Based on the Japanese shōjo manga of the same name Tokyo Juliet (東京ジュリエット) written by Miyuki Kitagawa (北川みゆき). There are no other versions of this drama.
Plot
At the age of 5, Lin Lai Sui draws a design “Little Daisy” for her mother and enters it in a design contest. Chu Xing, Taiwan’s fashion industry giant, steals the design. This breaks up Lin Lai Sui’s family. Lin Lai Sui vows not to fall in love until she “defeats” Chu Xing in the fashion industry. She meets Ji Feng Liang, an extremely talented (up-and-coming) fashion designer and student at her design school (寶成學院). They fall in love. However, Lin Lai Sui soon learns that Ji Feng Liang’s father is her biggest rival—Chu Xing.
Main Characters
- Lin Lai Sui (林瀨穗) is the female lead. She’s an extremely talented and creative designer who designs best when she is designing from her heart. She has a very likable personality, and she’s willing to sacrifice for others even when they don’t treat her so well. Played by Ariel Lin (林依晨).
- Ji Feng Liang (紀風亮) is the male lead. He is passionate about fashion design, but only designs men’s clothing. Towards Lin Lai Sui he is very protective and caring, even in ways that she doesn’t realize. Played by Wu Zun (吳尊).
- Chu Xing (褚形) is the bad guy (for lack of a better word). Father of Ji Feng Liang, Chu Xing is the stereotypical powerful industry giant who can ruin any new comer’s life with a single word. He’s ruthless when it comes to his goal of remaining at the top of the industry. Played by Simon Yam (任達華).
Favorite Minor Characters
- Lin Lai Sui and Ji Feng Liang have a lot of great friends but Ai Li Ou (艾利歐) is probably my favorite. An Italian stallion of sorts, he’s a young but extremely talented designer with his own brand. His scenes are pretty funny and he’s pretty likable. Played by Ryan Tang (唐治平).
Music (OST)
Opening Theme: 逆風
Closing Theme: 非你莫屬
- Other Featured Songs: 只對你有感覺 (I Only Have Feelings for You) – 飛輪海 (Fahrenheit) & 田馥甄 (Hebe), 愛情樹 (Tree of Love) – 張智城 (Z Chen), 佔有 (To Own) – 飛輪海 (Fahrenheit), 放不下 – (Can’t Let Go) – 龔詩嘉 (Kaira Gong), 痊癒 (Healed) – 張智城 (Z Chen)
只對你有感覺
愛情樹
痊癒
Please note that only three insert songs have official music videos.
- Overall: I absolutely loved Can’t Let Go by Kaira Gong, and I thought that the mood of the songs and the lyrics fit the scenes pretty well. Plus, I thought Ariel did a great job covering Only You by Tank.
Entertainment Review
The plot is a twist on the classic Romeo and Juliet. The storyline is kind of cute, and the characters were really likable. However, it does get a little repetitive at times, because both Lin Lai Sui and Ji Feng Liang kept getting jealous of all sorts of not-really-love-rivals. So, be sure to keep a score card of guys who like Lin Lai Sui and girls who like Ji Feng Liang. The designing scenes and fashion shows were awesome.
One quirk was Brunei hottie Wu Zun’s dubbed voice. It gets better towards the end.
Language
Level: Upper Intermediate
Topics: fashion industry, clothing design
I loved this drama up until the 8th episode or so. It was so addictive that I was marathoning it and then all of a sudden it was like “Wait. Haven’t I see this plot-line before? Can’t you think of something better than jealousy to come up with here??”
Hi Staples!! That’s exactly how I felt about Tokyo Juliet, but I love Ariel Lin (林依晨) more and more every day. It’s amazing to see how far she’s come from this ~ such an incredibly predictable plot line to In Time With You (我可能不會愛你) which is probably one of the best TW mini-series I’ve seen to date. How interesting what a few years will do for you.