This review may contain spoilers
Bittersweet 'Unrequited Love'
OVERALL:I've never felt the need to leave reviews in the dramas I've liked because a lot of people naturally liked it but I've noticed that this is one of the dramas I've liked where I've seen a lot of mixed reviews. I hope that if ever someone decides to watch this in the near future, they would stumble upon my review and give it a try. I believe that the people who will resonate with this drama the most is someone who's been in an unrequited love for so long. If you're looking for lighthearted fun, this is not the drama for you so please don't have high expectations in that regard. I will be combining what I like and dislike about this drama as I discuss the characters.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
"Luo Zhi loves Sheng Huainan. No one knows about it."
Luo Zhi is my favorite character in this drama. She's smart, elegant, witty, has backbone, and she does not look desperate despite being in a long term unrequited love with the male lead. As someone who was also in an unrequited love, I've felt her character's moments the most. The scenes where she imagined a lot of things, her being heartbroken, and always questioning the male lead's intention was something that I've experienced as well. I understand how it can be annoying to those viewers who'd rather want her to be straightforward. My favorite line from her in this drama is "Sheng Huainan, I like you! That is the only truth in my heart!" so much raw emotion from that scene and that was the first time I've cried as I watched this drama.
However, as much as I like Luo Zhi, I've felt annoyance in some of her scenes. One of this is when Sheng Huainan was called out by Ye Zhanyan to eat and she saw her hands on his pocket. It's a shame that she overthinks too much because this, I believe, is what's blocking their relationship the most in this drama. If only she could open her heart more, if only she could try explaining herself more, most of these situations wouldn't happen.
"Sheng Huainan loves Luo Zhi. Everyone in the world knows it."
Sheng Huainan, despite being the usual "perfect" male lead, was a bit of a surprise for me. I love that we've seen his moments why he's being called a "God" because obviously, being rich is not enough to fall in love with a male character. I love that I've seen in this drama where he has opened his heart to his roommates, his internal struggle of keeping his perfect facade, and how he is having trouble communicating with people. I've thought he was too stiff because of Luo Zhi's memories of him but when he slowly let go of his image, he was extremely cute with the female lead. There's so much chemistry between that even just them looking straight at each other is enough to make me squeal.
Same as Luo Zhi, even though there are charming qualities to him, his weakness in communicating was also his block to achieving a good relationship. Yes, he was used to not showing his imperfection to others but he should've been more open to Luo Zhi in regards to family problems. You don't need to tell her everything but it wouldn't hurt to give her an idea. I understand the logic of not wanting to make it difficult for the people you love and how detrimental it is for them to be involved with you right now but lying is not the right way, bro. Because he kept these things to himself and ended up disappearing again, he gives the female lead mixed signals. Do you trust her or not?
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:
Overall, I loved all the supporting characters. Luo Zhi and Huainan's roommates are the best and I love how supportive they are of the main characters. They each have their own story and although it wasn't shown, I am glad that they all had their own mini endings. I think this is one of the dramas where I genuinely cared how each character ended up including the antagonists of the story. They all had their annoying moments, childish moments, happy moments but that's the pinnacle of youth, you don't get to be mature just by growing up. You have to experience different things in order to achieve the kind of growth that you will be proud of. I am proud of the characters of this story. At least, we've seen some character development.
THE UGLY:
If there's anything that lighthearted drama fans wouldn't like about this is that it takes a long time before the main characters end up with each other. It's a slowburn romance but there's a lot of chasing, frustrating moments, and misunderstandings. It's definitely not for everyone but if you're already halfway the drama, I still believe it's worth the watch.
"She'll wait for me."
"I'll wait for him."
I was made aware of the fact that there will be a timeskip as I've read some reviews here before continuing the drama but good heavens, I did not expect the timeskip to be 5 years. I was here typing this review at 4 AM in the morning and woke up my mom by shouting "What the duck, Sheng Huainan, 5 freaking years?!" I was cussing at him in different languages because yes, Luo Zhi will wait for you, but Huainan that's already abusing her love. You need to give her a reason why she has to wait because in reality, most people won't just stay out of love for you. Excuse my language but it is stupid that he left without saying anything to Luo Zhi. I understand how you only want to show your strong self, the Huainan that Luo Zhi looked up to, but Luo Zhi's not just someone you courted, she is your girlfriend.
