Just You (Taiwanese Drama)

I am new to Thaiwanese drama. But this one just knocked me over and made me fall in love with it. It’s just so good. And this is one of the best dramas that I have ever seen. 

It’s romantic in a new level. Not the old too much used to by seeing over and over again level. Things are really comfortable and happy happy in here. And a bunch of good natured people. Not much tension. Just a lot of love.

The main point of this drama is that it spread the idea of how being happy is the best way to live, and how happiness, love, care and friendship can heal every person. And that is actually expressed in a really simple and cute way too. In this drama, no one gets hurt in the end no one is left alone. Even the antagonist is given a chance to live happily, and she is healed by the power of love and friendship. And in this drama the second male lead is a person that sincerely try to get the main leads together (where as in every other k-drama, the second male lead is always so pitiful and have to stand sad while the main guy gets the girl). Here the second guy, gets that the main leads like each other, and never gets in between them. And we love his character till the end too. And he is happy too. So this drama teaches the point of being happy in a clear and effective manner.

The whole character of Cheng Liang Liang is so…adorable. She is like this little sun that shine over everyone making everyone happy, healing them. She heals Qi Yi with love, she unites the Qi family with her sincere attempts and once again love. She even accepts the girl who hurt her and gives happiness to her as well. Well, I started wishing if Cheng Liang Lyang was my friend. If we had a friend like her in our life we all would be living a whole lot happier than now. Coz Cheng Liang Liang is like a medicine over every sadness. I loved this character. I respect the writers of ‘Just You’ a lot for making this character. And love Puff Guo to have played this character so well and made her such a lovable thing.

Also, I have not seen much better romantic stories with this much simplicity and cuteness. Well except maybe for ‘The first shop of Coffee Prince’. And ‘Just You’ has just the same feel of familiarity fondness, cuteness and simplicity.

 The main point is that we can feel that attraction and love of main leads from the 4^thor 5^th episode itself. Liang Liang’s from the way she takes care of Qi Yi a lot. Qi Yi’s from the way he gives her lights touches the way she holds her, the way he forgives her, the way he feels guilty towards her and all.  It’s visible. And that is what makes it so…real. Coz in real life when you like someone you actually tend to be like that instead of just standing in a distance and liking that person in secretly. And if you are meant to like someone, they will start liking each other after a few encounters, and doesn’t have to wait till getting jealous over some other guy/girl being with that person (which actually happens a lot in K-dramas. Only after he/she is with another the hero/heroine feels hurt and then wonders, ‘why…do I like him/her’). In just you, everyone can just feel that Qi Yi and Liang Liang likes each other. It’s just evident. 

Also, even when Qi Yi and Liang Liang breaks up because of Jia Yu, they just don’t stop seeing each other. They stay as friends, or more like family. And when Qi Yi talk to Liang Liang his love and care for her still rings in his tone of voice. And I loved the part where Liang Liang points this out to him and says he can’t talk to her like that anymore. That was totally a nice detail.

And the best part is the way Qi YI’s emotions show. The small smiles and chuckles show how he enjoy teasing Liang Liang and being with her. The way he places his hand on Liang Liang’s head when he wakes up and find Liang Liang sleeping next to him. The eager expression on him while he waits for Liang Liang to call him by his given name for the first time. These doesn’t come as so much evident they are subtle but still they leave us the correct amount of feelings. They all just tells Qi Yi’s mind correctly.

A thing that gives the whole ‘no tension’ air of the drama a balance is the fact that they don’t introduce all the characters all at once. Dean, the second male is introduced only in episode 6 by which Qi Yi and Liang Linag has got their own clear start and a good length perfect base for their relationship. And Jia Yu is introduced only in episode 9 (or more like in episode 10, coz Qi YI and Liang Liang meets her at d very end of ep 9) when Dean has perfectly settled down and made the viewers carefree about him. And by then we could totally detect Qi Yi’s fondness to Liang Laing in a cute and clear way.  

Also another thing that I totally liked about this drama is the family feel of the office. The office employees all together make such a cool group. The charm of them is a real plus point. And every one of them is so cute too. Some K-dramas also use a group of people as the key attraction, and the best that was maybe ‘The first shop of Coffee Prince’ (again) where the ‘Prince Café’ employees group were so adorable together that they can’t be forgotten ever. And so were the four Joson men in ‘The Rooftop Prince’. Like that, the charm of ‘Just You’ is the GAZE office staff and other friends. And they have their own love stories too.

Actually Kate and Alex are super sweet. Of course they are just a bit too much sugar-coated and a bit too lovey-dovey. But that has its own charm too.

This drama is also worth a watch for the actors. As I said I am new to Thaiwanese Drama. But OMG! Aaron Yan... Cute beyond measure. And Puff Guo is so adorable too. (All the rest of the cast are so sweet too.)

