The Day of Becoming You (2021)

Seems like a generic plot but is filled with hilarious acting and adorable characters

If you read the synopsis, it seems like one of the most generic plots. Body-switching... again??? But this show does it right. During the body switches, the leads and their acting is incredible to watch. When they body switch, it is almost TOO realistic that it feels weird to watch - I had to remind myself that the two didn't actually switch bodies! That's how realistic it felt. The acting and chemistry are the highlights. It's a light-hearted watch with mostly character-driven plot devices, such as reconciling with family, balancing work and relationship, and the obvious body switching. One of the standouts is the comedy aspect. The romance is obviously done incredibly realistically and well with solid pacing -- the comedy aspect always follows closely behind reminding viewers the absurdity of the situation and injecting goofy yet entertaining scenes every episode.

Pacing: It's a relatively short cdrama which I am all for, only 26 episodes. 2021's higher ranked modern dramas has brought on a welcoming trend of shorter series with You are my glory (32 eps), Sweet Teeth (22 eps), My Little Happiness (28 eps), and this one. One of the common complaints I have had with cdramas was the drag, especially in the second half of dramas where the plot starts becoming unrealistic and new and evil characters start getting introduced. Thankfully, in the dramas that I have listed, none of that really happens just because of the shorter series length. Breath of fresh air! The Day of Becoming You has one of the better pacing I have seen in a Chinese drama, and I would even recommend it based solely on pacing - it's short enough to give it a try. Episode 1 starts off weird and slow, but it really enters its groove in the next couple of episodes.

Characters: Refer to first paragraph -- acting is amazing and most characters are realistic and supportive. Definitely a standout, especially if you're looking for a light-hearted and character-driven romcom.

Plot: Fun plot. I'll point out that the final "arc" is a bit harder to watch (last 2 episodes). You knew that this issue would be coming eventually (celebrity dating a non-celebrity) so I would have liked it if they handled it earlier or if they just removed it altogether. The predictability killed off some of its fun, especially since the body-switching aspect became less of a factor in the last third of the drama. If they resolved this particular issue earlier, I believe the plot could have been more interesting to watch. This is just a minor complaint.

The ending: is wack. Read some of the comments on the drama page. It's a ?????????????? type of ending. I won't spoil it and the drama LITERALLY works if you omit the final 20 minutes of the final episode. But its there and it's a weird one. Not a deal-breaker by any means and is generally inconsequential, but still confuses me greatly.

Conclusion: Don't be put off by the generic synopsis. The charming leads and their playful and hilarious acting skills make this worth watching. Liang Jie and Steven Zhang are hilarious and their chemistry is great. It is primarily a character-driven plot, which is what I personally enjoy because that means you know the drama won't fall into the typical drama trope pitfalls like angsty second leads, disapproving parents, or evil villain seeking revenge on the leads. It's a short watch so give it a chance!

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Watched this of course because of Steven Zhang & Liang Jie being together in a drama. Turn out this drama better than what I expected.

Never imagine this kind of story will gonna be happen. Quite intriguing yet silly in one way or another. Really have to give a big applause to Steven Zhang & Liang Jie, they really give their best performance here. I literarily can imagine when they switch body how the other actually gonna be react, they every move & even small gesture really imitate the other quite perfectly.

The story quite unusual here. Usually if there is something happen to the artist, they will tell their manager directly, so the manager can help thinking solution or anything. But here, regard the relationship between Jiang Yi (JY) & Jiang Da Chuan (DC), they never tell DC but instead try to resolve it themselves.

Even though you can say this drama quite fast paced, but everything is there. The chemistry between the lead, the family issue, etc. What I like is this drama not only involve the couple problem, but also a little bit history & the family problem that JY have. Really like how they resolve the relationship problem between JY and his mom. In here we can also see the growth of JY & Yu Sheng Sheng (SS), although it's more the growth of JY then SS. Really funny to see the shock in DC face when JY announce his relationship with SS.

Overall this is just drama, a good drama indeed. Even though the ending quite catch me unguard, but I quite like this drama. But no, I don't think I'll gonna re-watch this.

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Watch it for Steven Zhang!

Steven Zhang when he's in another's body is worth the price of admission! He embodies all the confusion, as well as the characteristics and mannerisms of trying to be a female. That aspect of the show was a treat to watch.

I also enjoyed that there was no over-the-top villain. That was a nice change of pace. She had great parents and a lovely BFF. However, the story lines for the characters other than the leads were sorely lacking.

Don't binge this show, take it slowly. I think that by binging I was able to see a lot of the long, blank periods of really nothing happening. I fast-forwarded through a lot of it just to get to the body swapping parts (which happened multiple times).

The confession was sweet but happens very late in the show. The main couple was cute together. Some good kisses.

However, the break-up, separation of a year and reason for coming back together all fell very short for me. I am so tired of the time jump that seems to be in every Asian drama. It seemed to me that they couldn't think of any good reason for them to break up, so they created this whole, totally implausible story line (I know it's a fantasy but come on! It was way too far-fetched!). Add to that, the strange last 15-minute storyline at the very end to satisfy the censors (I don't get why, really) was a complete miss and felt like it was just tacked onto the story. (For anyone old enough to remember the shower scene with Bobby Ewing in the American TV show Dallas and how angry everyone was to find out "it was just a dream", you'll understand my frustration at this ending.)

