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compelling but disappointing
Disclaimer: I have read the novel but haven't seen the older adaptation.This is one of those dramas that have flaws but you still keep on watching. The story is rather interesting. Even though unrequited crushes plot are dime a dozen in dramaland, this one features a female lead who uses her affection as a driving force. Actually pursuing relationship with her crush isn't really a priority for her. It still happens as the drama progresses, but the way it develops is also full of twists and turns.
One of the things I liked a lot was the OST. Rarely I go out of my way to listen to songs featured in dramas, but here the music really works for the story and sets the mood.
Another was the friendships featured in the drama, especially between Luo Zhi and Baili.
The acting is pretty decent, everyone seems to be on a similar level and the big ensemble cast works well together. Majority of characters grow as the story progesses, and character developement is very prominent. The amount of ill-willed characters is sometimes overwhelming though.
Both leads did a good job as "two geniuses" and I pretty much have no complaints. Especially female lead is a more composed, calm type of character that can be hard to find in dramas, and the actress nailed it.
The story is right up my alley, so I'm obviously biased, but I liked it. Yes, it drags and is flustrating sometimes, but it more or less makes sense. There are cliches and also plots I wish would get less screentime though.
The idea of male lead being someone worth yearning for 15 years isn't easy to translate onto screen, and I felt like excution of that was lacking. At the same time, the novel isn't really about him being a perfect guy, but just someone the female lead likes for what he is. She likes him for him, but for a watcher it sure can be confusing.
One major gripe I have is pacing. As much I understand why there were new plots added to the original story, I wish (especially at the ending) that wouldn't come at cost of original novel plot. This is a decent adaptation that more or less emulates the feel of novel, but at the same time I wish the ending chapters would get more screentime. The beginning part could be compressed into less episodes of you ask me. Also all the flashbacks, present in every episode, had me fast forward. I'm really not a fan of rushed endings either...
One thing for sure, this drama is not for everyone. It's slower and abudance of "villains" can be tiring. I enjoyed it for what it is and had good time watching, but at the same time, I'm not sure if I would wholeheartedly recommend it to just anyone.
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My wait is long, my dream for you does not end - that's my unrequited love.
Surprisingly, I love everything in this drama. I didnt have the time to hate any scenes because they have their own complicated love story. I can relate to the story of these two. I had an unrequited love also when i was in HS until university and now that I already has a hubby that man that i loved silently has still a special place in my heart. It does not fade but i just treat it as happy feeling inside of me. My unrequited love.Aside from Lou Zhi and Sheng Yuainan love story, Ge Bi and Baili story has also its bitter background. And it gives more comparison of how Baili and Lou Zhi are handling their relationships. At least in Baili story, she has became Gebi's female lead. This implies one's determination. Ofc, Zhang Mingrui story is telling us that there are really people in this world that's our buddy, just and only a friend,nothing else will emerge from that.
One thing I didnt like is the least time in the last episode. I just hope the couple have given at least to talk to each other. I mean more screen time. Or the drama makes a time jump that they are already a couple with kids, so on and so forth.
But over all the drama is so heart warming and dramatics. Plus this drama has so many life and love qoutes. I wrote down all the qoutes from Lou Zhi because I want to read it over and over again.
Plus the OST is so so so lovely. I love all the songs. These complement the drama so well. So this one is highly recommended. 9/10 for me.
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The acting wasn't bad but I understand how it felt that some people didn't look right for their roles.
Music was alright!
I wouldn't rewatch it, I'm surprised I finished it tbh. Lol. Not bad but not great.
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Good, Dramatic,Annoying, and THE ENDING SUCKED
I liked this drama but the drama was very annoying and the characters were dumb. The writer expanded the show way too long so they kept doing the same thing over and over again (Arguments, annoying side characters starting drama, breaking up, and more). She liked him for 15 years and then when he said he liked her back she got mad and ignored him. They literally got together around episode 30 and then they broke up for 5 years after something happened in his family.Overall this drama had some good parts but the characters were annoying and dumb. The writers drug it out to long and it seemed like they didn't know what to do so they did the same things over and over and over again. THE ENDING SUCKED.....