And it’s not every day that you get a chemistry like Aaron Yan and Puff Guo has. They just look good together. They just don’t look together it feels like they belong together. Like they knew each other from centuries or something. There is some charm. And hence the exceptionally good chemistry. And hence all the kisses and small touches are so so so good. (There are rumors that these two might be dating in real life, and if they are it will just be so good coz they look that good together.)

Now to come to the down sides of this drama (there are hardly any), some events just looks a bit staged, or more like put there intentionally only for the entertainment sake for the viewers. Maybe because I watched too much K-drama. In Korean Dramas, things doesn't actually happen even once for just for the entertainment of the viewers. And ya, I have watched romantic Hindi serials a lot too,  and there a lot of things, as in A LOT of things happen just for the entertainment sake (as like, the hero and heroine gets lot in a jungle, or the heroine begins to fall and hero catches her – then they stand look in to each other’s eyes for a few minutes while some romantic background music plays, or one of them fall on top of the other accidentally and so on…). And ‘Just You’ seemed to be in the middle of an Indian Romantic Serial and a Korean Drama. Things are not that much happening just for entertainment of viewers, still sometimes it feels like that. But that is not much of a bad point, because it’s for the entertainment of the viewers and it does entertain the viewers. We totally enjoy it. SO why say anything bad about it.

Another down side might be that there are a few slapstick comedy instances. They just stand out a bit and…it’s not bad. Just makes it a bit awkward at times. But that is forgivable, because the rest is really good.

Characters

Main

Puff Kuo as Cheng Liang Liang : A happy natured and energetic girl. She is a friend of everyone and she like to help everyone. She has the power to bring a laughter to even the saddest soul. She is the pert of everyone in the company. Liang Liang’s parents were rose cultivators and hence Liang Liang loves roses. Everyone in the company is assigned an animal according to their personalities and her animal is ‘pink elephant’ meaning carefree yet strong and cute.

Aaron Yan as Qi Yi : He likes having everything neat and organized. Everything perpendicular and in fixed centimeter gaps. He is intelligent and stubborn. His biggest dream is to reunite his family. And he doesn’t have much sympathy for romance and love because he was hurt badly by a past love. And he hates roses because of that too. When Qi Yi comes to GAZE he is given the persona of a Lion that pounced on them, and hence his office animal avatar is Lion.

Dean Fujioka as Dean : Qi Yi’s long time rival cum friend. I don’t know how that works but, Qi Yi is not the kind that will make friends. And the person that he has been the longest with is Dean, with whom he is always competing with. So if you ask Dean is his rival, then he is, but if you ask if Dean is Qi Yi’s friend, then he is sort of his best friend too. Dean knows about Qi Yi’s past and all. Dean is a playboy sort of guy who doesn’t commit to any girl but flirts with every girl. He is playful and carefree. And charming. When he comes to GAZE, he get the office animal of ‘Tiger’

Lyla Lin as Jia Yu : Jia Yu is a beautiful, and confident but a bit selfish girl. Qi Yi’s ex-girlfriend. She left him. But now after years she comes back to his life, and she try to get Liang Liang out of Qi Yi’s life and reclaim her position.

Gaze employees/friends

Katherine Wang as Kate : One of Liang Liang’s best friends. She is a simple girl at times, but still she has moments where she can be not so simple. SO her office avatar animal is a cat. Kate is the kind that had her whole life planned like - at what time she will get engaged, what time will she marry and what time she will have kids and so on. And she was planning to do all that with her boyfriend Alex. But the Dating Ban rule comes in between them.

Tang Zhen-Gang as Alex : A simple, honest, and polite boy. He will get sad easily and is not a big courageous type. But he is a really loving personality and he honestly loves Kate a lot. But he has a poor home, and hence when the Dating Ban rule comes (put up by new boss Qi Yi), he gets torn in between Kate and the career which he needs badly. His office avatar animal is a Polar Bear, because he is like an endangered species – Loyal and caring.

Ashi Lin as Princess : Liang Liang’s other best friend. She is the brains to the ‘Lion Hunting’ plan that the three girls plan at the start to conquer Qi Yi.  She is not an employee of GAZE. She runs a Fried Chicken place.

Sun Peng as Buzz : He was the senior at Qi Yi and Dean’s university. Buzz runs a café where all the GAZE employees likes to hang out. A bit of a serious character. Later he stars dating Princess.

Xie Qi Wen as  Li Han Buo/Brother Bo (Bo Gue) : The nerdy old guy in GAZE. He is dependable and sincere but not handsome. He is best in fixing stuff, and helping others in other small odds and ends. Then he falls in love with Shi Cui Xia, and when Brother Bo loves, he loves with all his sincere heart, giving it all even in a dating ban situation. (His Office avatar animal is a Hippopotamus. Because he is self-willed and calm.)