I have asked my boyfriend how could he do this to her but he also has the same thoughts as Huainan, he can't bear for her to be with someone who she doesn't deserve and at the moment, he wants himself to be better. I still can't understand the logic but I've shared this to others to understand how Huainan has arrived at that conclusion. I still do not agree but I guess, to each his own.
Still, I admire that he has built a start-up company, something that he can be proud to show-off at the end.
THE ENDING:
It's unsatisfactory in a sense that we don't see what happens next but after all that happened, you can already imagine what endings the main characters deserve. I would like to think that we have reached a positive conclusion even though there's no verbal confirmation from the leads. And as Sheng Huainan said, isn't it romantic if it does not have an end?
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Then I watched the movie, which was actually very good but in a similar yet different style.
And finally, I watched 2021 version, without expecting much because I felt that after liking the first so much, I wouldn’t be able to like it the same way than the other (moreover, I really dislike the two main actors, especially the male lead : I don’t see what’s so good about him)
And I felt even more disappointed when I watched it. How should I say… it’s good but not that much because it’s like they deliberately exaggerate everything. Luo Zhi’s silent love for Huainan becomes some sort of weird obsession here, like a teenager’s crush on a celebrity (on the first episodes, it was pretty ackward to see how all of those scenarios she would imagine between her and the male lead). Her quiet, insightful, mature personality becomes somewhat a mix passive and weird here and I feel like the actress is partly to blame.
Sheng Huainan kind and smart yet flawed becomes boring with self-righteous narcissistic complex whose greatest trouble in life is to be so perfect that he can’t get himself to the level of the common people that he pities and wants to help so much and it’s just so annoying how his self-righteous personality ends up hurting others just because he can’t get himself in their shoes. And we’re supposed to feel sorry because « oh poor he, he’s so perfect that they all idolize him instead of seeing him as a human being ». Moreover, he’s incredibly stupid and influençable compared to the original who would actually quickly realize his mistakes. Once again, I feel like the actor is to blame : I say this whole feeling very sorry for all his fans but I don’t see any charisma or talent in Hu Yi Tian and he’s definitely one of the reasons why his character becomes so annoying here, being clearly inferior here to Zhao Shun Ran in 2019 who is less famous than him.
Also, all of the other characters are exaggerated and lose the realism they had in the 2019 version, becoming stereotypes, especially the girls who become some crazy psychopaths (nice representation of my gender here, I don’t feel insulted at all ?). I feel like the only female character here who was attaching here was Jiang Bai Li who was such a crybaby in 2019 but is someone much stronger and joyful here.
And the multiple subplots they add just makes the plot heavier. Also, there’s way too many episodes for what could easily be reduced and then go to the essential instead of going around in circles.
So to make it short : too long, too many useless subplots, most of the characters are annoying, stereotypical and nonsensical, a writing that tend to overdo it and the lead actors just make me want to slap their bad acting in their faces.
So I don’t get why they made this second version after the 2019 which was just PERFECT and perfectly conveyed the feelings of the novel, while this one totally fails. If you separate it from the novel and the 2019 version, it’s just another romantic idol drama like any other, with nothing extraordinary. It’s cute but no more and if you compare it to the 2019 version, or even to the movie version, it s clearly lacking and seems to have missed the point of the story.
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This review may contain spoilers
Relatable for folks who have experience one sided love
Watching this drama I laughed and cried with Lou Zhi and her journey of love. I also love Bai Li's story despite being stupid in love at first.
This is a typical coming of age drama, where the drama focused on growing up, friendship, family and love.
I liked this version better than the 2019 version. Although the ending of the 2019 version is better, that wedding was a culmination of the hardships the couple encountered which was missed on this one, I hope they make a special episode with a wedding for our main leads.
It was painful to watch Sheng Huainan confront Lou Zhi about her feelings, I seriously cried buckets on episode 21 and 22 and realized that Sheng Huainan is a confused boy because everyone around them in college who was with them when they were in high school basically ruined Lou Zhi's reputation, he became so muddled so when he realized he's fallen in love Lou Zhi had to protect herself from the pain of being misunderstood and being ghosted. I hate the part he ghosted her. Seriously, after all that flirting you left the girl hanging...
Overall, I liked the drama and the OST encompassed what they went through, although, the ending was not same as the old version, I liked that it was realistic and open ended, like a do over for what they missed years ago. <3
Someone who has been or is currently experiencing unrequited love would definitely relate to the leads journey.
