Moonlight

Rating: 8/10

Review

Moonlight is a cute, trope-heavy romance that I enjoyed overall. The story isn't particularly original, but romantic tropes are popular for a reason! Sometimes I just want an entertaining love story with good chemistry, likable characters, and a relationship that makes me smile. This drama delivers enough of that to make it worth watching.

The characters are well developed, and the main romance is definitely the highlight for me. The leads have an enjoyable dynamic, and I liked watching their relationship develop. The drama also has a publishing-industry setting, which gives it something to explore beyond romance. It offers a look at the professional challenges involved in publishing and the relationships between authors and editors.

If you're an Esther Yu fan, you probably already know her acting style. She uses her signature baby voice quite a bit here. It fits the character, but I can also understand why it isn't for everybody. I enjoyed her performance overall, although there were moments when I wished she would dial it back a little.

The drama did drag in places. There were stretches when I felt the story could have moved along more quickly, and not every storyline held my interest equally. Still, I enjoyed the overall experience enough that the slower parts didn't make me regret watching it.

I also appreciated that the drama gave its characters professional ambitions and personal lives outside their romantic relationships. The workplace setting adds another dimension to the story, even if I found some of those elements more engaging than others.

Overall, Moonlight is an enjoyable romantic comedy built around familiar tropes. It isn't a drama I'd rush to rewatch, but I don't regret watching it, either. I wouldn't turn it off if it came on, and I wouldn't leave the room if someone else were watching it!

I'd recommend it to fans of Esther Yu, Ding Yuxi, and lighthearted Chinese romances, particularly if you enjoy workplace settings and a cute central couple. For me, it's an 8/10: entertaining, with enough good moments to outweigh the parts that didn't work quite as well.

Spoilers

I really did love Chu Li and Zhou Chuan together. Their personalities complemented each other so well. Zhou Chuan is gruff, mischievous, and very much a tsundere. He likes to act as though he's above all the romantic nonsense, but Chu Li sees right through him. I loved how she could draw him out without completely changing who he was. She understood him in a way that many other people didn't, and I believed that their connection was about more than just physical attraction.

Chu Li's baby voice is probably my biggest mixed feeling about the drama. I know it's part of Esther Yu's acting style, and it suits the character to a certain extent. I also understand that vocal mannerisms and the way femininity is portrayed can be cultural. But after watching Esther in several dramas, I find that the same voice and mannerisms can become a little repetitive. I didn't hate it, and I wouldn't want her to lose what makes her distinctive, but I would have liked a little more variation. Sometimes a quieter or more natural delivery would have made her emotional scenes even stronger for me.

The main couple worked so well that the other romances had a hard time measuring up. The second couple, Jiang Yucheng and Gu Baizhi, frustrated me more and more as the story went on.

Jiang Yucheng is another author, and his playful behavior around Chu Li left me wondering how serious his feelings really were. Sometimes it seemed as though he was teasing Zhou Chuan and trying to make him recognize his own feelings for Chu Li. But I also got the impression that if Chu Li had actually returned his romantic interest, Jiang Yucheng might have genuinely fallen for her.

That made his relationship with Gu Baizhi even more confusing to me. One of their central problems was that she had tried to influence his artistic style rather than accepting him as he was. He seemed to value Chu Li partly because she respected his creative independence. Yet once Chu Li made it clear that she wasn't romantically interested in him, Jiang Yucheng suddenly seemed ready to devote himself to Gu Baizhi again.

And Gu Baizhi, who had wanted to be with him for so long, appeared to decide that she no longer wanted him just when he was ready to commit.

I found myself asking, "Wait, what happened to all those feelings?" Every time the drama switched back to them, I became frustrated. Their issues were important enough to keep them apart, but I didn't feel that the story did enough to resolve those issues convincingly. Then suddenly they were deeply in love, and I was supposed to be happy for them.

I wasn't.

I could understand why they were attracted to each other, and I didn't think either character was inherently bad. But I didn't feel they had truly addressed the problems that made their relationship difficult in the first place. Their romance felt more like the drama needed a happy ending for the second couple than like two people had finally figured out how to make their relationship work.

