One of the greatest survival shows in the last years!

I got used to disappointment when it comes to survival shows, especially the ones made in South Korea. After knowing the scandal of rigged votes, and a less-than-stellar season of "Planet 999", I wasn't expecting anything good about an Asian show which had as a premise the creation of a girl group. However, after watching this season of "Riding on Waves", I realised I was totally wrong: there's still hope when it comes to a fair and great survival show and, in this special case, starred by amazing women over 30 years old.

After some scandals in past shows, the Chinese government enacted some sanctions and bans, that's why survivals cannot have online voting or endorse through products. And to be honest, I think it was a wise decision. When you watch "Riding on Waves", you can see everything is decided through the live performances, and what the mentors from Season 1 (Ning Jing) and Season 2 (Na Ying) have to say. And this has allowed –as a result– to have a well-balanced final group. I love every single member of the cast. They were diverse in all the sense of the word: different generations, abilities, jobs, backgrounds, and territories of China, with some of the best contestants coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan. I was sad about some eliminations, but overall, the new generation of X-SISTER is perfect. There are ten members that I hope –from the bottom of my heart– can perform at least for some months together, since it is very common in Chinese groups the difficulties to promote as a group. We could see this in the past with Rocket Girls and THE9.

To sum it up: "Riding on Waves" S3 is a show worthy of watching; I never thought I'd resist watching an episode for 4 hours, but I did, and I enjoyed every second of them!

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A must-watch for every Asian drama lovers!

I think the last time I fell in love with a drama the way I did with "Nothing But Thirty" was "Q Series: Life Plan A and B (2016)" starring Rainie Yang. And I can see some similarities between both of them, in the way women choose their destiny and take over control of their narratives.

However, in Nothing But Thirty this goes a path forward: there is no just one woman, but three from different backgrounds, interests and motivations that decide to go against the rules established by society. They're not rebellious in an aggressive way, but they candidly, wisely and above all assertively decide what they want for their lives, even if this implies confronting their families, question their "filial piety" (unfortunately still so crucial in East Asian societies), losing jobs or their lovers.

In fact, every time one of these "break" situations –let's say– arrive, the three girls are together to face the struggles life poses for them. I've never been so satisfied watching women enjoying their lives without men in the middle, and it was an amazing way to meet another China: the one that promises a lot for women, but at the same time struggles with traditions and patriarchal costumes we can even relate in distant places. Such a challenge not only in Asia, but everywhere.

I totally recommend this drama, actually, I wish everyone could watch it to laugh, cry, get angry; and, above all, enjoy the true meaning of friendship and sorority in a way few times seen in a Chinese (or Asian) drama!

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The best show about Rock Music in China!

I started watching this show during the first lockdown in my country (2020), but I actually didn’t finish it that year. These days I started it from episode 11, and I must say it’s the best Chinese music competition show I’ve ever watched. The quality of every band is huge, and it’s so entertaining watching those moments of talk and kind of interview. The only thing I didn’t like that much *SPOILER ALERT* is that almost female vocalist was disqualified by the end of the competition. I think there’s a clear bias we can unfortunately see in every rock scene around the globe, and it’s not different for China. Anyway, I’m still glad that I discovered so many good groups, and Queen Big Sea Shark, and FloruitShow have become some of my favourite bands all along.

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Interesting story in a Tokyo we'll never get to see again

It took me ages to finish this drama. Even though I like some characters (such as Rika) I found it weak overall. I think the premise is too simple, and I didn't like the way the couples were matched in the end. But, what I like the most was this vision of Tokyo before the bubble era, where everyone was very happy and optimistic about the future. And in a way, I feel women were starting to get more and more independent, and thinking about their own life projects, instead of the typical "I want to get married and forget joining the workforce" that I've seen in other shows. Unfortunately, none of this came to be what we'd like, but this is a good insight into that nostalgic Tokyo I'd love to have lived in.

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