Remembering Lichuan (2016)

If you are tired of rich perfect boy & ordinary girl matches then you might consider this little gem. Do you question whether a guy living in perfect material comfort with perfect endowments can still be a wonder decent human being? Can an ordinary girl living a simple life with no particular ambition or determination really be a special interesting person?

There are no outside factors used to make more interesting, prove, or test the strength or trueness of their love. (IMHO, The outside elements wasn't important. Those were there for the reader's benefit ;)) People other than the 2 leads barely even realize they went through such tumulteous storm.

There's also Godfrey Gao & his character Wang Lichuan. Bother actor & character are multi-lingual, multi-cultural which my reader, I think you are as well. Did I mention Godfrey & Lichuan are very hot. ;)

The book that this show was based on is out of this world. It has sadder & more mature tone. The show is fluffier, trying to be funny. Male lead nicer. The side characters in the show are pretty good too. There are flaws in it. Definitely don't miss out on the magic that is Remembering Lichuan. Read the book first if you can.

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Finally! It's here after years and years of waiting. So of course even as I was in the midst of watching 5 different shows, I had to start it. That being said I went into this with pretty high hopes especially since one of my favorite actors is the lead.

The story itself is pretty weak. I think I've seen this plot line almost a million times, but let's be real here, I'm a sucker for this genre. The whole story though was incredibly cliche, and was not executed in the best way. The beginning was arguably one of the best parts. It has your typical romantic comedy tropes, and while it was pretty cheesy, it was watchable. The middle, however, the huge chunk of episodes from 12-35 though was almost hard to watch. I found myself skipping through the episodes and just watching scenes I was slightly interested in. At this point you may wonder why I even bothered to stick with it, and I'll be talking about that a bit later. The middle segment was so repetitive. They threw the same obstacles over and over again, and it almost felt like an endless cycle.
I did find the ending to be very satisfying though. It can be a little confusing at first but it's all explained by the end of the episode. They made sure to supply us with some fan service as well as provide a more realistic ending. Although it was not explicitly stated, it's quite clear what had happened and it did give the closure I wanted.

Now to the real reason I stuck with it... GODFREY GAO is in it and he's amazing. I thought he did a great job at portraying his character, and I'm glad I kept watching for his acting (and hotness of course). His random English lines thrown in there were pretty awkwardly placed and though I love it when he speaks English, it didn't really sit well with me there. The female lead, I admit, didn't stick with me at all in the beginning, but I did slowly warm up to her. As of now I don't particularly find her too like able but I did like her more towards the end.

The music was alright. There seemed to only be about 2-3 songs used though and with 38 episodes it kind of got old.

Overall I really did enjoy some parts of it. I would definitely recommend trying it out if you're a Godfrey Gao fan or a fan of cliche melodramas, but otherwise I'd skip it.

As a side note, there are no English subs as of now but the raw episodes are all up on YouTube.

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A drama that forces you to think - was Lichuan selfish or selfless?

Please do not read this review unless you've seen the drama. I usually refrain from posting spoilers but because this is one of those dramas that can't actually be reviewed without really discussing what happened.

Does this have much of a plot? No. In short, the man is trying to keep the woman he loves away from discovering why he left her. He left her because he was dying. They wouldn't have to go through so much had he not pushed her away, but he did and he remained sincere to that till the end, and that is where for me, the beauty of this drama really lied.

Watch this for Lichuan because this is his journey through and through. Godfrey Gao did such a good job as Lichuan.

For many, this was repetitive because he kept pushing her away. For me, however, I viewed this drama, the leads' relationship and Lichuan very differently.

Yes, he was selfish because his actions hurt her, but at the same time, he was also very selfless in that he didn't want to share the pain with her, and what moved me (i also hated it at the same time) was that till the end, even after she finds out the truth, he doesn't budge, and forced her to leave. It was just so selfish and cruel yet selfless and moving at the same time. You got to really watch the drama to know what I am talking about. The sincerity, his love for Xiao Qui and just how strong-willed Lichuan was moved me, really.

The side characters were nice as well, with no one being irritating or evil. I was moved by Jichuan, Renee and grandfather's love for Lichuan in that they always placed him above their own affairs, and always gave in regardless of his stubbornness or even tantrums that came as a result of not being able to stay with Xiao Qiu. I constantly felt that Lichuan was so lucky to receive so much love.