I also could have cared less about Yu Yao and her husband. I understood why he was frustrated. Yu Yao was so focused on her career that she had neglected her family, and I could see why that would create resentment. I didn't necessarily agree with everything he did, but I understood the conflict. I simply wasn't invested enough in their relationship to feel strongly about whether they stayed together.

On the work side of the story, I was glad when Chief Editor Xia's credibility took a hit. His attitude toward Chu Li was so snobbish. He looked down on her because she hadn't studied literature, as though a formal education were the only legitimate way to develop literary talent.

I strongly disagree with that attitude. Education can be valuable, of course, but it isn't the only way to learn. Some people have a natural understanding of storytelling, language, and what makes a book resonate with readers. Others develop those skills through experience, reading, and hard work. Chu Li had to demonstrate her ability through what she did, and I enjoyed seeing her prove that she deserved to be where she was.

There were stretches of the drama when I felt the story was spinning its wheels, so I was actually relieved when the conflict involving the actress appeared. At least something was happening!

What I especially appreciated was Zhou Chuan's response. He loved Chu Li, and he wasn't remotely interested in being swayed by another woman. The actress could make advances, but he wasn't going to abandon his girlfriend because someone else found him attractive. If anything, Chu Li was the one being unnecessarily concerned about the situation and trying to push him toward the actress. I thought she was lucky to have a man who was so steadfast about his feelings.

That was one of the things I loved most about Zhou Chuan. Beneath all his gruffness and teasing, he was loyal. He might not always have been the easiest person to deal with, but once he understood his feelings, he knew whom he wanted.

Despite my frustrations with the secondary couples and some of the slower episodes, the main romance was enough to keep me invested. Chu Li and Zhou Chuan were the heart of the drama for me, and their chemistry made the familiar story enjoyable.

I just wish the secondary storylines had been as satisfying as the main one. With a little tighter pacing and more convincing development for the other couples, Moonlight could have been even better. As it stands, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a drama that made me want to immediately start over and watch it again.

Overview

Year Aired: 2021

Number of Episodes: 36

Average Run Time per Episode: 45 minutes

Country of Origin: China

Genre(s): Romance, Comedy, Workplace Drama

Synopsis

Chu Li has just graduated from university and is ready to turn her passion for books into a career. She lands a job at Yuan Yue Publishing House, where she soon discovers that the publishing industry is more complicated than she imagined. Determined to prove herself, she works hard to earn the trust of her colleagues and establish her place in a competitive business.

One of her biggest challenges is Zhou Chuan, a successful online novelist whose reputation doesn't quite match his personality. Their differing opinions and stubborn natures lead to plenty of disagreements, but Chu Li isn't easily intimidated. As they work together, their professional relationship gradually develops into something more personal. An unexpected discovery about their longstanding online friendship adds another layer to their growing connection.

As Chu Li navigates the demands of her new career and Zhou Chuan works to overcome his own challenges as a writer, both must learn to balance ambition, friendship, and romance. With workplace rivalries, creative differences, and complicated relationships surrounding them, they discover that building a successful career and finding lasting love can be equally challenging.

Major Character List

Chu Li (Esther Yu Shu Xin) — An enthusiastic young editor who is determined to succeed in the publishing industry. Passionate about books and willing to work hard to prove herself, she brings energy, persistence, and a fresh perspective to her job.

Zhou Chuan (Ding Yuxi) — A successful novelist known for his writing and his difficult personality. Stubborn, witty, and more sensitive than he initially lets on, he finds himself challenged by Chu Li's determination and perspective.

Jiang Yucheng (Yang Shize) — A successful author and close friend of Zhou Chuan. He is dealing with creative challenges of his own and has a complicated personal life that intersects with those around him.

Gu Baizhi (Ma Yinyin) — A content-planning director in the publishing industry. Her professional ambitions and personal feelings create complications in her relationships, particularly with Jiang Yucheng.

Yu Yao (Wang Ting) — An experienced editor whose dedication to her career affects her family life. Her storyline explores the difficulties of balancing professional responsibilities with personal relationships.

Chief Editor Xia (Paul Chun) — A senior figure in the publishing industry whose views on literary qualifications and professional ability influence how he treats others. His attitude toward talent becomes a source of workplace conflict.