Youth Drama - not really romance!
I watched thinking this was going to be similar to A Love So Beautiful, but nope! It is more Reply 1988 with school mixed in.The main lead is surprisingly what you would expect a second lead to be like. He is sweet, filial, and always so bubbly. The second lead is more of your cold main lead. It's like they were switched! The main lead is the one coming into the life of the female lead when she already has history with her best friend second lead.
The pace of the drama is so so slow. I pretty much skipped episodes to quickly reach the last 2 episodes, and yet I still understand the general gist of what was going on. Maybe if I had the time to really soak in the scenes of the China way of life among best friends going through the same tests and studying over and over again, I would enjoy this drama more. The acting is phenomenal, the chemistry is there, and the nostalgia kicks in with how accurate the set designs are.
If you're looking for a lighthearted drama to stall time and reminisce in the friendship and family dynamics in an adolescent life, this is it. But don't watch for the romance.
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I don't usually like 'contemporary' CDramas (like ones that arent history or war based) because I tend to find them too cliche and sort of cringy at times. But this drama had a simple, common premise on youth and high school, love, friendship etc yet it is unlike anything I've seen before. In a way it's like the Reply series and A Love So Beautiful combined, but this drama shined through with its own colours successfully despite the similarities.
I AM IN LOVE WITH EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER. I love the amount of change and maturity they go through. And their friendships are so precious it makes me envious about how I spend time with my friends. There are so many life lessons and different perspectives of the parents, teachers, adults, teens they present that it really opens your eyes to seeing the good intentions of everyone.
Hua Biao is legit one of my favourite male leads ever now, he has such a beautiful, mature yet playful and caring personality. And his relationship with everyone especially with his grandmother makes my heart warm.
Yang Xi's development is very satisfying, and her caring, bubbly personality made me fall in love with her immediately. At first I thought she was a bit obnoxious, but as she matured she just became more and more lovable. Honestly, everyone in this drama has such a compelling, and caring relationship with each other.
There are no bad guys, no evil second female lead trying to steal the male lead, no ridiculous characters that are in the extreme. Everyone learns respects their own boundaries, which is something so refreshing to see. Just realistic, compelling characters living their beautiful lives.
Not to mention the cinematography. Stunning, and does justice to all locations and people that were filmed.
I really liked how this drama also tackled the common issues with highschool youths in China, and East Asia, because they were able to present these issues through different perspectives of adults. I personally really liked the ending, because it gave more openings rather than it closes them, as their lives take on another journey.
If you enjoy slice of life, and a focus on friendship and family dramas, this is a MUST WATCH.
BTW SEASON 2 IS COMING SO YE.
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I watch this drama and feel huang deng deng so optimise while she just a support role. Yang xi was great too both her and huang deng deng was so pretty with a sweet smile, feel like fell in love hahaha..
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This drama was able to portray teenage life in such a fine way, it wowed me. The struggle of teenager with school and family, the enjoyments of a teenager, etc. are perfectly defined through this drama.
For me, the male lead Huo Biao's character would never fail to make everyone fall for him. Overall, all the other characters are also lovable.
Besides the impressive story and the amazing characters in it, the cinematography is beautiful and I love the nostalgic concept of the 90s. The OSTs are great too. The cast also has done a great job in acting each of their characters and were able to portray them in Ann excellently way.
If you're looking for a drama with a pure and realistic plot, alongside with fun-lovable characters and amazing production, this Chinese drama is it. Give it a chance, you won't regret it. ;)
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It was a roller coaster ride of emotions. You won't be disappointed with each character. If you are a fan of the Korean drama School Series (school 20013, school 2017) then you might get the taste of that genre in this drama. It's not a love story really. It's about high school life, friendship, hardship, heartbreaks, crushes, family. The storyline is really good. It tackled so much about life and I really like it. Props to the grandma though, she was REALLY good portraying her character. The last 3 episodes almost had me in tears. The ending is very open-ended so you might wanna prepare your emotions for that, cause this drama needs a season 2.
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great storyline and acting!
