I am hesitantly sticking my drama toes back into the Tdrama pool. 2014-2015 were not a good year for me (Taiwanese dramawise). So much messed up potential, which made me very, very cranky. So why would I go back? Mostly because I am a total sucker for a good gender bender drama and “Bromance” is one of the better ones out there.
That’s right, there is a new female, pretending to be a boy, on the block. And at least this time she is totally believable you don’t have to constantly roll your eyes at the men’s stupidity (thinking of you “You’re Beautiful” & “To The Beautiful You”).
Before we get into our countdown lets take a minute to discuss the backstory. Why is our heroine cross dressing? How do the OTP come together as besties?
It turns out that our heroine, Pi Ya Nuo, had the misfortune of being born a girl when her parents were expecting a boy. According to a fortune teller (who had previously informed them of their impending parenthood to a bouncing baby boy) they had messed up in having a girl and her future would be horrible unless they dress her as a boy (and not let anyone know until her 26th birthday). If her secret is revealed then she will die …. DUMDUMDUM …. So hence their son is created.
It has been 25 years since that day and Ya Nuo is happily living her male life and selling hot dogs in a cart outside the local amusement park. She is all things male. She walks like a boy, she talks like a boy, she attracts the ladies like a boy. Pretty much she is the perfect boy next door. She is also highly trained in martial arts and one day helps leading man, Du Zi Feng, against a gang of thugs.
It also happens that Ya Nuo saves Zi Feng’s sister from a runaway horse and his sister falls instantly in love with our manly woman. In an effort to get her daughter what she wants, Zi Feng’s mom declares that the “boys” must become blood brothers (theyliteral blood drunk…….ewww) and connect Ya Nuo to the family.
I guess it is easier for a daughter to seduce a brother’s friend than someone that hangs outside the family workplace. Either way a bromance is created.
With our backstory now known, let’s chat about the three aspects of this drama that I enjoy.
#3 Hidden character depth
(at least for a Tdrama)
Tdramas are known for their fluffy stories and characters that have only a single level of development. Sure you might see the occasional lead who has a tragic past. But most Tdramas usually develop something along these lines
Leading Man – “I am a total jerk, but my dad/mom/favorite fish died when I was a child. There was a girl who comforted me for 5 minutes along a riverside and now I search to recreate that comforting feeling/her to this day.”
Leading Girl – “I see that you have great angst in your life. I am pretty (insert sympathetic eyes and possibly a hair toss) and I just happened to also comfort a boy when I was twelve who also lost his father.”
Leading Man – “I realize that you are my first love and because you are a good person I will strive to be less of a megalomaniac. Please Marry me”.
Outside Forces (usually in the form of the 2nd lead girl, evil uncle, or controlling parent) ” I see that you are both in love and we can’t allow that to come to pass. I shall do something nefarious and cause one of you to have amnesia/cancer/an injury that causes a case of noble stupidity/etc.
Main Couple “We are noble idiots and must separate for the good of some unknown reason that really doesn’t make sense to anyone.
INSERT 8 episodes of pointless plot and a separated OTP (One True Pairing)
Main Couple “I guess that issue wasn’t really that important to begin with. Let’s get married and live happily ever after…..THE END”
Thankfully we are missing most of these tropes so far. No Amnesia, we have decent parents who actually love their kids and nice second leads that (so far) keep their scheming to just hanging out. It is a tad bit disconcerting. And before you burst my bubble by saying that there is still a ton of drama to go through…… SIGH, I know and I am sure amnesia will show up before too long. But for now I am going to keep my hopes up and enjoy my OTP gazing adoringly at each other in all their, gay but not gay, glory.
#2 Kisses & Chemistry
I love the chemistry of our OTP. We get tons of great sizzling moments including an awkward public kiss thrown into episode one. You have to appreciate a show that is not beyond forcing our OTP’s lips within kissing proximity every ten minutes. Before you cry out how unrealistic this is, you have to remember that it is a Tdrama. Reality is not this countries drama forte.
#1 Ya Nuo is by far the best girl pretending to be a boy in a drama …….by far!
I don’t know how she did it, but Lai Megan is awesome being a girl playing a boy. She has that androgynous look that just works for this type of role (Am I the only one that thinks she looks like a female version of Lee Soo Hyuk?)
Ya Nuo’s walk, the way she interacts with everyone around her, even the way she stands and sits are very masculine. If you were to tell me that this is really a story about two guys finding out they were gay and falling in love, I would have totally believed it. It is this attention to detail, that gives this drama an extra oomph that most gender bender shows are missing.
This completes my brief look into “Bromance”. If you are interested in the feel and styling of this drama and our OTP, check out this fan video covering ep 1-3. It makes me want to rewatch the episodes all over again.
Man, this looks really interesting. Why are there always so many frickin’ dramas to watch T___T Please universe! Tell me how to make drama watching a career?!?!?
I really wish I had more time to watch shows. Now that Fall sports are over I hopefully will have more time. There are a few Chinese dramas I want to add into my schedule.