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Romance in need, Romance indeed.
To start, would like to make a conscious notes. A good well played drama is forged by great decent of good actor and actress. Their portraying of the characters in this drama are immensely heartfelt. And gives defining vibes of chaos, mishaps and beautiful desperations. Also light and bubbly feels of a true love. It caught me off-guard , when I thought this production would just be another sappy school-theme drama. Turns out, it has more depth, ruggedness and flair. I will try my very best not to spoil on anything IMPORTANCE. So, here we go...This drama tells a tale of an unrequited love, however it is more like faithfully loved. From ep 1, it is romantically narrated by the heroin her adoration towards her darling hero. Nothing is more intriguing than having flashbacks of 'almost' momentum.
L (our heroin), daydreaming scenes are as sweet as sugar. It is like mirages of intensified fondness. Very natural for the closeted-obsessed. Hence, S (our hero) is nevertheless the same. He's too, has the obvious infatuations as hers.
Their attraction to each other, sprung from their hearts like charming overtures. Whimsically, I've enjoyed the ups and down of their mood for love. It is delightful with a tinge of despair when things gone south.
My best scene, would be (surprisingly) the minute S hating himself for testing L's honesty. Is very humane to opt that. Hu Yitian nailed the crying scene, it's well put heartbroken.
This drama has lines of dialogues cleverly played within all the casts. Everyone really showing great performances. Nothing is less or to much. All fits superbly. Chemistry between OTP and the rest of the cast are very wonderful.
The OST blends well in all scenes. Oozing blues aura, very cool for romance.
If anyone here reading reviews, are looking for noteworthy school-theme romance drama. This could be it. Rewatched value? From from my tenth time rewatching... very looking forward for another one. Truly binge-watch worthy.
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Misrepresentation of women and love in general
I watched all 38 episodes of this thing and all I can say is, "Sheng Huainan is an idiot."Handsome (to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and Hu Yitian with that mole on his nose umm...), but an idiot at the end.
Honestly speaking, I don't usually criticize things that I don't like, because I firmly believe that everyone should make their own judgment of what they decide to consume, but in this case wow... the female representation of the series in general, I think it's terribly wrong executed, all the women in this show seem to have zero self-esteem, I do not come here to condemn unrequited love and who to try to fight, we have all been through that and it's okay, it's part of life, but honestly no love in this life reciprocated or does not deserve to go through such humiliation.
Luo Zhi and Sheng Huainan have an unequal relationship, while she is always there to support him in all his projects or personal problems, he abandons her whenever he feels a little pressure, no matter how hard the series tries to show that Luo Zhi is strong and intelligent, Sheng Huainan always considers her weak and believes that she has to solve everything on her own, boy give her the opportunity to decide what she can or cannot bear, stop making one-sided decisions, the series repeats over and over again that " Luo Zhi used everything he knew about Sheng Huainan to manipulate his feelings, "but the only one who manipulated feelings here was him.
And well, don't even make me start with Ge Bi and Jiang Baili, I ask for vindication for that poor girl, it was one humiliations after another, everything that happened to her was horrible, Ge Bi not only did not mind hurting her, using her and humiliating her in public if not that he allowed everyone around him to do it too and let's not say that he is a horrible boyfriend, he is a despicable human being, worst of all is that the series does not condemn any of this, it is like: "well, they are the things that you have to go through love ", and no, sorry but you don't have to go through all that to win anyone over, love cannot be forced and you don't have to reach out to anyone to make me love you, love is not an exchange of goods .
And finally because net I need to get out this stuck courage, it is not necessary for Sheng Huainan to be so damn unrealistic perfect, honestly the characters like that are lazy, they have no growth at all, and nobody is like that, less in early adulthood, it also turns out uncomfortable, the relationship he has with his roommates is one of total idolatry, as with the other "students" everyone loves them, it's weird, when you're at the University nobody cares, there are popular people, yes, but there are no idols .
