He have great chemistry! This was the first drama I've seen with both of them together. The side couple, Yuan Yu and Qing Zi were nice to see, and the rest of the guys plus Ahrang were great, too! Plus the parents were funny (:



Acting - Great! Nothing to complain about with any of the characters.



The music was good, I found myself downloading some of the music from the show (:



I have too many shows I wanna watch to rewatch, so i dunno if I will or not.



Overall- I think this show was worth watching (: If you're a fan of Taiwan dramas, and have not seen this one yet, I highly recommend it! It definitely has quite a few romantic scenes, and you'll find yourself rooting for the 2 to be together in the end (:

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