Sunshine Angel (陽光天使)
Who's in it? Rainie Yang, Wu Zun, Jiro Wang, Calvin, Aaron
In short: In order to pay off her family's debts, Girl is forced to become a maid to an arrogant, rich boy who happens to be the heir to a big make up company.
Ramble: When I first discovered that there was going to be a Wu Zun-Rainie collaboration, I was ecstatic. I am obviously a big Rainie fan (hrmm, not that I'd paste pictures of her on my walls and buy all the merch or anything like that at all. I just like it when she's the lead in a series that I've decided to watch), and I've always loved Wu Zun, due to the fact that he's Malaysian (sort of. He's from Brunei) and he studied at RMIT university in Melbourne (I walk past that university almost every week when I'm wondering around in the city :D)...and he's very good eye-candy?
But seriously, I have always wanted this pairing since I got into this whole Asian drama thing. (In the Asian TV industry, they tend to avoid doing long rom-com series with several seasons. Instead the stars often complete several different series throughout their TV career. Each series is about 10-25 episodes long and has them paired up with different Asian idols as their love interest. I suppose this works better for a smaller entertainment industry where people are familiar with a select group of idols and entertainers.) Anyway, my first thoughts about these two together? I'm surprised to say I'm not too sure yet. I feel like the chemistry is a bit more forced than usual. It's probably just because it's the beginning of a series and it's always hard to establish where two characters stand before they end up together. I have seen their behind-the-scenes pics and they look like they get on brilliantly (Perhaps that's the problem. They're too friendly with each other!)...this was the opposite with Rainie and Joseph Chang, who had that awesome chemistry on camera and a more reserved friendship off-screen (or perhaps he just didn't like photos. Joseph Chang never seemed to smile as much in off-screen photos :s)
The other thing I noticed was that Wu Zun's acting isn't as convincing as I thought it'd be. I found him to be a more convincing arrogant snob at the start of Romantic Princess than I have with this series (I know, Romantic princess was a pretty shocking name for a series. Sunshine Angel, as a title, was a little too cutesy for me too, but I've gotten use to it since viewing the credits. But back to this in a minute.) But it has been awhile since he was in TV series, so I guess it's forgivable. Perhaps his character this time around is meant to be an amused rich boy who enjoys the teasing-rather-than-torturing method (Wu Zun is always the filial son; he rarely plays the bad boy). But even then, it's a bit here and there. Sometimes he hits the mark perfectly, looking both amused and annoyed. Other times he looks like he's about to laugh. Hrmm. Well, don't get me wrong, it's not that he's doing a bad job. It's just that I've seen him do more for a role before, and I'm hoping that he'll give more to this one as the series continues.
I mentioned before that I'd come back to the title and credits. The title works for me this time partially because of the style and theme of the series (the main character is a quirky beachy island girl), and partially because of the opening credits where they play 'Sunny' by Boney M. You know, that song that goes 'Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rainnnn' :D It's such a cheerful, colourful and catchy opening sequence. So that always entices people to watch a series.
It's a little odd to be watching Sunshine Angel after Love you (This series was held back for a year as there were no slots available in air time and Rainie went on to star in Love you, which held priority as it was a sequel to 'Fated to love you' a very successful series in Taiwan, both in terms of fan love and commercial success.) I feel that Love you marked the beginning of Rainie's more mature roles. Even though she has a baby-face and I doubt she'll ever age, Rainie has been in the industry for a long time and, now, in her late twenties, it's getting harder to stay as a 'high school/uni student.' So to see her play the university student in Sunshine Angel is a bit of a back-track. Nonetheless, I enjoy seeing how her acting as improved and developed. I just wonder if it bothers some other fans.