The acting is on point for all the characters on this version, I loved Bai Li and how she grew more mature. I seriously hated the ex girlfriend and her pathetic attempts to ruin Lou Zhi in the MLs eyes and build herself up which is just to selfish. I think it's karma for her to realize she like someone else but that someone else was in a coma after letting her know he gave her what he wished for. I just wished he found someone else and loved, it would be a nice lesson for her.
I would definitely rewatch this.
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Heart-wrenchingly good
It wasn't enough! This he got to be the most angsty modern love story I've ever witnessed. The best part? That angst got the better part of me and had me hooked for nearly a month!I dunno how I feel about the ending. I'm glad that it didn't end with the usual romcoms -- a wedding, something funny and cliche. They took the uncertain approach. Remember the slight frustration and all at the same time anticipation you've felt as you've been watching the series? That is intensified in the last episode. I'm glad that they kept this vibe alive until the end. All in all, this series was wrapped beautifully.
There was a lot of open endings, and leads a lot of discussions. It might not be up to everyone's taste. If you want to experience fluff and easy love, sweet moments at every corner, then this drama is not for you. This is the opposite of everything good in love. This shows the ugly side of what love can do to a person. Love can make the purest of hearts lie, it can turn silent admiration into perversion because of the smearing by the real world. Love will make you cry, jealous and insecure. Love will make you selfish. Love will make the smartest man stupid.
In this series we have lived through the youthful years of our characters, and have experienced every pain and heartbreak they have felt. We were there when Huainan wasted years being in a toxic relationship, and Lou Zhi waiting and just waiting... Which she still have done until the end. Life is indeed a wheel. One moment you have the world at your fingertips, the next you are struggling to make ends meet, trying to please others. The real world is different from the grandeur of youth. In the real world you struggle, in the real world if you don't have a steel of backbone you will be trampled on. I just cry at the implications of this drama. It felt very bittersweet because it started with the innocence of a promise between kids, and the longing looks of a taciturn girl to the dazzling golden child. And then it ends with them being apart, being in love, making their own path in life. Huainan starting a company from scratch, Lou Zhi finally getting the recognition she deserves but still incomplete. She had already been brilliant from the start. The sad thing is that the one thing she wants was always far out of reach.
In this story, we have learned that though love is a dangerous thing, it can also be beautiful. Love is all about patience. It is when you know that the other person deserves better than what you have to offer right now. Like how Huainan had to let go of Lou Zhi for years in odder to get his life together. Or for Ge Bi to stop pursuing Bai Li and to focus on his studies, but he still proclaims his love everyday. Love is a compromise. Like how Lou Zhi's cousin resigned to his fate of being married to a person he doesn't love, and the other girl giving up. Love is knowing your worth and what you deserve. Self love. Like how Mingrui let go of Ruqing, like how Bai Li washed her hands off Ge Bi. Love is the support between friends. The desire to protect them and wish them well. Like how Bai Li and Lou Zhi have each other's backs until the end. Like how Huainan and his roommates fought and laughed and cried when they knew he was leaving. When they promised they will study hard so that they can support him in the future. Which they did. Love is putting yourself out into the world and yet keeping a long held promise in your heart. Love is commitment, love inspires. This is what Huinan and Lou Zhi taught us.
I think we need more dramas like this. The ones that leaves a heartfelt message. We don't need the theatrics of an overly reserved and cool male protagonist and a female lead who is a ray of sunshine. We need these people, Huainan and Lou Zhi -- those that are realistic, imperfect and very much act like us.
This drama is great. I'd rate it 8/10 Two points deducted because sometimes the suffering is too much, and some of the supporting characters get really annoying. But this Drama has a lot of excellent aspects -- the cinematography (they captured the university life very well, and made us feel nostalgic, like first love), the soundtrack (just superb. I already downloaded the album a week ago. And ever since the first episode it's really the soundtrack that caught my attention. It fits so well with the sorry), the screenplay (every bit of narrative done in this work is amazing. Everyone has their own personalities and wisdom to share. This drama can make one cry with just the dialogue alone), the directing (powerful scenes in this series that make you want to go to a corner and bawl), the casting (they have picked the most suitable people to play the parts. Everyone is very endearing. Yu Hitian is very charming in here, and Hu Bingqing is very pretty and suited Lou Zhi very well. Bai Li, Ge Bi, Mingrui. Everyone is just perfect for their roles).
