Office Girls

It's the rich-heir-has-to-start-from-the-bottom-with-nothing trope! I'm still good for 1/year. Maybe 2. Not tired of it yet. Qin ZiQi has been given an apartment and 💴, so he starts with more than nothing. It's an advance, though. He'll have to pay it back. He either makes it in the company on his own merits, or he doesn't inherit. If anyone finds out who he is, he doesn't inherit. This is his reward for getting his ivy league MBA (?) ...maybe it's payback for him taking 5 years to get a 2 year degree... Anway, the fat years are over. The lean years begin.

OG is a 2011 release that is rated 7.6 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of either 40 40-minute episodes or 25 90 minute ones, depending on your source. I know the math doesn't add up on that. Netflix is running 40 episodes and the first one is 40 minutes. That's all I can say as I type this. The /show/ adds up, though. It's a good old good-girl-reforms-bad-boy story, in the end. He was bad in that he was pompous and useless - that's a baaaad combination.

OG is simplistic - practically kid-level. Why do I like this and I trashed other Twdramas that aren't all that different from this one? It succeeds because it stays on course - cute, simple, cheerful, and error-free. There's simple fare that is put together well and then there's Love Now-3.6, which wasn't. A couple side characters are alittle much, but the two leads keep it on course - even though the romance could have been better. OG radiates warmth while other shows have the effect of a scratchy wool sweater causing constant little irritations. That is missing here, though two characters come close. What can I say? OG is my kinda stupid.

They keep it to modest mini dramas and some fail-safes (like his mother disapproving of his taste in girlfriends) while avoiding mistakes. It's pleasant hanging with these people. They're sincere (except for all that lying about his identity on ZiQi's part😜). Their relationship is cute. When it becomes painful (Ren really goes through it; the actress does a nice job) I felt for her, but it didn't crush me. It's just a smooth ride - A smooth escalator.

In the last 10 episodes the plot became more interesting, while many shows flounder at that stage. I wanted his mom to pay for her crimes against humanity, I wanted Kai Er to be hauled off to jail, or at least get fired, and I couldn't wait until Ren found out the truth about him so they can get beyond the storm that's destined to kick up from that. I also,really wanted her to treat ZiQi alittle better. She's going through too much, tbf. But what I wanted, most of all, was for Ren to do her hair, makeup, and dress prettily. They better make her look like a superstar or I'll be furious, I was thinking. (They let me down. She might just look her worst in the wedding gown).

The opening song is ratched, but the soundtrack is pretty solid. There's too many flashbacks in the last 2 eps, and they're only tolerable because the music is good. Some of the fashion is laughable, but heaven help me, I like some of it.

Roy Chiu (The Family, Man in Love) is the ML, Qin ZiQi. The Taiwanese took men's hairdos very seriously in this era. He's coiffed up superbly. He's a very good looking guy. I like his manner even though it's a little stiff and ultra cool. He has this habit of turning his head to the side in a way that reminds me of Ben Stiller in the film, Zoolander-8.8. Zoolander is a model and he names his varied vogues, or facial expressions. This guy's definitely sporting some Blue Steel.

Patrick Lee plays the duo's boss. He was great in The Fierce Wife-8, which starts slowly but ends great: It's excellent. Here, he's overly cartoonish - it's bad. He's in need of some bad boy reform, himself. This actor is still weirdly likable. Ren's roomie is a tiny little cutie, Liu Yu Le (Kuo Shu Yao from The Wolf). She and Boss get stuck in the elevator together, one day. That, along with some other fateful run-ins get his heart stuck on Ms Liu. He develops a thing for her and chases her for the rest of the show. At first she's horrified and disgusted, but he's got over 30 episodes to work on her. Her voice makes falsetto anime characters sound like Annie Lennox. She's a wind-up squeaky toy. It's too much, at times. I told myself it was cute into the teen episodes but then I just wanted to smack her. She's too angry, mean, and grating.

ZiQi's dad is played by Shen Meng Sheng. He's one of the best things in Love Now-3.6. Lam Sau Kwan (Magic Moment) is ZiQi's mother, an over the top character. I can't form a thought beyond that. I'd love to see this actress again to assess her skills more. James Wen (The World Between Us, Once upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain-7.5, Douluo Continent-9) portrays Xu Cheng Feng/Old Yu. He will vie for our FL's affections. His ex, Wei Min Na (Janel Tsai) gets involved. Both Of them starred in The Fierce Wife. The director is Hsu Fu Chun who brought us The Rational Life-7 and The Fierce Wife, so I'm officially a fan.

Back to the beginning. Ren & ZiQi meet. She's blocking his view of a hottie whilst wearing the dino balloon-selling plushie. He writes his number on a balloon and asks her to deliver it to said hotness. She says 'that ain't my job'. They argue. He pops the balloon and stomps off. He finds out he's been relegated to the cubicle-class in the following scene, ahd she's his supervisor. Guess who's the dinosaur now?

ZiQi wants to date the scorching hot Zheng Kai Er (Tia Lee from Jojo's World) but he can't be happy beside her. He keeps craving Shen Xing Ren's company. "Ren" is played by Ko Chia Yen of Someday or One Day & Copycat Killer. She's ordinary. An ordinary office worker, ordinary appearance, ordinary body, ordinary IQ, ordinary performance, ordinary educational background, ordinary income, and an ordinary sense of style. She has extraordinary spunk and resolve. This actress has a freckle on her lower lip. Never seen that before. Yang Li Yin (You Go! Girls!, My Unexpected Roommate) is really sweet as her Mama.

