Guomin Laogong Dai Huijia
National Husband Bring Home
国民老公带回家
Lu Jin Nian and Qiao An Hao are a newly married couple—unfortunately, neither of them are willing participants. Now husband and wife, Qiao An Hao establishes a few ground rules: no one can know that they are married, their cohabitation is top-secret information, and under no circumstances is Lu Jin Nian permitted to touch her. As a result, their marriage remains strictly superficial. Behind their broken union, however, there is a long and complicated history. A chance encounter while seeking shelter from the rain led to the lives of Lu Jin Nian and Qiao An Hao getting intertwined. But as fate would have it, the date also marked the moment Qiao An Hao's sister fell madly in love with the stoic and mysterious Lu Jin Nian. With emotional stakes flying high, the years leading up to this marriage have been long and complicated—but never boring. And even now, despite their long-standing friendship, the newlyweds are no closer to understanding each other. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Synopsis
Lu Jin Nian and Qiao An Hao are a newly married couple—unfortunately, neither of them are willing participants. Now husband and wife, Qiao An Hao establishes a few ground rules: no one can know that they are married, their cohabitation is top-secret information, and under no circumstances is Lu Jin Nian permitted to touch her. As a result, their marriage remains strictly superficial. Behind their broken union, however, there is a long and complicated history. A chance encounter while seeking shelter from the rain led to the lives of Lu Jin Nian and Qiao An Hao getting intertwined. But as fate would have it, the date also marked the moment Qiao An Hao's sister fell madly in love with the stoic and mysterious Lu Jin Nian. With emotional stakes flying high, the years leading up to this marriage have been long and complicated—but never boring. And even now, despite their long-standing friendship, the newlyweds are no closer to understanding each other. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Characters
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Main
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Supporting
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Recommendations
Reviews(12)
84DaysWithout
April 9, 2017
Chinese animation is largely inferior to its Japanese contemporaries, running into issues of substandard art design, terrible comedic timing and a lack of creative flair to give the show life. I'd all but given up hope of finding anything decent in the industry until stumbling upon How to Steal 55 Kisses, a novel adaptation about two sisters who fall in love with the same guy 55 Kisses has the feel of a soap opera operating under a constant wave of melodrama from characters that face obstacles in their desire to be together. Qiao Anhao feels guilt about liking the same person her own sibling does andstruggles to gumption up the courage to tell him how she feels. Lu Jinnian is in love with Anhao, but a busy schedule makes it difficult for him to commit to a relationship. These obstacles can of course be avoided by the ability to communicate properly - a basic human function that seems to escape 99% of romantic protagonists and nonetheless here as well. 55 Kisses speeds through its story with just 11 minutes committed to each episode and a time skip mid season. I would have preferred if they did pace themselves a bit more and give us more time to enjoy these characters, but there's also merit in a romance that doesn't dawdle on its premise. A second season is needed in order to continue the story as it ends in the middle of an arc without any finality. From what I've read from various sources across the internet, the anime doesn't get into the crux of the story and serves as more of a prologue The character designs are quite good. In what is usually a weakness for the industry is a strength in this anime. Lu is a gorgeous woman with flowing black hair complemented by her dark olive eyes, and Lu is the type of mysterious badass hot dude that'll make even the straightest of men question their sexuality. The animation on the other hand is not good. Every moving vehicle is in CG and the abundance of static shots can hurt the immersion for the viewer, but thankfully the overall aesthetic is enough to make this tolerable The voice acting will take some time to get used to for any seasoned anime fan. The Chinese language is significantly different and the performances themselves are worse than the more experienced seiyuu's we see throughout the Japanese animation industry. This was not a turn off for me per say, but it may be for others that can't quite acclimate to the differences in pronunciation and tone "Chinese anime" used to be synonymous with soulless garbage for me, but perhaps that was unfair now I've seen they're capable of producing a solid adaptation that can appeal to fans throughout the romance genre. This isn't a particularly great anime by any means, but a reminder that there is potential in the Chinese industry. I'll definitely be looking out for more including any news for a follow up season to conclude this story of a complicated love.
