I have done a short post on Moon Love before, but I've been thinking a lot about feel-good dramas. I've specifically been thinking about New Life Begins - 卿卿日常(2022) and how there really is nothing else like it out there.
Well, Moon Love is definitely not the same as New Life Begins, but it does give you the same feeling when watching it.
The feeling
Feeling "safe" from the start.
There is no looming emperor or great evil on the horizon. I'm not saying that the drama doesn't have a main force to overcome, but that part of the story is not the focus from the onset of the drama.
A Sense of Wonder
When there is a sense of curiosity regarding what the next episode is going to be about when you just start watching.
It's almost like the feeling you get when you start reading a new book and the world is being introduced to you.
I got this with New Life Begins where you feel "what part of their world are they going to show me this time". New Life Begins had the palace, but more so the people. And for Moon Love it was "how are these people going to meet this time".
I hope I'm not sounding too verbose but I'm trying to describe the homely feeling that these dramas embody to me.
I feel like I'm making this out to be more than it is but I don't know how else to describe it. It's soft. It's not "excitement" - but that's not a bad thing in this case.
You feel:
"this world is so interesting, what is next?"
The Romantic Dynamic
The Main Couple
The Trope
Not everyone enjoys this trope, but I always enjoy a somewhat colder ML and a bubbly FL.
Sidenote: I think this trope is equally fun with the gender roles reversed
I'm going to make a comparison. But please understand I'm not comparing the quality or intensity of the relationship.
Imagine the start of Love Between Fairy and Devil where the ML has a permanent straight, somewhat impatient, expression. And the FL stays extremely friendly - unfazed by her counterpart's disposition.
The Flags
All green flags all the way. For the people who enjoy the tension that a red flag can introduce into a couple's dynamic: the ML's indifferent disposition coupled with how he slowly melts will scratch your itch I promise.
The Second Couple
The Trope
The second FL sees the second ML and goes "this one, he's mine".
I realize that some people find this dynamic problematic and pestering, but the second FL never crosses any lines. The ML is also very much in love, but due to undisclosed circumstances he believes that the second FL deserves someone better.
I will not be telling you why he feels inadequate. But I will tell you that this is what introduces the tension needed to keep a couple's relationship interesting as a viewer.
The Flags
Green all the way!
The Story
Yun Chao Yan - a girl who is haunted by the ability to see renegade immortals - returns to her hometown. A place she left years ago. I'm not going to tell you why. Yun Chao Yan happens to meet Ren Shi Que, the lunar god who is responsible for recapturing the renegade immortals. Unfortunately he lost the ability to see these renegade immortals a few years ago.
In order to get rid of the renegade immortals that have "haunted" her for almost her entire life, Chao Yan tries every possible means to get entangled with Shi Que, since renegade immortals seem to disappear when he is near.
The two begin a fantastical lifelong journey together. Also, their bond doesn't stop there.
Final Notes
This drama is not going to keep you on the edge of your seat. It's not boring in any sense of the word, but it's light and lovely.
It's also by no means a masterpiece, but it gave me such a positive sunshine feeling.
If that is what you need. Then this drama is what you need.
CDrama Adventures
Moon Love - 月上朝颜 (2024)
I have done a short post on Moon Love before, but I've been thinking a lot about feel-good dramas. I've specifically been thinking about New Life Begins - 卿卿日常(2022) and how there really is nothing else like it out there.
Well, Moon Love is definitely not the same as New Life Begins, but it does give you the same feeling when watching it.
The feeling
Feeling "safe" from the start.
There is no looming emperor or great evil on the horizon. I'm not saying that the drama doesn't have a main force to overcome, but that part of the story is not the focus from the onset of the drama.
A Sense of Wonder
When there is a sense of curiosity regarding what the next episode is going to be about when you just start watching.
It's almost like the feeling you get when you start reading a new book and the world is being introduced to you.
I got this with New Life Begins where you feel "what part of their world are they going to show me this time". New Life Begins had the palace, but more so the people. And for Moon Love it was "how are these people going to meet this time".
I hope I'm not sounding too verbose but I'm trying to describe the homely feeling that these dramas embody to me.
I feel like I'm making this out to be more than it is but I don't know how else to describe it. It's soft. It's not "excitement" - but that's not a bad thing in this case.
You feel:
"this world is so interesting, what is next?"
The Romantic Dynamic
The Main Couple
The Trope
Not everyone enjoys this trope, but I always enjoy a somewhat colder ML and a bubbly FL.
Sidenote: I think this trope is equally fun with the gender roles reversed
I'm going to make a comparison. But please understand I'm not comparing the quality or intensity of the relationship.
Imagine the start of Love Between Fairy and Devil where the ML has a permanent straight, somewhat impatient, expression. And the FL stays extremely friendly - unfazed by her counterpart's disposition.
The Flags
All green flags all the way. For the people who enjoy the tension that a red flag can introduce into a couple's dynamic: the ML's indifferent disposition coupled with how he slowly melts will scratch your itch I promise.
The Second Couple
The Trope
The second FL sees the second ML and goes "this one, he's mine".
I realize that some people find this dynamic problematic and pestering, but the second FL never crosses any lines. The ML is also very much in love, but due to undisclosed circumstances he believes that the second FL deserves someone better.
I will not be telling you why he feels inadequate. But I will tell you that this is what introduces the tension needed to keep a couple's relationship interesting as a viewer.
The Flags
Green all the way!
The Story
Yun Chao Yan - a girl who is haunted by the ability to see renegade immortals - returns to her hometown. A place she left years ago. I'm not going to tell you why. Yun Chao Yan happens to meet Ren Shi Que, the lunar god who is responsible for recapturing the renegade immortals. Unfortunately he lost the ability to see these renegade immortals a few years ago.
In order to get rid of the renegade immortals that have "haunted" her for almost her entire life, Chao Yan tries every possible means to get entangled with Shi Que, since renegade immortals seem to disappear when he is near.
The two begin a fantastical lifelong journey together. Also, their bond doesn't stop there.
Final Notes
This drama is not going to keep you on the edge of your seat. It's not boring in any sense of the word, but it's light and lovely.
It's also by no means a masterpiece, but it gave me such a positive sunshine feeling.
If that is what you need. Then this drama is what you need.
8 months ago | [YT] | 2