In Time With You Review: This Is The Reason Why A Cute Guy Cannot Be Friends With A Hot Girl

It has been ages since I last reviewed a Taiwanese drama. Though I watched ‘In Time With You’ sometime between February and March, I don’t know what took me so long to review it. ‘In Time With You’ is a romantic Taiwanese drama about two childhood friends who promise to never fall in love with each other despite having deep-rooted feelings for each other. I picked this drama because it had only 13 episodes (at least on the site that I saw it on) and finding a T-drama with less than 20 episodes is a big deal. Moreover, the drama had great reviews online so I thought this is perfect for binge-watching over the weekend. However, it took me more than a week to finish the drama as each episode was 90 minutes long. So, basically, the number of episodes made no difference because the drama was loooooooooooong anyway. But it was an enjoyable drama so I am not complaining.   

In Time With You (2011)

Cheng You Qing (Ariel Lin) and Li Da Ren (Bo Lin Chen) are childhood rivals who later become good friends. Da Ren harboured feelings for You Qing since a very young age but could never muster the courage to tell her. One day he offers a hand of friendship to her and promises to never fall in love with her. She accepts his friendship and they become inseparable thereafter. Over the years they grow close as friends and share almost everything with each other. Da Ren tries his best to date other women but somehow is unable to maintain a relationship as all of his partners disapprove of his closeness to You Qing. You Qing too has her share of relationships but always ends up getting betrayed by her boyfriend. On her 30^th birthday, Da Ren sends her an e-mail explaining “the symptoms of premature ageing” and she frets over the possibility of never finding a good guy for herself. She starts trying her luck in love by looking for a potential husband completely unaware of how much Da Ren dotes on her and wishes to marry her.

Let’s weigh In Time With You on our show beam balance and see if this two friends-turned-lover are worth your time or no.

Good Weights

You Qing’s Wardrobe and Character: Every girl will know why wardrobe is counted as a good weight. You Qing works as a manager with a shoe manufacturing company. She is a smart and ambitious woman and that is clearly reflected in her dressing. Mostly dressed in smart formals, You Qing’s clothes and shoes had me frothing at the mouth. Even her sister-in-law would borrow clothes from her in the drama. I was in awe of her impeccable dressing sense. You Qing’s wardrobe is every girl’s dream. Actress Ariel Lin looked stunning in almost every outfit that helped her look her part in the drama.

You Qing is a headstrong girl who knows how to perfectly balance her personal and professional life. She is stubborn, rude, and unapologetically outspoken which is what makes her character so real. She is not your regular sweet and kind drama heroine. She has shades to her personality and can be rude and nasty sometimes. Ariel Lin played the character to perfection which is what made me like You Qing even more.  

Chen Bolin: I have seen Ariel’s dramas before so I was aware of her acting prowess. It was the first time I was watching Chen Bolin in a drama and I think he was born to play this role. I don’t think anyone else could be as charming and cute as Chen Bolin in this role. Li Da Ren is the quintessential romantic hero who loves the heroine unconditionally and can do anything to see her smile. He is always there to wipe her tears when she is upset. He patiently listens to all her complaints. Solves her problems for her. Protects her from harm. Fights with people who speak against her. And basically, acts like a err….drama hero.

The casting director chose the best face possible to play such an endearing character. Chen Bolin’s smile can make any girl go weak in the knees. Thankfully, his pretty face is not devoid of expression and his portrayal of Li Da Ren was just perfect.

Intense Chemistry: For this, I have to applaud Ariel for being able to build an amazing chemistry with both her male leads Chen Bolin and Sunny Wang. Her chemistry with her ex-boyfriend on the show Ding Li Wei i.e. actor Sunny Wang was too hot to handle. There are plenty of sweet love scenes between You Qing and Li Wei which is a given for any romantic T-drama. Also, actor Sunny Wang is an eye candy which is why it is natural to be torn between Da Ren and Li Wei. You Qing and her bestie Da Ren do not have that many love scenes but there are several adorable scenes between the two pals that will make you root for them.

Bad Weights

First Episode: I don’t know why but I found the first episode of the show extremely boring and almost decided not to watch it. Had I not read rave reviews of the show I surely would not have watched it beyond episode 1. But luckily I held my patience and gave it another try. In case you decide to watch this show do not feel very disappointed by episode 1. It is boring I agree but the show overall is not bad so let the one-episode slip.   

Draggy Episodes: The website I saw the drama on had 13 episodes but several other websites have broken down the drama into 20+ episodes. But despite the breakdown, the story does seem to drag sometimes. It does slow down a bit but doesn’t fully lose track. In spite of the slight dip in pace I eagerly waited to catch the next episode only because I liked all the characters on the drama.

[Note: In case you want to see some sweet lovey-dovey scenes from the drama, then head to my Instagram account where I have posted a few videos from this show.]

 

In Time With You is a charming love story that will make you want a guy best friend. It is that Taiwanese drama which should be on your ‘to-watch’ list.

I give this show 3.5 out of 5 rating. If you are looking for a sweet friendship-turned-romance drama then stop here and spare some time for this heart-warming drama. 

 

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