Xiao Qiu was also persistent, stubborn and frustrating at times because he wouldn't let her in, but you know she came from a place of love. She gave him her all and when she was forced to leave towards the end due to the way he hurt himself, I felt her pain so strongly. You feel like she's scarred for life with the way Lichuan treated her (she never really got her closure), but at the same time you also understand why Lichuan just had to push her away in the first place because that's precisely what he didn't want her to go through, and he had use the last resort because he couldn't involve her and ruin her any further.

I loved the ending because it stayed true to Lichuan's intentions from the start, so even though she knew what happened, he managed to keep her away from being fully involved.

Yes, it is complex, and I don't think this is a drama for everyone, especially not for people who want a cute, fairytale love story with a happy ending. It is a fairytale rooted deeply in reality and just how complex humans can be.

The only downside would be that I wish the leads had more time and more happiness together so as to balance the heartbreak that followed.

Also, RIP Godfrey. Gone too soon!

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Yeay! Done with the series today..

The plot is cliche.
- A guy met a young girl
- they fell in love deeply
- the guy's illness recurred
- he is being "selfish" (defined as loving act according to the guy) left the girl without a word
- the girl devastated but still writes to the guy
- of course the guy never replies
- 4 years later, they met again
- it's the start of their exhausting tug of war in love, duh!??

I know I'm not in the right position to say this.. but one thing if I could, I would advice the couple to discuss their problems openly, overcome your fear together and don't be stubborn with each other la.. Haha.. See, I'm getting emotional with the fictional characters..

Despite of that, this series is still good!
What I meant with a good series is where all the side-stories are relevant in developing the main leads' stories. The friendship, the family bonding, how they build their career manifested in the series so well.

Plus, put aside the heart-sickening plot where we all know how the series gonna ended, the chemistry between the actors are amazing and eye candy too..??

In brief, it's a good pick for someone who needs a good cry and let's have some option for a binge watching activity .. =)

Rest in peace Godfrey Gao and let's keep moving on..

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A love story

I bingewatched this entire drama in four days, completing it today. Overall, the drama has very good production values, except for the overly ambitious music editor running the loud BGM and loud singing continuously. The flashbacks finally kicked in toward the last half dozen episodes, pulling down the pace of the plot. There is story drag, as Xiao Qui pines after her lost love, but that reflects the pace of real life emotional conflict of the heart. I watched the young Godfrey Gao, and felt that this role was a premonition of his fate in 2019. What if they had written a happy ending, would he be alive today?

I watched this drama with the same anticipation of the Kdrama, Winter Sonata. In short, Remembering LiChuan is the equivalent of Winter Sonata, in terms of the fated loved story between the main couple of the two dramas. The female leads' first love went far away unexpectedly, and they pined away for the soulmate. Years later, the first love reappeared, and the reunion was slow and agonizing. Leading up to the conclusion, the first love went away again, due to illness.

The casting was perfect for the primary couple (Godfrey Gao/Wang LiChuan and Jiao Jun Yan/ Xiao Qui) and the secondary couple (Andrew Lien/Wang Ji Chuan and Wang Ruo Xin/Ye Jing Wen). The supporting cast performed well at their jobs.

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Melodrama

Não sou fã de melodramas, tenho uma natureza optimista. Gosto de finais felizes « à moda dos contos de fadas ». O mundo já é duro e cruel na vida de todos os dias, certo?!

Doeu a alma e houve pontadas no coração, sinal de que a história e o dilema dos protagonistas são agoniantes.

No entanto, o amor retratado neste C-drama será recordado. Ele marca pela atuação dos atores. Ela, que quer estar com o seu amor mesmo na doença e luta unhas e dentes para o manter e conservar, ele, que foge, a rejeita e negue os seus sentimentos porque não a quer ver triste ou preocupar. Entendo ambas a partes, mas às vezes, não há mundo perfeito possível.

Daí, na minha perspectiva e no « meu mundo dos ursinhos carinhosos », este C-drama teria sido perfeito a acabar no episódio 37.

Descobri um actor Godfrey Gao de uma beleza estonteante. Qual o meu espanto quando descubro que já faleceu em 2019.

Fica um C-drama que renomeio Recordar Godfrey Gao, não me irei esquecer dele. Que descanse em paz.

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I actually planned to write the review about a week ago when I started re-watching the drama, but quite a lot of things happened in the meanwhile, and it was especially shocking due to the timing.

To be frank, I don't think the plot is anything to shout about. If I were to poke holes in the story, I can probably write a lot as well. For one, there's the typical noble idiocy trope. Second, the drama is a little wishy-washy in the handling of the reconciliation. That said, the good thing is that the male lead isn't your typical rich asshole. He's someone who's genuinely kind and gentlemanly. In fact, he's perfect and the kind of guy you'll crush on in real life. The romance is also slow burn - the kind I like. Plus, the two leads had wonderful chemistry.

