PicoBlog

My first step through this rabbit hole of ours was Oh My Goddess and my first official Drama was High School Love On! As you can tell from those two titles I am already positively predisposed towards shows with magical girlfriends. Liang Chen may not man the Yggdrasil hotline or be a fallen angel but she may as well be with how far removed she is from your regular man on the street.

Overall I would rate this Drama as 4/5. Generally speaking when I give a series a 4 or 5 rating that means that I would not mind watching it over and over again. In fact before writing this review I watched Love Scenery twice as I was just not ready for it to end yet. The difference between 4 and 5 would be noticeable flaws in either the stories or characters that could have been fixed to make the product better.

Liang Chen

I enjoyed this character very much and Chen is the perfect magical girlfriend. I loved how she transformed from a cool and aloof actress in the initial episodes to a fun loving one whenever she is with Lu Jing. The fact that she falls for all of his scams from the ice skating rink, to Lu Jing pretending to be sick, to him endlessly teasing her about her identity is very endearing as well. I think Chen does know that Lu Jing is playing with her but allows it anyway as she loves him and is expected to as the older of the pair.

I’m not really convinced that Ma Shan Shan actually needed to be in the story with her as their side story was very boring. I actually skipped thru most of their scenes in my second viewing. Taro could have just been given another generic partner to pursue.

Lu Jing

This was another character that was well done but had some major opportunities. I loved how trivial some of his problems were, like when he was blackmailed by his friends into washing their socks, when they created a banner for him in school, and even when his grandmother fell ill it was just a sprain instead of a life altering disease. It provides a nice comparison to the more adult problems that Chen is faced with.

The series does a good job portraying the youthful side of love from Lu Jing’s perspective. A love that burns brightly, warms everyone it touches, but also needs constant encouragement. It is very apparent in the middle episodes that Lu Jing was scared of suddenly losing Liang Chen, even when she already agreed to be his. The scene where Lu Jing is waiting outside of Liang Chen’s door like a lost puppy after screwing up is particularly touching and really makes you feel how desperate the character is to keep the relationship going.

In any series like this one of the major goals of the male lead is to prove to the audience that he is indeed worthy of the girl and is not just some charity case that she took pity on. This is where I felt that the show was lacking. On paper Lu Jing certainly has the specs to match Chen. Smart, Athletic, Good Looking, and while it was never really dwelt on his identity as Herman could very well give him access to a fan base that rivals Liang Chen’s. The issue is that he was never really given a chance to prove it.

Let’s take his main specialization, big data. When I first heard this I was very intrigued as it is not a stretch to say that big data is what drives the profits of the various tech giants. I kept waiting for him to use that to help Chen with her next album. Instead it just descended into some off screen competitions with some data models. It did establish his intelligence but did not really connect with the plot in any way. It was established that he had some skill in Robotics as well. I wish he could have found the solution to the sound issue while Chen was playing her guitar solo. He was given super hearing as well which he developed while playing Beautiful Soul. I was hoping he could have used that to help Chen develop her final song. Even his identity as Herman was underutilized. Liang Chen seems to have been involved in a competition that required voting. What better opportunity for a boyfriend with a large fan base of his own to contribute? I think the best comparison I can provide is Ye Tu in “Your My Glory”. The character used his specialization in sciences to build a proper signal booster device and provided scientific data to screenwriters, boosting Qing Qing. Lu Jing needed to do more than have chemistry with Liang Chen.

Taro

The highest praise I can offer this actor is that he is the Chinese Kang Ki Young. While he may never get the main lead in any series the skill in which he plays supporting roles enhances everyone around him. Instead of looking at the main characters I look for Kang Ki Young instead to decide on what to watch next.

The role of Taro is also incredibly well written. At first glance he seems to just be there for the laughs but if you look at it closely you will find that every time the relationship of the main characters needed a boost he would be the one to provide it. From the initial contact, to Herman finally agreeing to play with Chen, and even explaining Lu Jings shortcomings to Chen. If you are watching the series for the second time I encourage you to pay special attention to him and see how he is subtly manipulating events to favor Lu Jing against Jia Yun.

Jia Yun

I watched the series on WeTV. If you have ever watched anything there you may remember that there is a feature where you can turn on comments. It allows you to see what previous viewers wrote down while watching the show. One of the main complaints levelled against Jia Yun is the actor portraying him was just too old and was not a good fit for Liang Chen. To quote Taro I say “Pweh! My foot”.

The age is the point. Jia Yun is there to juxtapose “old love” which is gentle, understanding and adapts to the needs of its partner like a comfortable jacket as opposed to “young love” which blazes in its passion, sometimes uncaring if its partner is hurt. If we were to apply the traditional definition of “true love” it would actually fit the love Jia Yun shows more than the love shown by Lu Jing. The role and casting was a brilliant decision on the shows behalf instead of going with a safer younger actor.

Yuan Ke Ke

I originally wasn’t going to write a section for her but I think her facial expressions have to be acknowledged. She is a supporting character which means she does not have many lines but as Joey from Friends says the most important thing in acting is reacting. Her facial expressions and overall cuteness adds a lot to her scenes and make you want to take her home.

Beautiful Soul

I think this series best illustrates that the game itself does not have to make sense for it to work. It just has to provide a convenient method to move the story along. If we were to look at the game itself it is a First Person Shooter where you play cooperatively against the computer. That type of game may find commercial success but is not really a type of game that makes it into the e-sports scene. Look at the more popular games today. Hearthstone, Mobile Legends, Dota, and others. They all feature PVP as their core. A game like Beautiful Soul would quickly be mastered by professional speedrunners eliminating the market for live streamers.

OST

What can I say except Bravo. When I was Eighteen, Downwind, and Never Stop (rock version) have all made it into my regular playlist. The last time something like this happened was when I watched Liar and his Lover and Orange Marmalade.

If your looking for a feel good romantic comedy I highly recommend Love Scenery. It has some flaws but is well worth watching over and over again.

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