Kai Er turns out to be quite the snake. She's smart, so she picked up on ZiQi's true identity early on. She's been doing everything to advance her cause of becoming party to his fortune, which means she's been actively undermining Ren. This actress is gorgeous. I think that caused me to tolerate her longer than I should have. Her acting is a little strange, but I'm not sure if it's the part she plays. Kai Er makes some unsavory choices.

There's something quite sweet about the main romance. She's practical and often described as homely though I think she has an exotic look to her. (I was waiting for the episode where they dress her up because she's always in basic pants tops and ponytails). He's a bit of a brat. They spend many episodes in which they're virtually, but not officially, together. They're 85% there, and holding, because she won't make it official. She refuses to admit out loud that she likes him. Then she's offered a wonderful job opportunity overseas. Dilemma.

"Every penny I don't spend is a penny I earn," she tells him in ep2. For their first date, once they are official, they stay "in" because cheapskate-Ren points out that renting a DVD is much more economical than going to a theater. I noticed they're watching Autumn's Concerto-7.2 from 2009, which is over 30 episodes, and they're at the end of the show: Long date! {I still consider myself fairly new to Asian programming, but my ability to pick up on what they're watching on the television may be a sign that I've graduated from noob to intermediate Asian programming watcher.}

Their first kiss is surprisingly good. She actually dropped money on the ground as he moved in. For a true penny pincher, through and through, this says volumes. In the end, their interaction is warm but not steamy. The actual romance takes a step back from the whole story.

No one is born annoying. ZiQi just has lots of growing up to do. The attitude he displays, like he doesn't care about anything or anyone, is just a front to hide his vulnerability. What he really wanted was a girl who feels like home as his parents were never around. Ren is there, and she is making his newfound "poverty" comfortable. Ren has been slogging away on her own for a long time. She cannot suffer fools, and ZiQi is borderline foolish. She's good for him. She makes him want to be a man. By the time the show has passed the halfway mark he makes this observation: "Only a mature and dependable man can truly give a woman happiness and a sense of security." Well, bless his heart!

QUOTES📢

According to Indian philosopher, Krishnamurti, fear is one of the greatest problems in life. A mind that is caught in fear lives in confusion, in conflict, and therefore must be violent, distorted, and aggressive. It dare not move away from its own patterns of thinking, and this breeds hypocrisy.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣7.3 📝7 🎭7 💓6 🦋4.5 🎨6 🎵/🔊7 🔚7.5 🤗5 ▪ 🌞6 ⚡2.5 😅2.5 😭2 😱1 😯3.5 🤢2 🤔3 💤1

Shazams:songs by Yisa Yu - lovely, by Daikyu Wu

Age 9+ Rated Everyone

Re-📺? Tough one. It's possible.

🇹🇼Taiwan Age of Rebellion-9.5 Autumn's Concerto-7.2 Back to 1989-7.1 Black & White-6.8 The Fierce Wife-8 - worth sticking with Inborn Pair-4.2 Love, Now-3.6 Love You-7 Office Girls-7 Two Fathers-7.5

C🇨🇳: A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5; Find Yourself 8.9; The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8; The Sleepless Princess 9.1; Wait, My Youth-8.4.

That was bit of a drag. I'm surprised I made it through...though I did myself hitting the fast forward button a lot.

I watched this mainly it came as a recommendation as I really like Ko Chia-yen as an actress. Her performance in show isn't anything out of the ordinary as her character, Shen Xing Ren, isn't overly complicated, but I feel that's mainly on the writers. The main character was a bit bland and didn't really pull at the heartstrings much. A lot of Shen Xing Ren's lovable personality traits weren't expressed but rather was said out loud by the love interest, Qin Zi Qi. I find that bit dull as writers should be creating scenarios for audience to witness the character's traits, not relying on other characters summarize for you.

The antagonist kept it interesting towards the beginning as things unfolded but it didn't take long for the boredom to kick in. They are consistent is using her background music whenever she shows up on screen. Some of the side characters are quite funny while others are so overdramatic that it becomes a cringe-fest.

Sound, I wouldn't be surprised, is not a priority in this show. Sometimes I could barely hear the talking as the echo from the location is so loud or the background music is so prominent it drowns out what is said. Not that it really matters to story if you miss some dialogue.

Overall, if you enjoy comedy soap-operas--this maybe your cup of tea. It wasn't mine.

Great storyline, kept its hold throughout the entire show. The actors did a great job. The show was a little outdated if you're watching it now, but still enjoyable to watch. Loved the chemistry between our main couple. The villain was entertaining as well and of course people are redeemable! The ending made it all worth it! I got a little tired of the drama by our villain and then exhausted about the villain by the end. But just bare through it because it'll be worth it. The show is a little long but it's good nevertheless.

I loved this series!

I was originally searching for The Office when I stumbled upon this hidden gem. A diamond in the rough, if you will.

I've never made it through an entire subtitled episodic before this delightful show, and I'm watching it for the second time through now! Love this cute show! Also the lead who plays Jason is HOT & the actor who plays the fashion mogul is yummy too!! The girls are all beautiful too. Lots of eye candy for everyone! The manager is hilarious. There's drama, romance & plenty of heartfelt moments that will leave you wanting more weeks after you finish it. Highly recommend!!!

Compliments to scriptwriter, production crew and the entire cast of stars for bringing the serious and slapstick together into an entertaining series that showcases the many and varied general challenges faced by young office girls, contrasts the choices they make with a dash of "Tollywood" for good measure. Great portrayal of office politics, rivalry in love and career, family responsibilities amid imperfection... cast with a good balance of lightheartedness and seriousness. Showcases the fallennsss of human nature with a redemptive note in the end. Champions good values that should be applauded.

A general rating - I would not hesitate to watch this with my teenage children for exposure.

Applause to a great cast.