The idea of making her character a 'Japanese-speaker' may be a little bothersome too. I can't say it annoys me as such, but I do feel the urge to laugh really badly at some points. Probably not as bad as when they make Wu Zun speak English. It's common for them to make male leads speak English as the characters are often business men or rich students who have studied overseas before. But it only ever works well when they actually are fluent in English (think Will Pan, Vanness Wu etc.) because no one is ever fooled (Especially not me, sorry! :D). But I suppose Wu Zun is half way there - he speaks with the Malaysian accent. I just wish they'd change those scenes though, they seem so unnatural. And perhaps they will change them. I've noticed that an increasing number of dramas focus on China as the land of new commercial opportunity. Instead of having the businessmen/movie stars in Asian dramas talk about expanding their businesses and careers in America, they're now all talking about expanding their businesses and careers in China (Think Personal Preference, Lie to me, Love you, Calling out to big star etc.) It's interesting - I like these little realistic reflections that occasionally appear in Asian dramaland.
But yes, the musical choices for this series has been pretty reflective of the scenes. I like that they've incorporated songs from other artists not just from Rainie and Wu Zun's band, Fahrenheit. I also like the score - there's something ambient about it. The characters and their costumes are also done well (or lack of costume sometimes *cough topless Wu Zun cough* I feel a fan girl nosebleed coming on). but I'm still undecided on humour at the moment. There's been some really maxed out slapstick scenes - like characters apologizing to a crushed bathroom and a broken laptop? I didn't laugh, but I'm going to see if this changes.
All in all, I haven't seen anything amazing yet. Worth watching for the pairing of the year :D But there needs to be more chemistry and laughs to bring out the potential this show has. At the moment, it's sitting on 3 stars- here's hoping it'll end on a better score! :)
It's a little odd to be watching Sunshine Angel after Love you (This series was held back for a year as there were no slots available in air time and Rainie went on to star in Love you, which held priority as it was a sequel to 'Fated to love you' a very successful series in Taiwan, both in terms of fan love and commercial success.) I feel that Love you marked the beginning of Rainie's more mature roles. Even though she has a baby-face and I doubt she'll ever age, Rainie has been in the industry for a long time and, now, in her late twenties, it's getting harder to stay as a 'high school/uni student.' So to see her play the university student in Sunshine Angel is a bit of a back-track. Nonetheless, I enjoy seeing how her acting as improved and developed. I just wonder if it bothers some other fans.
The idea of making her character a 'Japanese-speaker' may be a little bothersome too. I can't say it annoys me as such, but I do feel the urge to laugh really badly at some points. Probably not as bad as when they make Wu Zun speak English. It's common for them to make male leads speak English as the characters are often business men or rich students who have studied overseas before. But it only ever works well when they actually are fluent in English (think Will Pan, Vanness Wu etc.) because no one is ever fooled (Especially not me, sorry! :D). But I suppose Wu Zun is half way there - he speaks with the Malaysian accent. I just wish they'd change those scenes though, they seem so unnatural. And perhaps they will change them. I've noticed that an increasing number of dramas focus on China as the land of new commercial opportunity. Instead of having the businessmen/movie stars in Asian dramas talk about expanding their businesses and careers in America, they're now all talking about expanding their businesses and careers in China (Think Personal Preference, Lie to me, Love you, Calling out to big star etc.) It's interesting - I like these little realistic reflections that occasionally appear in Asian dramaland.
But yes, the musical choices for this series has been pretty reflective of the scenes. I like that they've incorporated songs from other artists not just from Rainie and Wu Zun's band, Fahrenheit. I also like the score - there's something ambient about it. The characters and their costumes are also done well (or lack of costume sometimes *cough topless Wu Zun cough* I feel a fan girl nosebleed coming on). but I'm still undecided on humour at the moment. There's been some really maxed out slapstick scenes - like characters apologizing to a crushed bathroom and a broken laptop? I didn't laugh, but I'm going to see if this changes.
All in all, I haven't seen anything amazing yet. Worth watching for the pairing of the year :D But there needs to be more chemistry and laughs to bring out the potential this show has. At the moment, it's sitting on 3 stars- here's hoping it'll end on a better score! :)
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