2
13
3
virgievirgie
Lost in Dramaland
This review may contain spoilers
Decent first 1/3, Draggy second 1/3 and disappointing last 1/3
Completed - 5/20/2022 - 7.25 rounding up to 7.5 because of 《喜欢你》 “I Like You”
When “A River Runs Through It” was airing, I heard many good things about it. So, I was looking forward to finally watching it. Unfortunately, I placed this drama on hold twice, before successfully finishing it on the third try. I’ve seen my share of high school/college dramas, I do not agree that it’s the best of the bunch. It’s not bad per se, but the plot and the romance are not interesting enough. A reminder, this is a very subjective review and don’t hate me for the following rants.
As with many teen C-dramas, the focus is on studying for the high school exam, entering college, friendships, love triangles and growing up. These are pretty common themes in this genre. I find the first half of the drama more interesting than the second half as we get to know each character and their dynamics. This drama is very romance-driven and didn’t really tackle a lot of serious student or social issues compared to similar dramas. I am a romance-junkie, so I am fine with looking forward to cute, romantic fluffiness. We have the cute bickering between our leads and feelings developing from friendship to romance. Unfortunately, it took 29 episodes for Shi Yi to finally confess his feelings. I am fine with a slow burn romance if the middle episodes weren’t repetitive and draggy. The unrequited love and love hexagon lasted for way too long. What I disliked the most were the last 5 or so episodes. They are full of coincidental misunderstandings one after another to keep the leads away from each other. If you think that the first half of the drama is a realistic portrayal of student life, you can’t convince me those misunderstanding episodes are realistic. There’s no way that could happen in real life.
Usually, I would be a fan of the ML in such dramas. Unfortunately, it’s not the case here. I am a fan of ML who secretly does a lot behind the girl’s back to support her and Shi Yi should be a prime candidate as one of my favorites. Unfortunately, aside from his adorable looks at FL, I find his character too rough and too mean. He manhandles Xiao Ju quite a bit and there’s a lot of wrist grabbing. It’s rare that I don’t have a favorite character, not the ML, FL or 2ML. Maybe I should applaud the drama for giving us flawed characters but I still want someone to root for. However, I was still very sad when Shi Yi’s feelings weren’t reciprocated and he tried so hard. But why force Xiao Ju to like him, when he himself turned down the affections of Shen Dou? Xiao Ju was also wish-washy for too long.
The overall acting of the cast is decent. I think Wang Rui Chang portrays his role as Shi Yi the best. Female lead, Hu Yi Xuan, isn’t too bad either. But the rest of the cast is below average to average. I find the acting of Judy Qi as Lin You to be one of the weakest cast members. For some reason, her voice dubbing is also the worst. I believe all actors used their real voice, but Lin You’s voice doesn’t sound right.
*SPOILER ENDING*
The last episode is a disappointment to end their marathon romance. They never resolved the misunderstandings from years ago. They had no contact for many years. Now they met, and Shu Yi played the meanie again and probably tried to gauge Shu Yu’s affection and bring back their childhood memories. But why would you propose at your friend’s wedding and steal their thunder? Why would you propose to someone you haven’t seen in years and is still mad at you? And lastly, why would you accept a proposal from someone who you thought had a girlfriend, was mean to you yesterday and had no contact with you for so long? That just doesn’t make sense. On a separate note, how can you not know who your BFF is marrying? What kind of best friend are you?
To end my review on a more positive note, the best thing about this drama is to remind me of the two lovely songs - 《喜欢你》 “I Like You” and《你知道我在等你吗》”Do you know I am waiting for you?” These two songs remind me of my younger years when I used to go to karaoke and sing them, esp. “I Like You” by Beyond (RIP Wong Ka Kui)
Personally, I think there are better high school/college dramas than “A River Runs Through It”. For example,
1. Forever Love (my favorite college romance)
2. Summer Again (sweet and innocent high school romance)
3. Lovely Us4.
4. With You
5. My Huckleberry Friends
6. When We Were Young
When “A River Runs Through It” was airing, I heard many good things about it. So, I was looking forward to finally watching it. Unfortunately, I placed this drama on hold twice, before successfully finishing it on the third try. I’ve seen my share of high school/college dramas, I do not agree that it’s the best of the bunch. It’s not bad per se, but the plot and the romance are not interesting enough. A reminder, this is a very subjective review and don’t hate me for the following rants.
As with many teen C-dramas, the focus is on studying for the high school exam, entering college, friendships, love triangles and growing up. These are pretty common themes in this genre. I find the first half of the drama more interesting than the second half as we get to know each character and their dynamics. This drama is very romance-driven and didn’t really tackle a lot of serious student or social issues compared to similar dramas. I am a romance-junkie, so I am fine with looking forward to cute, romantic fluffiness. We have the cute bickering between our leads and feelings developing from friendship to romance. Unfortunately, it took 29 episodes for Shi Yi to finally confess his feelings. I am fine with a slow burn romance if the middle episodes weren’t repetitive and draggy. The unrequited love and love hexagon lasted for way too long. What I disliked the most were the last 5 or so episodes. They are full of coincidental misunderstandings one after another to keep the leads away from each other. If you think that the first half of the drama is a realistic portrayal of student life, you can’t convince me those misunderstanding episodes are realistic. There’s no way that could happen in real life.
Usually, I would be a fan of the ML in such dramas. Unfortunately, it’s not the case here. I am a fan of ML who secretly does a lot behind the girl’s back to support her and Shi Yi should be a prime candidate as one of my favorites. Unfortunately, aside from his adorable looks at FL, I find his character too rough and too mean. He manhandles Xiao Ju quite a bit and there’s a lot of wrist grabbing. It’s rare that I don’t have a favorite character, not the ML, FL or 2ML. Maybe I should applaud the drama for giving us flawed characters but I still want someone to root for. However, I was still very sad when Shi Yi’s feelings weren’t reciprocated and he tried so hard. But why force Xiao Ju to like him, when he himself turned down the affections of Shen Dou? Xiao Ju was also wish-washy for too long.
The overall acting of the cast is decent. I think Wang Rui Chang portrays his role as Shi Yi the best. Female lead, Hu Yi Xuan, isn’t too bad either. But the rest of the cast is below average to average. I find the acting of Judy Qi as Lin You to be one of the weakest cast members. For some reason, her voice dubbing is also the worst. I believe all actors used their real voice, but Lin You’s voice doesn’t sound right.
*SPOILER ENDING*
The last episode is a disappointment to end their marathon romance. They never resolved the misunderstandings from years ago. They had no contact for many years. Now they met, and Shu Yi played the meanie again and probably tried to gauge Shu Yu’s affection and bring back their childhood memories. But why would you propose at your friend’s wedding and steal their thunder? Why would you propose to someone you haven’t seen in years and is still mad at you? And lastly, why would you accept a proposal from someone who you thought had a girlfriend, was mean to you yesterday and had no contact with you for so long? That just doesn’t make sense. On a separate note, how can you not know who your BFF is marrying? What kind of best friend are you?
To end my review on a more positive note, the best thing about this drama is to remind me of the two lovely songs - 《喜欢你》 “I Like You” and《你知道我在等你吗》”Do you know I am waiting for you?” These two songs remind me of my younger years when I used to go to karaoke and sing them, esp. “I Like You” by Beyond (RIP Wong Ka Kui)
Personally, I think there are better high school/college dramas than “A River Runs Through It”. For example,
1. Forever Love (my favorite college romance)
2. Summer Again (sweet and innocent high school romance)
3. Lovely Us4.
4. With You
5. My Huckleberry Friends
6. When We Were Young
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