Devil Beside You and Why Why Love

2 weeks ago, I was listening to too much MCR. And all the rock bands of 2000s and 2010s. Now, I’m re-watching Tw-dramas of early 2000s. But if it was produced in the 2020s, it would probably get cancelled lol! 

Mike He in his 20s still remains solidly the beautiful boy (美男) whose beauty cannot be surpassed. Of course, this is my opinion. But that bad bad look gets me every time. 

Devilish? Too dangerous and way too much questionable acts? Yes. In no way is the character in Devil Beside You acceptable; not then, not now. But he looks so good! I actually never really saw this drama back then when it was all the hype. Anyone who listens to C-pop would know the OST 《曖昧》by Rainie Yang. Instead, I watched the other drama starring pretty much the same main cast: Why Why Love. It aired in the year after DBY. I’m watching both now at the same time. Despite the same cast, the overly similar plotline (with some deviations in terms of character background), I must say their acting skills did a good job in setting the characters apart. I’m at ep 4 for both series now. DBY is significantly much more problematic than WWL. Kissing without consent (including the time when the girl does it to a guy) happens far too often. Because of the way his character is set up - to be a devil - Mike He’s character, Ah Meng, will remain extremely problematic (probably throughout the entire series). But… for some reason, I think he looks much better in DBY. 

In WWL, the female lead played by Rainie Yang is a young woman in her 20s, working multiple part-time jobs to pay off her late father’s debt + a clingy uncle who constantly asks her for money to invest in dubious businesses + a brother who tricks their mother into giving him money for leisure stuff + a mother who blames her for getting pregnant with her, causing her to get married early (I swear, her mother is one of the worst mothers……) 

Mike He’s character here, Huo Da, doesn’t like her at first but they eventually fall for each other. So, in many ways, (as I remembered?) the relationship here is less dysfunctional / problematic. I need to keep watching to see if I’m remembering it correctly. 

However, TV series in the 2000s often have a good mix of these elements: 

 - an accident (most likely to cause amnesia) 
 - an incurable disease 
 - an absurd amount of misunderstandings
 - unrealistic number of coincidences 
 - MLs with daddy/mummy issues used as explanation for his bad personality

If you find any of these unacceptable, this is definitely not for you. 

But Mike He at his prime… 

… is irresistible. 

(Note: These are “idol dramas” - or 偶像劇 - meaning in many ways, they aren’t quite logical or realistic. They were (still are) marketed to portray romance for the sake of it. The lines can be silly, childish or even downright rubbish sometimes. But!! I personally find their acting skills to be quite good despite it being just an idol drama. 

*DBY was adapted from a Japanese manga.)