Godfrey Gao was perfectly cast since his background aligns well with the character. He's more than fluent in English and he looks the part too. On the other hand, it takes a while longer to get used to Jiao Jun Yan. She doesn't actually sound like someone who majored in English, but I don't know how fluent English major students are in China so I can't say. She also looks a little plain on first glance. However, I feel that Jiao Jun Yan carried the entire show with her acting. If you manage to get through the first few episodes, you'll definitely grow to love her.

Kudos to Godfrey for giving his best acting performance ever, but I would argue that it wasn't "difficult" for him because he is Li Chuan. It was great casting and they found a compatible actor for the role. Jiao Jun Yan was bloody impressive though as Xiao Qiu. I would say that she is probably the best female actor of her generation (85+ers) in China. At least, I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head. Surprisingly, this is actually quite a popular opinion on forums (hey, at least I know a good actor when I see one). She's not breathtakingly beautiful when she's expressionless, but she has a gorgeous smile and she's brilliant with her crying scenes. I was blown away in the scene where Li Chuan tore up their photo and threw the fingerprint ring away (in the trailer so not a spoiler). The way she cried, her gestures and how she gave a little stomp of feet when she demanded Li Chuan to retrieve the ring. I feel that it was a genuine reaction from a girl of her character's age. There are some raw moments here and there but I have never seen any other actress of her generation top her performance in this drama, and this was when she just graduated from acting school. The four fadans are really just serviceable at best. My hunch is that having her as an acting partner helped Godfrey quite a bit too, because he was never this good. On a side note, if anyone else is interested in seeing more of Jiao Jun Yan, I recommend Medical Examiner Dr. Qin.

The music was great as well. I love the opening theme and the two songs sung by Reno Wang. "Start Over" was a fantastic composition, while the two other songs tied in well with the plot. My only complaint will be that Reno Wang's lyrics sometimes made little sense, but I guess he's more of a songwriter anyway. I would say that this is one of the best Chinese drama OSTs.

Overall, I feel this was one of China's best attempts at melodrama. Well, in general they stink at making modern dramas. Chinese modern dramas are either too niche (political, family) and thus not palatable for international audience or too try-hard (e.g. Les Interpretes). This sort of brings you back to the 2000s where Korean melodramas were all the craze. To summarise the reasons why you need to watch the drama: 1. the romantic chemistry, 2. Jiao Jun Yan's wonderful performance, 3. Godfrey Gao (just look at him) and 4. the music.

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A LOVE HAS A WILL

I JUST WATCHED ALL THE EPISODES OF THIS MOVIE.THIS MOVIE IS SO REMARKABLE TO ME ALTHOUGH THE ENDING STORY IS NOT SO GOOD. GODFREY GAO, HIS REAL NAME REALLY CAME ACROSS TO MIND ONCE AS I CAN'T REMEMBER. I WAS TOO SHOCKED WHEN I LOOK AT HIS FULL PROFILE AND FIND OUT THAT HE JUST PASSED AWAY WITHIN A MONTH.I DEEPLY UPSET FOR HIS DEATH IS COME IN ALL SUDDEN AND HIS AGE TOO YOUNG. I KNOW IT'S VERY HARD FOR HIS LOVED ONES TO COPE ALL THE PAIN AND GRIEF. LIFE IS JUST LIKE YOU SEE A FIREWORKS SO BEAUTIFUL IN THE SKY BUT IT WON'T LAST LONGER. MAY GOD WIPE OUT THE TEARS AND BRING A FULL MEASURE JOY TO EVERYONE

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This drama portrays the strong undercurrents of undying love and the devastation of separation by life circumstances. The leading role of Alex is magnificently portrayed by the handsome and gentle soul, Godfrey Gao, but is unequally matched by the leading role of Annie, who was a constant abrasive presence on the screen. The actress overacted constantly, made unpleasant facial expressions, and did not convey inner substance of character or beauty. The exaggerated and feigned acting was a constant annoyance and I did not find the comedic scenes by her funny at all but quite frankly deficient. What a sad mismatch on the screen whoever decided on this leading lady, who does not portray pedigree or class but annoying, childish exaggerated acting and weird facial expressions. As a Swiss-American growing up in Switzerland, I did appreciate the filmography that captured the beautiful country of Switzerland and one of its main important cities.
I gave the story 10, rewatch value 10, overall 10, but the acting only due to the role of Annie 6, and music that was repetitive 6.

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