Sunday 6 September 2015

[First Impression] My Best Ex-Boyfriend


My Best Ex-Boyfriend (2015, China)


 

Title: 最佳前男友
Also known as: Best Lovers
Genre: Romance
Episodes: 42
Broadcast network: Shenzhen TV
Broadcast period: 2015-Aug-15 to 2015-?


Fu Fang Si and Li Tang, Cheng Xiang Nan and Yin Hao Ran, had beautiful and romantic memories, personality conflicts, and eventually lost due to real differences. After many years on a gorgeous fashion show, fate let them meet again. When Fang Si is already very close to reaching her dreams in the fashion industry, Li Tang has once again entered her life; The problem became even more complicated when her current boyfriend's famous supermodel ex-girlfriend entered the scene. Fang Si's studio suffered more misfortune with her ex-boyfriend Li Tang coming to the rescue. Will they have a better future this time? Source: MDL 

  • Yan Jerry: Li Tang
  • Jiang Maggie: Fu Fang Si
  • Ng Ron: Yin Hao Ran
  • Mi Viola: Cheng Xiang Nan



[MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 1!] This is a first impression not the full review of the drama.




 
I'll start off by saying that I enjoy plots revolving around fashion. I like clothes and I like to see how designers come up with their ideas and all that other behind-the-scenes stuff. I haven't seen a lot of dramas with that theme though, so the only thing I can compare this drama to is the korean drama Fashion King. Yeah I know, I can already see some of you rolling your eyes to heaven. But honestly, I think I belong to that 1% of the the world's population that actually kind of liked it. Sure Shin Se Kyung 's acting and her dull character can be questioned, but the plot and the other characters made the drama actually quite enjoyable (In my opinion, don't kill me). Seeing as that I like fashion and enjoyed Fashion King. I kind of wanted to see what China could come up with with the same theme.
So let's get into more detail about the actual plot and then my first impression of the characters:

The plot is about fashion and ambition. Enough said. And the first episode lives up to that theme. I'd say 1/4 of the entire first episode revolved around a fashion shoot and hints about something that happened in the past that lead to the intense rivalry that is going on between the four characters. As for the setting, it felt real to me. I think it portraited the fashion industry in it's rightful spotlight. As much as it's a fun carrier where you get the chance to express your creativity and inner emotions, it's also a mindwrecking competition-driven "got to be on top to succeed" - industy. I know that that doesn't just apply to the fashion industry, but I still think that being a designer is one of the toughest jobs you can have. The probability to succeed is almost close to none; you have to have the right partnership, get that one idea that no one else has come up with, and even if you do all that, you're still not safe because you never know if someone, maybe even your best friend is going to steal them from you. It's a very harsh business, and I really like that it's also portraited that way in this first episode.

 As for my first impression of the characters, I have quite a lot to say about all four of them.

I don't know how I feel about Fangsi. I do like strong female leads who knows what they wants, and I liked how she professionally brushed off Xiang Nan's bitchy remarks, however I still feel a bit iffy about something. She is ambitious and goal-oriented, however I feel like at some points it's portraited as a bit too much, almost a bit extreme. I mean, she is a workoholic, which is alright, I've seen before, but the way she treats her fellow employees is just a no-no. Are they employees or her slaves? She snaps at them, she is too bossy and picky, and she even considered suing this model guy who happened to be late for a photoshoot BECAUSE his plane was late. He flew in from the US to China and Fangsi doesn't even have the patience to wait even 1 hour. Instead, she threatenes the model's girlfriend that she'll sue him, as if it's his fault that the freaking plane is late and then when the model finally arrives she brushes him off as if he's not even needed anymore. Whuuut? X_X
And then when Hao Ran refuses to take part in her photoshoot (she randomly approched him on the street and asked him to help her out btw) she nags, steals his car keys and even orders her employee to park her car sideways on the road so he won't be able to escape. WTF? I understand that her job and her clothing brand 'Fancy' is important to her, but some of her actions are just too extreme. I felt so bad for Hao Ran, he just happened to walk on the wrong road that morning and meet a psycho who can't handle being turned down. And then when he finally accepts her offer, what does she do? She's not even grateful and instead pretends as if he asked her for a favor. -facepalm-  She is just straight down mean to people, even her employees pointed that out, more than once! I understand that she might have trust-issues because of the hinted betrayal and backstab she went through in the past, but seriously...you can't treat people like that. I do like her dedication and her love for her work, and the fact that she wants to fullfill her father's life-long dream, but yeah...for now I just don't know if I want to punch her in the face or emphatize with her because of the harships she went through.


With all of Fangsi's personality traits that i've pointed out, I seriously can't understand HOW and WHY a nice guy like Hao Ran would even want to be around her. He is too nice for her!  I don't even know why he even accepted to help her out with the photoshoot after all that happened. The only logical explanation I can come up with was that he just wanted to satisfy her so she would leave him alone -.-* and then he for some reason felt attracted to her and asked her out...only to be coldly turned down. Does love at first sight make you this blind? He must be naive ..or dumb...or both. -sigh- or ~ there is something else going on. As I headdesk over the fact that he was too nice towards someone who didn't deserve it, it struck me that perhaps I'd understemated him. The scene at the office hinted that we might've been fooled by his nice persona. Hao Ran has one goal, a very ambitious one: he wants to climb the ranks in the company he works for and secure his place as the next CEO. A nice naive guy can't have that sort of ambition. It hit me that he might have a sly side to him. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in the way that he knows what he wants. I'm actually getting that feeling from almost all four of the main leads, minus Jerry Yan's character, who is still a bit questionable in my opinion. With that said, I don't know if Hao Ran just fell head-over-heels for Fangsi or if he might have some plans in store. Especially since it turns out that he was assigned to find a designer and he stumbled across her. I might be thinking too far, but I will definitely make sure to keep an eye on this guy. I won't be fooled by his sweet puppy-face <_< if he is indeed an sly ambitious man I really look forward to see his progress and what kind of methods he'll use to reach his goals.

Next up is our main guy Li Tang, but I want to call him mr questionmark because I still haven't figured out what's inside his brain. He's not dumb, but I can't understand him. What is his goal? Why is he in China? Is it really just because of his girlfriend? It doesn't look that that too me because he didn't give off the feel of a romantic guy. Even his friend confronted him about his future and what his goals in life are. I don't think we got a clear answer. Maybe it's too early but I really hope we'll get to know more about him as the story progresses. For now, he is Mr fishy questionmark to me.
 

And lastly....this chick right here. Look at her! I tried to find the picture that could give you a good first impression of her personality and I think I found the perfect one. I can't believe I got fooled by her romantic and poetic sweet-talking to Li Tang! I really thought she was a nice person...(for some odd reason...I should've seen it coming that she was in fact a total b*tch). But despite her grand confrontation with Fangsi, that also lead to the revelation of her true personality, I still like her. I find her character interesting, or maybe I just dislike Fangsi more than the person I should be hating.

I think the episode was a good introduction to the plot. I already set my opinions on some of the characters, it might change though, since this was just the begining and we still don't know what fate has in store for our four main leads. I'm curious about Hao Ran and Xiang Nan, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that Fangsi will become more likable.

What do you guys think? Did you enjoy the first episode? What impressions did you get from the characters? Do you agree/disagree? Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear your opinions :3

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