Ke Ya Xin as Shi Cui Xia : Beautiful and confident lady. She likes to seduce men and use to her use. She is not bad at heart. Just the tiniest bit of a gold digger. She wants a rich man who can handle of all her monetary needs and take care of her family too. She aim high. Keeps her head high and looks down on everyone. Hence her office avatar animal is a Giraffe.

Rim Lim as Oh Lai En : He thinks he is the coolest guy out there. He is good at his work too. Sort of ok-ish looking. Hence he thinks he has it all and is a bit of an arrogant jerk. He gets angry easily. So all of this put together, his office avatar animal is the Bull.

Zeng Yun Rou as Mei Mei : A sweet office assistant who does all of small jobs she is assigned and never gets angry over anyone. She is cute and lovable. Pure and Honest. She is calm and likes others to take care of her. She wouldn’t even know if she gets eaten. SO her office animal is a Sheep. 

Chang Han as Jerry : (Not a GAZE employee). Jerry is the guy with whom Jia Yu went to USA after breaking up with Qi Yi. Jerry is the son of the company Jia Yu, Qi Yi and Dean worked for in past. He is not much handsome. Jia Yu doesn't like this guy much. But Jerry honestly loves Jia Yu, and because of this Jia Yu makes use of Jerry a lot.

Family

Shen Meng Sheng as Qi Yi’s Papa (Qi Bubu) : Qi Yi’s dad. Liang Laing is really friends with him and calls him Qi bubu meaning ‘uncle Qi’. When Yi was young, Qi bubu went bankrupt and messed up his family life. He feels really guilty about that and is in hope for his wife to forgive him and come back someday. 

Xie Qiong Nuan  as Qi Mama : Yi’s mom. When Yi was young Qi mama got separated from him. Qi mama still longs for her son, but she has not forgiven her husband and hence has planned not to go back ever. Since leaving her family, she went abroad to many places and has become a successful art distributor.

Yang Li Yin as Lyang Lyang’s mamma : A loud and loving mother. She is fun and a bit countryish. She is is adorable in her own ways. Makes us laugh. She loves Liang Liang.

Wang Do An as Lyang Lyang’s papa : A loving dad. He is not loud, but calm. His main job might be to just control his crazy wife.

:-D

Goldfishes as Shan Shan and Ming Ming : We can’t exclude these two guys from family because Shan Shan and Ming Ming are very much of a family as the others, and maybe much more important characters in the story than Liang Liang’s parents. Though Shan Shan and Ming Ming never existed together. Shan Shan is the female goldfish that Liang Ling used to raise for years. She has considered Shan Shan as her sister. But Shan Shan dies… Ming Ming is the new male goldfish that Qi Yi buys for Linag Liang.

Storyline

Cheng Liang Liang, a happy natured cute girl is living in her rented home happily, with her pet goldfish Shan Shan, whom she considers as her sister. One of her best friends, Princess lives next door to her. And her other best friend Kate is supposed to get proposed to on that day. On that day, Cheng Liang Liang comes out of her bathroom in a towel, and see a guy, Qi Yi, in her living room. In shock her towel falls down too. After the chaos she gets dressed and ask for explanation and Qi Yi tells her that he bought that house and ask Liang Laing to move out.

And apparently that house was Qi Yi’s old house. His family used to live in that house when Yi was a small kid and he has sentimental emotions attached to that house. He is bought that house in the hope that his family, which got separated, will reunite again because of the house.

But Cheng Liang Liang refuse to move out and leave for the office yelling at Yi that this is a big day fro her best friend and so she has to go and she will talk more to him after she gets home. But after reaching the office, GAZE,  she finds out that the office was bout by a new CEO and that guy turn out to be Qi Yi.

Kate, Cheng Liang Liang’s best friend is all excited about her boyfriend, Alex proposing to her.  She is the type that had her whole life planned with Alex. And while in the middle of the proposal, Qi Yi comes and posts a notice on the wall, that says ‘employees are not supposed to date each other in this office and anyone who breaks this rule will be fired’. This makes the whole proposal stop in the middle and now Alex is hesitant about proposing Kate. He tells her he won’t be able to afford if he gets fired. This just makes cry and shout at him.

Liang Liang who is a really faithful friend gets angry at her friends’ mishap and takes it to be her responsibility to resolve the situation. Liang Liang’s other friend, Princess, tells her that the best way to get rid of the dating ban rule is to make Qi Yi fall in love with someone, and not just someone, but with Liang Liang. Coz it’s easier as Laing Laing can live with him in his house. She just need to refuse to move out. SO Liang Liang decides to absolutely refuse to move out of the house, no matter how much he insists. And to try to make him fall in love with her. They (Liang Laing, Kate and Princess) calls this mission ‘The Lion Hunt’. (Because Qi Yi is like a Lion that pounced on the innocent office staff unexpectedly and gave them problems).