I just wish that I had more time in a day. Haha. And if one blogs, then that’s even less drama watching time. But blogging is so much fun! haha. #fangirldilemmas
I totally hear you on the blogging time suck. But agree that it is worth it to share my love to the world.
I’ve not heard of this before reading your post, but now I totally want to watch this!
Do! Then we can chat about it together!
I’m through episode 6 now and still really enjoying it. Megan Lai is amazing as a guy. I totally buy her as one of those flower boy types. Past episode 3 when she has to dress like a girl the awkwardness is completely believable. Like you I’m dreading the inevitable fallout but right now this is one of the ones I look forward to every week.
Thank you Thank you Thank you ! If not for this post, I wouldn’t have started watching it (I generally get bothered by thai language) and it would be such a shame ! This tdrama is awesome !
I’d like to add: Du Zihan is HILARIOUS!! She’s so funny. I know she’s supposed to be the bimbo sister but the actress makes her come across as more endearing and not stupid and annoying, which is usually the case with bimbo characters. I want to give the actress a huge pat on the back.
I like her so much more in this drama than her last one where she was the stereotypical bimbo 2nd lead. She is a lot of fun. Hope she eventually finds love as well.
“t least this time she is totally believable you don’t have to constantly roll your eyes at the men’s stupidity”
Whereas I’ve been been doing nothing BUT rolling my eyes at the unbelievable stupidity of anyone in the Drama thinking she’s a guy, and was relieved to find I’m not the only one. She is far and away, without any contest, THE WORST “male impersonator” I’ve watched, although I’ve not watched either of the two you singled out.
II really hope this Drama continues to give you the pleasure it has so far. Dramas that deliver everything we want are rare, and so it would be great if this one could deliver for you to the end. This being SETTV and live shot, I fear the odds are not good.
I love this drama and also ‘Marry Me or Not’!
They are both on the level of good TW dramas this year.
If you haven’t watched Marry Me or Not yet, please do!
It has a Kdrama feel to it and I love that they don’t just give us all the characters during the first episode but takes time to make us understand them one by one. The main girl is an alpha and very competitive. Both the main leads are not what you would call ‘kind and easy-going’ on the outside but they are both softies on the inside. And the chemistry! It has off-the-charts HOT chemistry between the leads. I could never stop laughing at the funny moments of that drama. I hope you’ll consider watching it also 🙂
Thank you!
I have been on the fence on watching “Marry Me or Not”. But with all the recommendations, I think I will give it a go. Thanks
No waaaaaaay… I didn’t recognize Megan Lai at all until you addressed her in this post. I’m totally floored at the awesome chemistry. Megan… and Baron… shed A LOT of weight here. I love actors/actresses whom are so dedicated to their character development. I shall wait to marathon this.
I love this drama, maybe it can be really cheesy by moments but I still enjoy it 🙂
Lol, this drama is a hoot to watch! I’m more of a Kdrama addict, but so glad I gave this drama a try because YES, MAIN LEADS/COUPLE IS EVERYTHING A FANGIRL NEEDS. Funny that you mentioned how “reality is not Tdrama’s forte,” because I gave up on questioning the show’s logic whenever they have our leads in close proximity because I realized there was no reason why they SHOULD BE THATCLOSE, but I never complained because Megan Lai and Baron Chen are SO HOT together, it keels me.
Megan DOES look good as both male and female, so kudos for that, but I CANNOT WAIT for when Zifang finds out Yanou is a girl aka Girl of His Dreams, in fact, because heck, she’s perfect (for him).
The leads’ chemistry is wickedly hot both on and off camera. Love the kisses and the chemistry! Hee. It’s also funny that you mentioned the cliches in Tdramas, because the mock scenarios that you included above is actually kinda how Yanou and Zifang met/is, so I guess the cliches are true! Aha.
Totally enjoying this drama so much, even if it is ridiculous.
We’d love the Bromance staff and crew to know how popular the show is overseas. At Soompi (an international forum), we’re preparing to send the cast messages from all over the world. Take this chance to share your love for the show, actors/actress, crew, and staff that made this drama!
Our project is composed of: 1) Digitally sending a short letter about the popularity overseas, translated into Chinese. 2) A map showing all the places the fans are from. 3) Either a digital photo album or video of the images fans send us.
Please take a few seconds to fill out this form of where you are for our map. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18SdpwuGKclYl7d-MqHENjtBALHOfw5ZbI42E-p_2GQ4/viewform
If you’d like a picture of your handwritten message (written either in Chinese or in your own language) to be included, please send a message to bromance.fans.project@gmail.com.
DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 8TH
I love this drama, the first , i’m dressed as a man and act that way that i have seen, most dress up and than run around scared of everyone. You made the decision to dress as a man, act accordingly. Did i say , i love bromance .?
which episode Zifang finds out that yanao is a girl??
They indicate that he figured it out somewhere in the middle, but they don’t address it til the last two episodes