ifruity
United States
Refreshing Story Couldn't Save It
I began watching Unexpected after watching The Romance of Tiger and Rose. There are a surprising amount of isekai dramas out there but something about Unexpected, despite the somewhat mediocre rating for a c-drama, piqued my interest. After discovering the joy of isekai dramas, I scoured MDL to find the perfect follow up to The Romance of Tiger and Rose, and I didn't find many male protagonists so Unexpected really stood out to me.
I really enjoyed the first ten or so episodes. Learning how the manga world worked was thrilling. The bond between He Jie and Lu Zu Xing was believable and heartwarming, considering they started out as bitter enemies, but then out of nowhere, it became so melodramatic, and it almost felt like they were adding plotlines to the story just to make it to episode 23. The show could've cut at least five episodes and I would have considered this a much cleaner story.
Don't get me wrong, the story was still pretty refreshing. The drama does a great job in creating opportunities for character growth within the manga concept, in ways you never would have considered, even for incredibly minor characters. For example, in an attempt to convince someone that they live in a manga world, one character (can't remember who) brings to the local noodle shop owner's attention that despite the popularity of the restaurant, she has never increased her noodle prices. Cue existential crisis for the shop owner.
But the heavier the story became, the less charm it had. Self sacrifice seemed to be the name of the game, which automatically knocked a few points off my rating. I don't mind when this trope makes an appearance but every character in this show seemed to just love to willingly fling themselves into danger without consulting their loved ones.
I would love to see this drama remade because as I said, the plotlines were incredibly refreshing and innovative. But I really slogged through the last third of the drama. I'm telling you, at one point, Viki's subs weren't working so I had to watch an entire episode without subs. The fact that I was still able to catch up in the next episode with no problem is either a testament to my Chinese skills (lol I wish) or how much filler was in this show.
I really enjoyed the first ten or so episodes. Learning how the manga world worked was thrilling. The bond between He Jie and Lu Zu Xing was believable and heartwarming, considering they started out as bitter enemies, but then out of nowhere, it became so melodramatic, and it almost felt like they were adding plotlines to the story just to make it to episode 23. The show could've cut at least five episodes and I would have considered this a much cleaner story.
Don't get me wrong, the story was still pretty refreshing. The drama does a great job in creating opportunities for character growth within the manga concept, in ways you never would have considered, even for incredibly minor characters. For example, in an attempt to convince someone that they live in a manga world, one character (can't remember who) brings to the local noodle shop owner's attention that despite the popularity of the restaurant, she has never increased her noodle prices. Cue existential crisis for the shop owner.
But the heavier the story became, the less charm it had. Self sacrifice seemed to be the name of the game, which automatically knocked a few points off my rating. I don't mind when this trope makes an appearance but every character in this show seemed to just love to willingly fling themselves into danger without consulting their loved ones.
I would love to see this drama remade because as I said, the plotlines were incredibly refreshing and innovative. But I really slogged through the last third of the drama. I'm telling you, at one point, Viki's subs weren't working so I had to watch an entire episode without subs. The fact that I was still able to catch up in the next episode with no problem is either a testament to my Chinese skills (lol I wish) or how much filler was in this show.
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