However, I will reiterate again, it's worth watching for Steve Zhang.

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A delight and surprise!

I really had low expectations because I have seen the body swap trope failing so many times already in Asian dramas as there aren't many actors (especially young ones) with the proper acting calibre to pull it off but Zhang Xincheng and Liang Jie gives justice to their characters here and my favorite parts of the show are actually the body swap parts.

The best thing is that the body swap isn't mainly used as an entertainment comic source but also moves the story forward. Both characters are flawed but the way they are depicted makes you understand and resonate with their flaws. None of the main leads have a shallow back story, and even in times you disagree with their actions, you can totally understand why they do things that way.

Also Zhang Xincheng needs an award for that walnut scene. Classic and iconic. My favorite parts of the drama are when he plays Sheng Sheng.

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Dropped but recommended!

Dropping romance dramas are my habit. I'm rating it since I think it is quite a pleasant cdrama for me. It is just I'm lazy to finish it.

As for plot, it was okay. The way it was executed was nice and funny because the actors can act very well. No overdone or trying hard. They are naturally fun and entertaining. The additional background sounds were great; the scenes became funnier!

As for characters, I have no worries. The chemistry was there. They are great. One of cdramas with no stiff acting. Everyone has the quality.

Overall, recommended to those who love romantic comedy. I'm not really a fan of this genre but this is pleasant to be watched.

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Living each other’s lives, literally

We often talk about being more empathetic and understanding of others’ perspectives - but how much do we really understand when we are not facing the same experiences or live in their shoes before?

Enter “TDOBY” as Jiang Yi’s (Steven Zhang) and Yu Sheng Sheng’s (Liang Jie) souls got swapped in an accident and literally got to live in each other’s shoes until they figured out how to swap back.

We naturally have a lot of comedic moments that comes with a gender swap story, and the leads really delivered these scenes. When Steven Zhang had to act as Yu Sheng Sheng, I can really see that “the lady in Jiang Yi”. Similarly, Liang Jie’s portrayal of Jiang Yi was passable as well - it is not easy playing a reserved character. Coupled with the impeccable timely background sound effect, the funny scenes were funnier, the awkward moments were “awkward-er”, which in turn make it funny for us, the audiences.

The pacing and progress of the relationship between the main leads were done well too. They started from tolerating each other (mostly on Jiang Yi’s part), to developing a friendship (that drives Jiang Yi’s manager nuts due to Sheng Sheng’s job as a reporter), and then eventually falling for each other.

I personally like relationships that are founded on friendship, and it’s great watching Jiang Yi’s growth and development throughout the show with Sheng Sheng’s influence. When they both officially became a couple, oh boy, those sweet moments and chemistry would make your toes curl.

What’s more, funny / light hearted and romantic moments were not all TDOBY have. It has a number of heartwarming scenes on family and friendships as well.
While the supporting cast was mainly in the scenes to progress the story forward, they are not 1 dimensional characters.
While I am a tiny bit disappointed that certain characters weren’t expounded further, I recognise and accept that at the heart of it, TDOBY is a story about Jiang Yi and Yu Sheng Sheng. Fingers crossed for a sequel or spin off!

Also, if one pays attention, TDOBY touched upon current social issues such as stereotypes, fanatic behaviours, social media commentaries / critiques, healthy dating mindset / attitude as well as accepting consequences of own choices.

It has been such a long time since I have watched an entire show, rom-com no less, without skipping any scenes. Nada, zippo - I sat through the entire 26 episodes and thoroughly enjoyed the show.

I personally like the ending concept that the scriptwriter has chosen. The dialogue in the last 10-15 mins really drives home the message on empathy, which I believe is what the scriptwriter really wants to share. My only complain is this choice leaves a couple of questions and untied loose ends for me. Also, I thought it would’ve been nicer if they extended a couple more episodes to properly reconnect Jiang Yi and Yu Sheng Sheng after the time skip. Okay, that makes two complains.

Nevertheless, I still love TDOBY and would highly recommend everyone to watch the fun journey of Ms. Jiang Yi and Mr. Yu Sheng Sheng.

And, Summer 21 best female lead goes to … Steven Zhang

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Funny Rom Com a little magic

I really wanted a funny, fluffy drama after Finishing a heavy one. In the beginning this C-drama was exactly that 👌

The first half was so strong and engaging! I also laughed so hard, the acting was fantastic and story was fun!

Then the 2nd half happened and I lost interest Real fast 😪

It was the writing for me it started to drag and personally think it could have been cut down.
The Ending was underwhelming and predictable 😒

I am happy I watched it because I was introduced a whole new (to me) cast of fantastic actors!!

Rewatch? No

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Extremely Underrated

I am so baffled at how underrated this drama is. I’ve not had so much fun watching a romcom in my entire life. Mainly because most romcoms do the romance part well but when it comes to comedy, it’s bland and forced humour. This drama absolutely nails both genres.