Liang Liang try her best in this ‘lion hunt’, but usually her attempts go in vain. And since Qi Yi is such a strict and clean freak person she has to live according to his rules. Qi Yi wants everything in order and clean. Plus he has a lot of allergies too. Once Liang Liang acts carelessly and she has to carry him off to ER coz of one of his allergies.

Qi Yi and Liang Liang work on a few projects together and ends up spending time together. And despite all their accidents and fights, Qi Yi slowly starts to see Liang Liang as that happy girl and starts to like her as a person. He still thinks that she does a lot of mistakes and blunders. Still kind of accepts her.

When Liang Laing’s parents comes to visit her, they accept Qi Yi too. They treat him lovingly. He gets touched by this. Also he gets reminded a lot of his family while watching Liang Liang with her parents. So he talks politely to Liang Liang’s parents and doesn’t make a fuss when Liang Liang’s mom washes his clothes with their clothes. (In normal circumstances he would have).

Once after a meeting Liang Laing gets drunk. AT that time she ask Qi Yi what his dream is and he tells her it’s to unite his family. In the drunken state Linag Liang locks Yi on the terrace of the office building and forgets about him the next morning. Yi gets rescued only afternoon and this gets him really mad. He fires Liang Liang, but she follows him around begging, and hence he has to re hire her (also because the clients like her a lot).

That is when Dean, Yi’s long time rival and sort of best friend enters the story. Dean is the Creative director of the client company and he comes to GAZE to work in the project of the client company. Dean takes a liking to Liang Liang, but he instantly understand that Linag Liang and Qi Yi lives together and they have a thing going on, like a thing they have not realized yet. And since Dean like to pester Yi a lot he tries to flirt with the innocent Liang Liang a lot. Yi gets jumpy and irritated whenever Dean is near Liang Liang and this just further entertains Dean. He ask Qi Yi why is he holding back from Liang Laing and why is there a dating ban in the office. Is it because what happened in the past? But Yi tells him that he doesn’t want to discuss about past and cuts dean off.

Around this time, Yi accidently causes the death of Liang Liang’s goldfish Shan Shan. Yi gets terrified because he knows how much Liang Liang treasures Shan Shan and to cover his mistake he buys another goldfish and hopes that Liang Liang doesn’t notice. But Liang Liang notice it in an instant and ask him what happened to Shan Shan. He tells her. And then, she starts crying and hitting him. He doesn’t know what to do so he grabs her to a hug. But she pushes him off and cries.

Liang Laing stops talking to Yi. And Yi who has not said sorry to anyone ever can’t say that to her and hence just stay silent. But when she walks out of the house, he brings her back.

The GAZE employees goes out for a trip, and on this trip Princess(who comes along with Dean, as Dean was missing a partner), and Kate tells Liang Laing that she is being too harsh on Qi Yi and it was her fault too when Shan Shan died. Liang Liang resolves the fight with Yi. Then that day, Liang Liang mistakenly thinks that Yi fell in to river and jumps in to save him. Instead she starts to get drowned, and Yi jumps in and save her. In the while back, she catches fever. Yi takes care of her whole night. His care for her is shown evidently.

After getting home, Yi gives her the new goldfish and tells that the new one will be sad if she doesn't accept it, and tells that the new one’s name is ‘Ming Ming’. So Laing Laing accepts Ming Ming.

Qi Yi’s birthday comes and, Laing Laing holds a small birthday party for Yi with just Yi’s dad whom she befriends and calls ‘Qi bubu’ (Uncle Qi). From them she learns that Yi doesn't like his birthday because his mother left him and he used to hope that his mom would return to celebrate him birthday but she never came.

 Mean while, Qi Yi’s mom buys a cupcake every year and goes to the park they used to go when Yi was a kid and sits there a celebrate her son’s birthday alone.

The gaze employees also holds a birthday party for Qi Yi. In that party Dean purposefully makes Yi, who can’t hold alcohol, drink. This makes Yi passed out and Dean and Liang Laing has to carry him home. But when they put Yi on his bed, they who were also drunk pass out. When Yi opens his eyes next day he finds Liang Liang sleeping with him. He just places his hand on her head and smiles happily. That is when Dean wakes up and Yi’s happy bubble is bust and Liang Liang wakes up and runs away.

But it’s evident that Yi totally likes her.

But then, Jia Yu enters the story. Jia Yu is Yi’s ex-girlfriend. She had left him in a cruel way. But now she returns to reclaim him telling him that she still loves him and that the only reason she left him was for his own sake.

Yi is in a fix now. He likes Liang Liang but can’t admit it or act over it because of Jia Yu’s presence and claims…

THE best part is the happy natured no tension feel of the whole drama. It just lights you up and make you happy like never before. So it's definitely one you should make sure not to miss out. 

My Ratings of this Drama : 100000000000000000000/10

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