The Best of You in my Mind [2020]

[Phikyl]

Lin Xi Chi and Xu Fang grew up competing over everything. Major decisions are made based off of the winner of an arm wrestling match and Xi Chi never thinks of Xu Fang as anything more than an annoying friend. Xu Fang, on the other hand, thinks very differently of Lin Xi Chi. Though he never makes any overt moves aside from staying by her side and protecting her, everything changes when they both end up in the same college. Gradually, long buried feelings start to come to light and they gravitate towards each other as they work to fulfill their dreams.

 

 

1. Plot/Story: 7/10 It's a cute story that follows all the typical rom-com moments and packages it in a slightly different way. I do have to admit that I'm a sucker for this long-time friends to lovers type show so it appealed to me a lot strictly because of that alone. While there's no major surprises for anyone who has seen these types of shows before, it was super cute and definitely worth the time to watch.

2. Cast/Acting: 7/10 The cast did really well with the characters they were given. It was easy to tell when feelings were being muddled as you could see it in the actors face, which made everything much more fun to watch. There was one side couple that was a bit too over the top with their acting and I did end up skipping most of their scenes but it was fun to watch the two main couples.

3. Production Value: 5/10 It's a bit choppy in places and while I do love most of the OST, I found that there were times where it was overdone a bit, especially when it came to the archery/pet shop scenes. They spent a little too much time on the mundane stuff and not enough time on the character interactions, which is where the show really shined.

4. Re-watch value: 5/10 I definitely would not re-watch this show as a whole but if someone put together a video with all of the main couple's scenes, I would 100% re-watch that.

 

 

Overall: 7/10

Edited September 10, 2020 by Phikyl
Fixed typo in overall score

[stroppyse]

Thank you. This drama sounds cute. One question for you, if you wouldn't mind elaborating.

 

Your overall rating for this drama is quite high given the individual characteristic scores that you put down as well as your review. Do you find that the whole of the drama is that much better than its parts?

 

[Phikyl]

I find that some parts don't affect my enjoyment of the show much. As long as the story and acting are good, I'll continue to keep interest. I don't necessarily find most shows high in re-watchability [those that are, generally score as 10/10 for me] so that isn't really an issue for me. Same with overall production/OST's. If the story is good/entertaining to watch, I'm willing to bear with a lot of bad editing, cinematography, etc. 

 

To be honest, I probably wouldn't even add anything about the production/re-watch factor in my reviews if it weren't considered a necessity. Although, I did typo on the overall score as it was intended to be 7/10 rather than 8/10

 

In my opinion, if I continue through an entire show with no fast forwarding, it's a good show. And while I did fast forward a tiny bit in this, it was only during specific scenes that had no bearing in the overall plot and were mainly there to provide slapstick comedy. 

[stroppyse]

Fair enough. Thanks for the explanation. And, that makes sense about the typo. I was wondering that you rated it an 8 when the highest individual score you gave it was a 7.

 

The drama still sounds really cute. Thanks.

[NiteWalker]

On 9/10/2020 at 12:29 PM, Phikyl said:

Overall: 7/10

 

overall 7/10 is pretty good for me hahaha cause i do honestly enjoy this drama :) 

 

its something i love from Song YiRen and she seems to match ZhangYao prefectly in here

[Phikyl]

11 hours ago, NiteWalker said:

 

overall 7/10 is pretty good for me hahaha cause i do honestly enjoy this drama :) 

 

its something i love from Song YiRen and she seems to match ZhangYao prefectly in here

Exactly! 

 

It is lacking in some aspects and I did note that in my review for those who care more about those things but it didn't affect my overall enjoyment so it got a decently high rating from me. 

[NiteWalker]

5 hours ago, Phikyl said:

Exactly! 

 

It is lacking in some aspects and I did note that in my review for those who care more about those things but it didn't affect my overall enjoyment so it got a decently high rating from me. 

 

hahaha...yes....i love it too....maybe cause im bias when it come to Song YiRen.....but then...overall the kid they got in is also very cute too :) 

 

there are some hiccups that i do not like how the parents hide the divorce....however i guess sometimes even adults do make the wrong decision from times to times

[Alexander]

Yes you're right, I couldn't agree more...

 

For me, when it comes to a movie or a drama that I will going to watch, I can't help but put a bar or an un existing standard (whether I like it or not) in which it has to met, for me to continue watching it. Thats also one of the reasons why there's barely Cdrama that I finished watching till now.

 

"The best of you in my mind"

 

Honestly I didn't get too excited when I came to know that Yiren has a new drama after she film Ever Night season 2, i was too afraid that I wouldn't like her new drama with an unfamiliar actor to me. But when I watch it's trailers and some fan made videos, I came to decide that I will give it a try. At first episode I was not that interested, but I'm not disappointed either, so I continue to watched the drama. Until it got my curiosity and later on my attention.

 

The story doesn't just focus on how the love of two main characters bloom through out the drama, it also highlights the different story of acceptance, forgiveness, understanding and believing in one self. That we rarely see in a movie or drama.

 

And when it comes to Acting, on how the character portrait by the actor/actress in this drama, I would say they did good. Though there's some lacking but I love how each one of them specifically the two main lead carry out or bring to life Lin Xi chi and Xu fang,from the beginning to end. The way how they show their emotions, how they fight, how they face their problems and struggles alone, and how Xu fang care for her. It got me hook that I didn't even notice I already reached the last episode.

 

I love the Ost, all of it specially sang by Yiren and Gala. Though I don't understand any of its lyrics, but it suits the drama so well. 

 

Over all I would give it 8 out 10, and when someone asks me if I would watch it again, I would say Yes. Why not? It's so rare to see a beautiful drama like this that you would not need to cringe at any moment 😂😂...

 

That's all I would like to say, thank you. 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Alexander

[NiteWalker]

On 9/18/2020 at 10:36 PM, Alexander said:

The story doesn't just focus on how the love of two main characters bloom through out the drama, it also highlights the different story of acceptance, forgiveness, understanding and believing in one self. That we rarely see in a movie or drama.

 

yes....

 

forgiveness can come easily or later.....it just really depends on how one do it too .... sometimes i felt like if we forgive someone we are in turn letting ourselves go too....so that we will not hold things too tight till it consume us totally.