Hehe. This is random but I recently rewatched Autumn’s Concerto (my top 5 spring break recommendation
post made me want to watch it again lol) and I just want to review it while I still remember most of it’s story line. I was supposed to do My Princess but I already forgot half the plot so I will need a refresher before I get to that. Like last time, my [in a nutshell] section will be available for all you lazys out there. ^^
Hopeless romantics: this one’s for you. Add a hero in shinning armour, a righteous girl, a disapporving mother and juicy romance. What do you get? Mhmmm. A delicious drama.
Episodes: 21
Stars: Van Ness Wu, Ady An, Xia Xia Bin
For fans of: Easy Fortune Happy Life(TW) , Mars(TW)
Watch it here
IMPORTANT TIP: Do not and I repeat, DO NOT watch the mini commercial breaks in between the drama. There are major spoilers in there. ^^
Story/Plot (Note: Spoilers up to episode 4)
This drama’s storyline looks quite simple at first: Girl meets Boy. Boy falls for girl. Problems arise. But Autumn’s Concerto is a drama that just loves to complicate things. Hence the surprising twists and dark side-story lines. One thing that I loved though was that this drama was so (I don’t really know how to say this but I guess I’ll go with:) adult-oriented. That’s right. The problems were actual PROBLEMS (in all caps because that’s how incredibly problematic they were). So if you’re in it for the cheese, might as well leave now.
So here’s our main girl, Liang Mu Cheng. The drama begins with a (rather unnecessary, in my opinion) flashback to her past. Her mom died when she was young, followed by her father’s death a couple years afterwards. Her father leaves her and her step-mother penniless but fortunately, some guy takes them in. Fast forward a decade or so. Mu Cheng is a young adult that works as a bento girl in a University which her best guy friend, Hua Tuo Ye, attends. This is also where she Ren Guen Xi, a self-proclaimed player and the son of the President of the University studies. She had first met him when his convertible had crashed into the bus she was riding. It was a nasty first encounter that ended in her telling him off and richboy Guen Xi having to serve community hours. At school, Ren Guen Xi’s friend bets him to ask Mu Cheng on a date and get her to kiss him. Mu Cheng is the unattainable pretty girl on campus who is known to reject all her admirers. Getting that kiss will only add glory to Guen Xi’s player status so, he accepts. At first, Mu Cheng rejects him but Mister Player finds a way around that obstacle. He practically blackmails her into coming using a textbook that Tuo Ye needs for his classes.
Ren Guen Xi’s player charms work on poor unsuspecting Mu Cheng and he successfully captures their kiss on his camera. Alas, Mu Cheng soon finds out about the bet and catches him off guard by lying that someone also bet her to kiss him. Both parties part with a hurt ego. They meet again when Mu Cheng accidentally discovers Ren Guen Xi’s hideout spot. They bond over a song that Mu Cheng knows to play on the piano. Soon enough, they become close friends and Guen Xi even lies to his friend that he lost the bet. One day, he discovers one of Mu Cheng’s deepest secret which is that her stepmom’s boyfriend, who works as a chef in the University cafeteria, sexually abuses her. He convinces her that she should speak up about it and even goes as far as proposing to pursue him in the University’s court.
She reluctantly agrees. Guen Xi acts as her lawyer for that case. After much studying and practising, they win the case; the stepmom’s boyfriend is fired from his job. All seems well until, suddenly, Guen Xi discovers that he has a brain tumour. A whole skew of problems arise as he hesitates to involve Mu Cheng in a deeper relationship than they have and as he discovers that the one man that can give him a chance to live is willing to help him only if Guen Xi dates his daughter.
The acting
The acting in this drama was incredible. The majority of actors were really strong; whether that be the main leads or the secondary/tertiary characters. Even the child actor, the precious Xia Xia Bin, was just amazing. This drama is one of the few that shows a consistent solid performance from its cast.
Visual/Music
The people were pretty. The locations were pretty. Still, since that palette used was kinda lame, the show wasn’t as visually appealing as say Boys over Flowers or Playful Kiss.The directing was very basic. No fancy shots or anything. The music was slow for the most part. So, nothing you can dance to but it goes with the story well enough.
Additional Commentary
Okay, first of all this is my favourite Taiwanese drama OF ALL TIMES. Second of all, this drama was so… dramatic. It was like a watered down and cut down version of a soap opera (without the poor acting). And surprisingly, I loved it. It dealt with real (although rare) issues. This drama was more dark than light but it still had a really hopeful message at the end. The situations were believable even if they were unlikely to happen in your lifetime. And Ren Guen Xi? He is like my number one drama lead crush ever. Just UNF. I love him. As for Mu Cheng, get ready for FRUSTRATION that will make you want to scream at the top of your lungs. She is a respectable lead female character (no aegyo, honest person, strong etc) but she is stubborn as hell. If it wasn’t for her, the drama would have been cut down by 5 episodes at least.
[In a nutshell]
Things I like
Vaness Wu as Ren Guen Xi
respectable female lead Mu Cheng
believable situations
good acting
cute kid Xia Xia Bin
beautiful lead couple
Law and Order segments
Things I dislike
loveaholicinanutshell 