APRIL STAR (Fan Xing Si Yue) (2017) was one C-Drama I will never forget. Let me start by saying, I am a huge fan of the actor Nicky Wu, hence why I first decided to give this show a try. This show was fantastic and extremely powerful and completely not what I was expecting. Having completed the show, I will say this. I have no regrets. However, this show contains some very intense themes and difficult content. Even still, it is very meaningful. The importance of family, acceptance, forgiveness, and truth was the moral behind this tale of rejection, lies and revenge.
SYNOPSIS: "Ye Fan Xing (Stephy Qi/ Qi Wei) is a famous television anchor who is instantly recognized wherever she goes. She has been trying to be the best daughter to her mother after the devastating disappearance of her younger sister 20 years ago. She carries on in a secret relationship with successful businessman Xiao Han (Nicky Wu) but they face many challenges to their relationship due to their fame and other complications brought on by her family. Greater complication arise when Xiao Han's nephew, Fu Xia (Ming) falls in love with Fan Xing, only to find out that she is already dating his uncle. Meanwhile, Mi Si Yue (Zuo Hang) becomes Fan Xing's best friend but is secretly in love with Xiao Han. When Fan Xing learns Si Yue's true identity, what will happen to her relationship and her family?"
Ye Fan Xing struggles with dark secrets and painful memories from her past. Stephy Qi is an amazing, moving actress, playing an incredibly strong yet surprisingly vulnerable character. She is extremely convincing in the role of Ye Fan Xing, who appears strong, cool, level-headed, when beneath the surface she is anything but. She is a character of extreme depth and visceral pain, trying to hide it. I think one of the things I loved most was that she was both lovable and hate-able. She was a really well developed character, with so many shades that she felt real.
Xiao Han was amazing, because, well- Nicky Wu. However I wished his character was expanded upon more than he was allowed to, and not left so mysterious towards the end. Nicky Wu is such an amazing actor though, so he really carried the role, at times warming my heart and at others, breaking it. I love all if his characters and have followed many of his previous dramas, and this character was no less fascinating- interesting, strong, intelligent, compassionate, patient and sometimes the only sane character around- a real breath of fresh air. To me, he was a character that I loved straight through the entire drama.
Mi Si Yue was another character that really made a lasting impression. She was completely interesting. The actress, Zuo Hang, was incredibly lovable, funny, and moving. She gave her character so much spark and vibrancy and was so believable in her role. Watching her transformation was nerve racking.
Fu Xia was another interesting character, though one that took me longer to care for than the others. There's no denying he was well-acted by Ming, a unique and quirky person that really suited this role. While I found him to be more bothersome than charming, he did have a funny and amusing persona and I gradually liked him. Not sure the ending suited him though...
I loved Ye Fan Xing's team as well. The villain was also pretty believable and creepy.
Overall, there were so many awesome actors, interesting, developed characters, the plot was really intriguing and touching and the opening credits were Ah-Mazing. I never wanted to skip them...
((TEAM XIAO HAN!! <3 ))