I watched this drama accidentally while scrolling through my YouTube homepage. As I watched it, I felt that it was the most memorable drama I've ever seen. It depicted school life that revolved not only around romance but also daily life. I greatly admired the character Hua Biao, and I would give him all the respect I have. The friendship portrayed in the drama was exceptional, a solid 10,000 out of 10. I love how supportive and loyal they are to each other.One thing that I deeply regret is that Hua Biao's life is too complicated, and he had to sacrifice certain things in his life. He had to choose between studying at the university and pursuing a relationship with Yang Xi. However, I think their separation was a beautiful thing. One should not have a relationship if their life is not yet settled, and Hua Biao understands that. He decided to prioritize making his grandmother happy and improving his own life.
I hope that if there is truly a Season 2, Hua Biao will receive the good things he deserves from the beginning. I finished watching this drama four years ago, but until now, I always miss their story. During my leisure days, I would always rewatch clips of this drama. Then, I would laugh and cry again, just like when I first watched it. This drama will always hold a special place in my heart.
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The romance really comes third in this drama as it focuses primarily on family and friendships. Being such a romance geek, this actually did not bore me in the slightest. It was heart warming and I feel like every character had the developments necessary to make this a great drama.
Of course it's not without flaws. There was a few times the FL annoyed the hell out of me but in the next scene she would melt my heart so it balanced it out I guess. The ML in my opinion came off as wayyyyy to perfect in the first couple of episodes and slowly but surely he mellowed out and his human side started to show.
I really liked how the ML prioritized his life. His Nana always came first so despite the criticism about the ending, I think it perfect. What made this drama great was the distinctive 90's humor that they incorporated so effortlessly along with the true struggles and heartbreak of that era. The tropes were all spot on and the acting honestly top notch. Every single lead did extremely well in their portrayals of the character they played. They made me laugh, cry, frustrated and shared their sense of accomplishments with me along the way.
Rooting for a second season but quite satisfied right now with the ending of this drama. Would definitely re-watch when I need to be reminded about the true value of family and friendship.
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Some parts of drama is really bore ..Ithis drama can be better if they shows their 2nd parts of life after they get separated...What they achieve in their career .So I don't like the ending parts of the drama .The characters I like the most are Huang Deng Deng and Li ue.
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One of my favourite aspects is how every major character has some sort of a background that comes with them there's an entire spectrum of home lives shown through the screen which was fresh as dramas usually only explore the two main characters. Everyone had different interests, different talents, different aims and that's what made this drama so enjoyable. The development allowed you to properly emphasise with everyone and they began to feel more 3D than 2D.
When We Were Young also checked off mentioning exams which is probably one of my stranger and more niche checkboxes that I have when it comes to high-school genres but nonetheless, I think it's a key one. Most dramas usually downplay the effects exams have on students when in actual fact, these exams are the most important ones in the their entire highschool career so they arguably play a pretty major role in student's lives . It was interesting to see a variation of attitudes towards exams, some approaching them without any care, some taking them seriously, some completely getting battered by the pressure. The exploration even extended to the parents and how their attitudes to exams could be the catalyst to the absolute destruction of their child or the motivation.
Many people say that the ending is unsatisfactory or sad but I honestly beg to differ because I felt the ending portrayed the inevitable closure to everyone's highschool life well and rather than sad, I'd go for poignant.
Everyone's character was well acted and no one lost their colour from beginning till the end and it was realistic in the sense that it's not romance which drives us through teenage years, it's our friendships and yourself which you develop and improve as you go which gets you through it.
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Dull towards last 1/3
This drama is another youth drama that focus on friendship amongst close friends during their high school years. They bring back a lot of memories for me as I can relate. It has a strong start however towards the end it gets really draggy. I got annoyed with the moms loud voice and the grandma is no longer cute. There's way too many episodes on her memory lost. It actually felt themeless towards the end to me. I guess main theme is friendship and not much of chemistry/romance. If you have nothing else to watch, then I guess you can check it out otherwise theres so many other better young dramas out thereWas this review helpful to you?
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A meaningful Drama
This is a school drama set in the 90's. I really liked this drama but I am not quite happy with the ending. I am the kind of person who loves happy endings with the leads being together. But this drama is reality. They all go their seperate ways after graduating highschool. It's sad but that's how life works. I am not saying that it's a sad ending. It depends on how you take it. This drama reminded me of my time in the last year of my school life. The friendships, teachers, exams etc... The drama gives you a lot of good thoughts about friendship and life. That is why I call this a "meaningful" drama. Talking about the cast, they did really well. Wang Peng was really cute as Yangxi. Acting was really good. I wouldn't watch it again but you can get a lot of insights from this drama.Was this review helpful to you?