I’ve never laughed so much in almost every episode of a drama; it’s such ironic/sarcastic humour, that just makes you cackle. Paired with loud opera music for funny scenes, I was absolutely pissing myself.

There’s so much more to talk about. For starters, the plot seems the ordinary body-switching theme, like secret garden/your name. However, this one brilliantly explores the characters in-depth and the difficulties of literally putting yourself in someone else’s shoe.

The actors are amazing! Body switching seemed so believable. When the body switch happened, you could tell the complete difference in their body language and tone. The acting is what stands out in this drama, for sure.

The couple have great chemistry. Their transition into a relationship is so smooth. They have such an incredibly healthy relationship which makes you fawnnn.

The way the love of family, friendships and partnership is explored is so heartwarming. I enjoyed this so much. Totally worth the watch.

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A good feel-good rom-com

Production Quality:
I liked the choices made by the production team in terms of how the scenes transitioned, colour palette used, sound effects and use of musical scores. The sound effects stood out in adding to the comic scenes such as the slap sound, opera BGM, and transitions in sounds as events unfolded. The OST is soft and soothing and coupled together well with the romance scenes, and did not feel overused even as I binge watched. The colour palette was easy on the eyes with an overall warm tone, and scene transitions such as asking a question by one character to being answered by another made it easy to follow.

Coherent Storytelling:
The plot was not ingenious, rarely are any plots, but it was executed well with attention to details. However, it demands a suspension of disbelief from viewers, once that is achieved rest if a smooth ride with few annoying scenes or characters. A well written feel good script for days when you are feeling low. What I liked most was when it made some easter egg references to popular tropes and almost broke the fourth wall, for example saying that the ridiculous reason for body switch is because the scriptwriter wanted so, lightening all the disbelief elements to parody. Though I still have issues with the episode count but it was not as draggy as other C-dramas.

Ability of actors to emote:
This category is where the drama stood out the most with wonderful characterization by not just the leads (who were incredibly hilarious) but also all the support roles. The acting was natural and not over-exaggerated to hype up the comedy. Thankfully no loud shouting or poker face with no emotions just to portray a cold ML or feisty FL. In less capable hands, the same story would have been very dull and repetitive. I actually liked Liang Jie here more than her famous role in The Eternal Love, and had no idea that Zhang Xincheng is such a good comic. All the actors helped me get emotionally invested into the characters and care about their past and future.

Memorability:
The most important criteria for me when it comes to a drama is the lingering effect it has on me, and how often do I recall it later. The Day of Becoming You made me search up the OSTs, work profile of all the actors, screenwriters and directors involved, and even write a review for it. It is safe to say I really enjoyed my time spent with it even if might not be the best drama ever made.

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Highly recommended

I highly recommend this drama for anyone who wants to watch serotonin-inducing, kilig-to-the-bones type of romantic comedy.

I like how the actors portrayed their characters. Everyone was exceptional, I became everyone's fan now 😊

I just didn't like the part where the female lead has accepted him right away. Or the male lead's assumption that he'll get accepted as a boyfriend after the first try. I feel like Sheng Sheng has suffered so much to be able to let him in again. I feel like it was a let down, just having to accept him because he was an ex that said sorry and showed that they're not going to switch anymore. I think it was not the main point of their breakup in the first place...

Other than that, the story was captivating. You'd want to finish the whole drama in one seating. Superb ❤

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Perfect blend of comedy, romance and fiction

Wow! Another gem for this year(2021) although I believed it was filmed in 2019. Please more Chinese dramas like this (another good one is Moonlight- read my review on that!)

What I loved most was it’s only 26 episodes. Just right- thus the story wasn’t draggy and the focus was mainly on the lead couple. The funny parts were super hilarious, because of the body swap both leads had to experience each other’s lives- [SPOILER: imagine a guy in a girl’s body and she gets her period!! LMAO] Both actors also pulled it off well, although Jiang Yi’s character as male and female was a tad more interesting than Yu Sheng Sheng. I thought Steven Zhang did a great job, I also liked him in Skate Into Love. What really added to the comedy and to me was what made the whole drama fantastic- was the background music and sound effects! There was the “Jealousy” theme song, the Idol entrance theme music, the out-of-tune orchestral music plus many many more!! Trust me, you will love it!

As for the relationship development, it was very well done. Both parties were open, matured and honest with each other. [SPOILER: yes there was a break up scene, but it was justified and not like other dramas where I break up for your own good and hide the truth. END SPOILER] Chemistry and kissing scenes between leads also was great ;))) Another plus point for this drama- the supporting casts were a pleasure to watch as well. Most of the time, the leads are great but the supporting casts were given such annoying storylines and characters, it made it torturous to watch (e.g My Little Happiness and Love Scenery- both dramas I really liked but it was ruined because of SC)

When you watch the ending (last 8mins) then you will make sense of the first scene in Episode 1. Ummm other reviewers were not too happy with it, for me it was an “Ohhh... I see!” moment. Hmm if they didn’t have that epilogue, I would have been happier because it was a bit of a let down. Let fiction be fiction. Production and cinematography was great. Voices are not dubbed and the OST was good too. All in all, a very very good watch and a definite recommendation. :)

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