Would definitely watch this again, if I am looking to hurt myself lol.
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Boring!!
This was honestly one of the worst cdramas ive watched I honestly only kept watching for Yitian. The main leads took forever to get together and then they broke up ( they also had no chemistry) ....the last episode was horrible it literally ended out of the blue and the story didn't end like it was planned ?? I don't know I was disappointed, we were supposed to see the leads get married as they planned when they were little kids...I just feel like they barely showed their relationship. All 38 episodes was the Female lead chasing the Male lead and then when he wanted her, she kept rejecting him...Was this review helpful to you?
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FLs that liked the ML first can be super smart too!
I love how even if the female lead liked the male lead first, she wasn't portrayed as gullible and did not have so many embarrassing moments. I also love how both of the leads are geniuses and that they can talk to each other about many topics that relate to the different fields they're studying. The FL was also very empowering as she was able to save the ML and his friends many times from problematic situations. I surely had fun imagining myself as the FL lead in this drama HAHAAlso, even if the drama is longer compared to the 2019 version, its slow-paced storytelling was still very entertaining and was able to capture the delicate details of the leads falling for each other. If you like dramas where the leads take a long time before finally getting into a relationship, this is it! Aside from that, Hu Yi Tian and Hu Bing Qing's chemistry is overflowing—they never disappoint!
The plot twists may seem ordinary and a little bit dragging but the acting and chemistry between the leads made them worth watching still! The confrontations may also seem off at first but then one scene at the latter part of the series will definitely make up for all of it! Unfortunately, I wasn't 100% satisfied with how the show ended. It showed consistency but I kinda hoped for some kind of character development or at least a proper resolution about what happened between the 2 leads. That said, I still 100% recommend this drama—it is super worth the watch!
In conclusion, this drama is quite different from the others. The chemistry between the leads was portrayed with not many exaggerated scenes and weird encounters. You'd definitely find yourself binge-watching this till the end!
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not a typical kind of story
if your looking for an escape from the cliche sweet love stories i definitly recomand watching this . it has a more realistic approch to the one sided love story . version wise i like this alot better than the previous one actors wise and story wise it's more entertaining i like that each character have there own story wish make the show more interesting,the main actors chemistry and acting is so good, the only problem tha i have is with the ending it's not bad but definitly not a good ending in my opinion that kind of closeur is only good if your planning a second season wish is imossibile for a chinise dramaWas this review helpful to you?
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Binge-worthy
So I've pretty much binged the entire drama in two days. In overall, it is a pretty good drama and I like the chemistry between all the characters. Then again, I've always got a soft spot for Hu Yi Tian. He has been acting in quite a few dramas lately and his character in Go Go Squid actually made an impact. Acting as the female lead, we have Hu Bing Qing who performed pretty good in Legend of Dugu. I was really anticipating for this drama because I was curious as to how to act alongside each other.The reason why I rated 8.0 for this is because the leads have great chemistry. I especially liked Ming Rui, Huai Nan's best friend in this drama. However, the story can be a bit of a drag in between. You go with Luo Zhi approaching Huai Nan and finally getting his attention. Then you have misunderstandings in between that would make them both drift apart. Afterwards, Huai Nan starts chasing after Luo Zhi and they finally got together in the end. This entire process took up 30+ episodes.
I know this is an adaptation of the novel but since the 2019 drama already had adapted from the same novel, you would think the 2021 one has some difference. Similar to the 2019 one, the ending was quite disappointing. They both separated and went on with their lives to progress in their respective careers (Huai Nan to regain his stance) and then bam, Huai Nan reappears in Luo Zhi's life. Then what? Probably it's just me, but I was hoping there is more built up to the ending. they can probably cut down a few episodes of "you-chasing-me-me-chasing-you" in between and put a bit more emphasis on the ending.
Overall, I would say this drama is quite binge-worthy. It's just a bit abrupt in the end when you're already finally attached to the idea of them being a couple then they break up again and you have a really vague reconciliation.
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Superb
I've never been so emotionally invested with a drama before. This version of Unrequited Love made me excited, depressed and in love. I thought the actors were superb and amazing especially Hu Yitian and Hu Bing Qing. Those who played Zhang Mingrui and Jiang Bai Li were great as well. They made me cry soooo many times.I have seen A Love So Beautiful prior to watching this and seeing Hu Yitian in a slightly different character was nice. He is definitely one of my fave Chinese actors.
