Devil Beside You

Main Cast
Mike He Jun Xiang as Jiang Meng/Ah Meng
Rainie Yang Chi Lin as Qi Yue
Wang Chuan Yi (Kingone) as Yuan Yi

The bad-boy meets reforming-angelic-good-girl concept is one that has been recycled and re-used time and time again - yet it appears that we are all still suckers to it. Perhaps it's just the natural appeal of the Bad Boy - he dares to be himself and breaks all the rules, whilst sweeping us off our feet with ruthless unpredictability. And then, there's the dream that all young females have sometime in their lives (admit it, girls) of being able to play the role of the Reformer - the one who is able to draw out that sweet, sensitive guy who is hidden somewhere underneath that callous, carefree exterior.

Thus explains the popularity and huge success of this show.

Of course, not to mention that Mike He Jun Xiang, who plays our aforementioned bad boy - An Meng - is the epitome of good-looking, and that Rainie Yang, our leading female - Qi Yue - is as cute and innocent as one can ever imagine. And it definitely doesn't hurt that this drama has more kissing scenes than similarly popular Taiwanese serials - "Meteor Garden", "The Outsiders", "Mars" - have combined... make that multiplied by three. Renowned for having been currently voted as (in the simplest terms) the idol most desired as a kissing partner by fans, He Jun Xiang's ability to light up the screen with such romantic scenes has been exploited to the fullest by the director - and indeed, this effort has not been wasted. (Obviously yours truly was one of those whose eyes were glued to the screen whenever such above-mentioned scenes appeared.)

But moving on.

Brief Synopsis

And so the story begins with Qi Yue, a second-year college student, who accidentally hands a love letter written to her long time crush Yuan Yi - to the wrong person. Incidentally this person is the school bad boy Ah Meng, who is one year her junior. A brief battle ensues between the two as Ah Meng, much to Qi Yue's horror, threatens to distribute copies of her letter around the school unless she agrees to become his personal attendant. Before long, however, sparks begin to fly as the leading male and female become attracted to, and develop feelings for one another. But of course, the seas are never calm this early on, and problems arise when Qi Yue and Ah Meng discover that their divorced parents are to marry - creating a potentially dangerous 'jie-di' (sister-brother) romance.

A Humble Opinion

This was an enjoyable drama; one that does stands out from the rest. Often I find that characters in Taiwanese dramas are too far-fetched and unrealistic, but I tend to overlook them and forgive, seeing that they are at times based upon Japanese anime or manga, which are known for their highly exaggerated characterization. Here it is mostly the same, although there are a few exceptions - notably some of Rainie's facial expressions which were just cringe-worthy and over the top. And although his overall performance was quite entertaining, there was one scene played by Wang Chuan Yi (Yuan Yi) that nagged at me - being where he confronts Qi Yue in the library about her relationship with Ah Meng. Sure, a gradual buildup of jealousy exists and often happens, I give you that. But going from the complete indifference when he sees Qi Yue and Ah Meng kissing during the basketball practice; to that scary, quite evil-looking expression in the library - well, it just didn't seem terribly convincing, especially after one discovers as the drama continues that Yuan Yi is really quite a considerate and gentle person, not to mention harmless.

Or maybe it's just that love can make us do funny things.

Nevertheless, apart from these two particular points, I found the overall acting to be quite convincing for an idol drama, with a special mention to the supporting cast - Ah Meng and Qi Yue's parents in particular - who worked well together to provide much favourable comic relief.

On the more serious side of things, a noteworthy scene is where Li Xiang confesses to Yang Pin that she is actually jealous of Qi Yue - I felt that Fan Xiao Fan who plays Li Xiang did her job quite well as I found myself really empathizing with her situation.

More memorable scenes also stem from Ah Meng and his younger brother's estranged relationship. From there comes possibly my favourite line in the drama (despite the main focus being on the romantic side of things), being Ah Meng's 'I'm your brother - I can help lift you up/give you a hand when in need - but I can't be there beside you your whole life. So let's see you become strong yourself.' Okay, so not a direct translation. But it's close enough!

And now, moving onto the main gist of the serial, being the development of Ah Meng and Qi Yue's relationship. As already mentioned, if you're a sucker for the good-girl meets bad-boy concept, then this is definitely the drama for you. Not going into any great detail as it is always best to watch the actual show as opposed to reading about particular scenes, I suppose the only thing I can say is that there are truly enough 'aww'-worthy parts to keep any Mike/Rainie fan happy. And unlike some other dramas, there exists a great deal of chemistry between the two leads, which makes our favourite scenes all the more convincing and really just 'rewind'-material.

Concluding Words

Despite its relatively simple and light plot, "Devil Beside You" is nevertheless an extremely entertaining and engaging idol drama. Given that the Taiwanese drama which started this trend of popular idol serials - "Meteor Garden" - most popularly rates as a 4 1/2 or even a 5, I would consider "Devil Beside You" to rate as a 4. Alas, it seems, a perfect score is hard to achieve when compared alongside the infamous MG.

Perhaps the only thing that I would then end with is this - was it just me or did the stylists go just a tad overboard with Mike's hair pins?