Modern C-drama Sniper Butterfly with Michelle Chen and Zhou Ke Yu Reportedly Doing Very Well in the Older Woman-Younger Man Romance Genre
So I like to think this was all plotted and planned. That Tencent would release relatively lower budget romance modern C-drama Sniper Butterfly with Michelle Chen and Zhou Ke Yu at basically the same overlapping run as big budget period C-drama Legend of the Magnate with Chen Xiao airing in iQiyi as some sort of ex-spouses showdown. I’ve got zero interest in either drama so as a bystander the results are way more interesting to me, which is that Sniper Butterfly is doing way better than expected and rising young actor Zhou Ke Yu may be having his breakout role and it’s also thanks to the chemistry with Michelle. No one is saying Magnate is a flop or Chen Xiao isn’t doing a bang up job (as he always does), but in the world of spurned ex-wives the unexpected success of Sniper Butterfly has become a plot point of its own.
I like both dramas, don’t think there’s anything to compare in terms of ratings as the dramas are totally different genres, it’s silly to pit male-centric genre against romance genre. It’s just as expected of platforms to pit them together to garner interest and publicity for the later drama.
I feel sad for Michelle, girl divorced her ex-spouse yet people still continued attaching his name to her.
I am glad she has found her own journey and progressing well.
As a new idol actor, Zhou Ke Yu seemed to be decent enough, who can emote, I had high hopes for Michelle but she can’t act. None the less, they look cute together and the chemistry is off the chart. The drama isn’t anything out of the ordinary with some cliched angst thrown in (that was not in the book). I would still give it a pass as it does not waste time dwelling on useless things for too long.
I watched the first few eps and was intrigued, specifically by how well the nobody ML, ZKY, had done in his role switching between two different stages of life. Heart-fluttering chemistry was there so obvious for you to see, yet Michelle’s and ZKY’s acting was quite natural. The character fits Michelle’s public persona perfectly, gentle and sweet. It was convincing that the guy was attracted to her, as how it was in her breakout movie, You Are the Apple of My Eye. Her character was also a divorced woman. It was as if she wanted to deliver certain real-life messages through drama. Not sure if she picked the script coincidentally or deliberately. LOL.
I can see why this drama has positive reviews beyond expectation. It was one of very very few modern C romance series that I was even interested to start with. I also consider this nuna romance perhaps the most successful one among all K- and C- nuna love stories to draw my attention. All others failed me including my own fav’s awkward Sunshine by My Side LOL. I watched SBMS for Xiao Zhan’s sake. Tbh, besides frivolous storylines of nepo trio icepacks LOL, the FL was also a downer. She appeared to make little effort to convince me of her charm to attract a charming young man. Michelle Chen, however, exuded natural beauty and elegant mannerism in this drama, either in the way she talked or her makeup or her dressing style. I can see she took this work seriously and put in her efforts to be convincing that even a mid-age woman has enough sexual appeal to a young hunk. LOL.
But Cdrama is Cdrama. No exception for this one. The pace got slow to my taste after the first few intriguing eps. I’m still following it but not sure if I can stick to the end after ep 14.
Michelle Chen playing Michelle Chen
lol. Looks like! I can see she’s quite comfortable with the role.
Well said!!
Are you also watching the drama? I started to be interested in C modern romance and checked out some after finishing Hidden Love recently. Yeah I did not finish popular HL (pun not intended lol) until this fall. But I found none except for Sniper Butterfly that really interested me.
This drama actually takes me by surprise. The characters are very well developed,and despite their age gap (both in rl and in drama) I can buy their romance and their chemistry are also pretty lovely to watch. Zhou Keyu surprise me, he is actually pretty good at playing a very reserve, older at heart Li Wu. What I love the most is, his character is mature, someone that I can believe will be a good partner to a much older woman. I never saw both leads in any work,tho I intended to watch you are the apple of my heart before but never do. Guess now I will watch it for Michelle. So for anyone who want to watch but hesitating,please do give it a try. It has its flaw, but as modern drama its engaging and really sweet,perfect to binge.
You hit the nail on the head about the ML and his character. I also recommend giving a shot to You Are the Apple of My Eye. The movie speaks for many guys about their unrequited love (or brief dating dream) with their first love. This last comment isn’t from me but from my male friends at schools. lol. It was a great hit back then. That’s also why Michelle’s ex fell in love with her, I guess. lol
gross
The story made sense. They all did a good job in this drama – good story, good acting & good directing & wonderful OST! I don’t think it’s gross.
I ♥️♥️♥️ this drama. Zhou Ke Yu played his role so well. Michelle Chen definitely doesn’t look 19 years older than him. She is supposed to be about 10 years older than him in the drama.