Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Chinese Drama: Prince + Princess 2 (王子看見二公主)

Rating: 8/10

Once upon a time, in a far away land (yes, I live in the US so China is far away to me), there lived a failed businessman, his wife, and their 3 daughters. Though they love each other very much, some sacrifices must be made. The oldest daughter is beautiful, feminine, and can play the piano. The family has decided to pour all their resources into the plan to have the oldest daughter hook a rich bachelor for a husband, so they can have a better life. The middle child ("the second princess") is a tomboy and is generally the person who does all the housework. She harbors a secret dream of wanting to design clothes, but is worried that paying for her education would cost too much, so she secretly attends some classes. Meanwhile, the "prince" is actually the manager to a clothing company. His family used to own a pawn shop and then their business grew. Though, it seems that his family is "mob-ish". The guy also acts sort of girl-ish and the girl is a tomboy. They are basically polar opposites, but they begin to attract one another. Unfortunately, the older sister also likes this prince. Meanwhile, the boy who grew up with the sisters has always harbored a secret crush on the middle sister. Then there's a new design manager, who begins to admire the middle sister's talent in fashion design. Who ends up with who?

Pros: 
I enjoy stories with a strong female lead. It is difficult to pull off a character who is "hard" at first and slowly starts to "thaw" because of love. This show pulled it off pretty well.
I loved the sisters' relationship; they love and support one another no matter what. Though the oldest sister is more spoiled, she loves her sisters. (For example: One night, the second princess was out late and didn't come home yet. Their father was surprised to find the oldest daughter sleeping in the 2nd daughter's bed. He asks her why she isn't in her own bed. She says that she is waiting for the 2nd daughter to come home. She figured that if she slept in the second daughter's bed, she will be able to know when she comes home since she is worried about her sister. I thought that was sweet.) Also, the youngest sister is bratty but she loves her sisters and sticks up for them.
I also loved how the drama showed all the dimensions of a person. For example, on the surface, the oldest sister is the beautiful, talented, and spoiled one... however, she shows a soft spot for her family and she goes on these match-making dates in order to help fulfill her mom's wish, not because she's a gold-digger. Also, there's the mother who seems to only love her oldest daughter, but in reality, her and the father are very much under pressure to repay their debts and she really loves all her daughters. The father must deal with his failed business and is sad how it effects his family. Etc. Oh, and a bonus, for once, the ending is cute and not too rushed.

Cons: The mother was a bit annoying because she may love her 3 daughters, but she is seems to still play favorites. The beginning was a bit too over-exaggerated. I also did not like how they introduced the best friend (who grew up with the 3 sisters) and he basically disappeared for half the series - he never forced her to give him an answer to his confession! Also, not sure if this is a con, but they always seem to go to the same restaurant for breakfast (which is shown a lot in the series).

Main Cast (courtesy of DramaWiki):
  • Annie Chen as Zhao Ke Rou 趙克柔
  • Dylan Kuo as Ning Huan Yu 寧煥宇
  • Hong Zi Han (洪子涵) as Zhao Mu Fan 趙慕凡
  • Michael Zhang as Li Chen Xi 李晨曦
  • Ken Hung as Xia Kuan 夏寬 
  • Zhu De Gang as Zhao De Qiang 趙德強
  • Ma Shi Li (馬世莉) as Liu Xiao Yue 劉小月
  • Ring Hsu as Zhao Xing An 趙幸安 

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