A lot of people did not like how the series ended but for me, that was the essence of this series. It was meant to end that way.
Definitely worth watching! The soundtrack is awesome too.
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the script writer should show a truly happy ending (married)
at the end of the ending episode of the storyline, it was a bit upset because of the rift between the 2 Luo families and the Sheng family. when the problem was solved due to just a "misunderstanding", at the end of the story the scriptwriter did not point out Sheng's family apologizing to Lou's family. suddenly the storyline '' after a few years '' luo zhi reunited with sheng huai. we hope happy ending can see them get married. but the storyline is a bit dependent. and the background song is very strong and not many hear the sound clearly. I hope there will be a 2nd season where they can get married.Was this review helpful to you?
Beautiful drama ,which keep us in traceBut climax is very disappointed
Climax totally disappointed me Whats big crime in hugging after seeing ur love after 5years,I loved this drama but love scenes hiyitian and the main female lead are totally disappointed...When it was one sided love I was crying for weeks,don’t know ending episodes why director disappointed and even editor did worst job
Differently as a fan of huyitian it was injustice l Climax totally disappointed me Whats big crime in hugging after seeing ur love after 5years,I loved this drama but love scenes hiyitian and the main female lead are totally disappointed...
When it was one sided love I was crying for weeks,don’t know ending episodes why director disappointed and even editor did worst job
Differently as a fan of huyitian it was injustice to him,very very less screen space in episodes...
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Love it or Hate it, but you can't ignore it?
I started to watch the drama just because Hu Yi Tian is in the main cast. So I just started without having any expectations about the story line. And maybe that's why I am not that disappointed. But if anyone watch it with a high hope..then maybe you will be disappointed or maybe not.This drama is something different. At times..it gets into your nerve. It irritates like hell. But again, in some other times..it gives you some beautiful scene. If you ever loved someone secretly, then for sure you will start getting all your memories back. You will actually get to know if you did something stupid and didn't realised yet. Something sweet, something bitter...?
REVIEW : Talking about the actual drama; story was something different from normal love drama as it is Unrequited love and not a normal love story. But honestly, the story line was quite draggy..like the writer could have cut out some of the really unnecessary and repetitive parts. And the gist would have been really same. At some part pace of the story was sluggish. Like it was not going anywhere. And at that time you feel like giving up.
ACTORS AND ACTING : Although the drama was not that attractive, but I have to admit that the cast did their best. And more importantly..the people was matching with the characters ☺️. You not feel that this character should have been played by somebody else or that character is a misfit. Non of the actors we doing any over acting. And they were justifying whatever they were doing in their own way.
The ending was pretty much fine.. everything was sorted. There was nothing that ended in a lose ending☺️. Moreover, the depection of the friendship was wonderful. Really lovely ❤️
*#SPOILER*#
I really appreciate Luo Zhi, she is a girl of dignity and I feel that everyone should maintain their own dignity no matter what. If you love someone, that really don't mean that you have to be on that person's feet. You love him/her it's your own matter but that don't give anyone else the right to insult you?. But at the ending episode when she was pissed off by Sheng Huai Nan..
I personally feel that she dragged it a lot. Like he did not noticed her at school, that was not his fault. Infact if that day she would have told her name.. then the story could have been different....or even if that day when he was giving her that bracelet (their new product) and he mentioned about that girl in his childhood she could have told him instead of just thinking about it on her mind.
On the other hand, Jiang Bai Li pissed me off from time to time. Like I understand that she loves Ge Bi a lot, she can't see him sad or hurt. But the things she did..like girl..have some self respect. You can't let someone use you and your love like a doormat. And Ge Bi..like bro..have some moral. How could you just use her according to your convenience just because she loves you. But Chen Mohan, my God that girl is something. She never smiles..ufff... She treats Ge Bi just like he used to treat Bai Li.
But at the end I was happy that Bai Li and GeBi changed the roles. He don't deserve some like her. Atleast her broken heart made her a successful writer. Her pain did not went in vain?.
And that girl Ye ZhanYan is a girl of the word. Really loyal to the people she loves and care. She serially waited for her boy to wake up for 5 long years❤️❤️.
Overall this drama is such that you can love it or hate it..but you can't ignore it.
And the end line of the them song
' I Love you; But It Has Nothing To Do With You '?❤️
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