Most of us, you, me, famous people and others, we fall madly in love with normal people with their strengths and weaknesses, they don't need to create unreal characters for us to buy into the story that it is the most magical love that has ever existed.
With everything I said, I do not want to tell other people whether or not they should watch the series, but I think it is important to make a critical consumption, please do not stay with the false idea of love that this series sells, love is not pure suffering and tragedies, this not exclusive idea of this series and is deeply embedded in the collective thought that to live a transcendental love story it must be plagued by problems, misunderstandings and pain and the reality is that no, love is much much than that, love is a transgressor force, but self-love is also, idealizing something or someone in such an exaggerated way is not healthy or fair for that person or for you.
Judging now if the series as such and not so much what made me feel, the performances are good, the story is not terrible either, but the execution leaves much to be desired, the story is tremendously long, thousands of chapters go by to put them together and then the they separate the next one so the rhythm of the series is strange and the ending is just rushed, the song is cute but they repeat it over and over again ad nauseam.
As individual characters I think they all have a lot of juice, they are interesting and could make their stories work but the series does not let them grow, it traps them in its web of misunderstandings and toxic relationships, so we see them do the same over and over again. Once, if they were allowed to mature as human beings, things would be very different.
I was left with that, what was and is not, all wasted potential.
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a love's game of tag , chasing the wrong person...
this drama didn't fail to meet my expectation but didn't wow me. This drama is a literally a chase between all the characters. Female lead's unrequited love for the male lead vice versa. The second leads love's chase/tag... ughhhhIm surprise that I finish all the episodes. Female lead has had a one sided crush for the male lead for 15 years. They were childhood friends but the male lead kinda forgot about her, but she never did. She basically observed him from when they were in school together to make it seem like they had a lot in common. The female lead has a deep love for the male lead, that she doesnt say, The whole drama is her one sided love, the things she faces and how there are others in the school who also has a crush on the male lead too. The male lead liked a girl from high school ( which that girl is the female lead) but he accidentally mistaken and thinks its the third female lead. They end up being together for like a year.
The third female lead is a xiao hua, aka pretty girl at school. The male lead slowly start to discover his love for the female lead but stopped because of what his ex girlfriend said to him...
I didnt like the male lead's ex gf. She is so annoying and always bothering him. Then comes the second pairing - female lead's best friend and this guy who is an asshole. The guy actually liked another girl before the female lead's best friend. The guy tries to get back with the previous girl and breaks up with the fl's best friend. But the girl he likes is too high maintenance and doesnt like him enough..... so the relationship is also one that is back and forth , like a game of chase or tag.
The male and female lead finally get together and then his father's company has problems! They end up separating again .... ridiculous. This drama is obviously not a smooth cute lovey dovey drama.
Hu bing qing acts very well for the female lead. a cold, smart, logistically character.
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Super cliche!
This is my first review, since I read and was excited to read a comment from a user below Luna, the truth is that I will see it right away, but after a couple of chapters 5 or 6, everything was a cliché, really I don't know what drama he saw, but from the protagonist who broke up with Zhannyan, and started with the protagonist, he let his ex get in the way of his new relationship, putting Luo Zhi aside, and doing what his mother wanted, until the point of breaking up with her for her mom, that's all cliché.On the other hand, the supporting characters were equally clichéd and childish at the same time, which is seen in almost all college dramas. Their friends, the same. The antagonist was like in any other drama with her manipulations. The story between the protagonists about their past the same, a tragedy that separates them, is another cliché. The only thing I did see, and it was a good thing, is that the protagonist was independent.
And the worst thing that was is where the protagonist breaking up with her because he did not want to drag her with her bankrupt family, it seemed absurd and cliché.
The ending was the worst I've seen in a long time, people, if you want to see something funny, with an original unrequited love, out of any cliché, don't watch this.
Nor did I see chemistry between the protagonists, it seemed more like a good friendship of lifelong friends and nothing more.
Anyway I hope you don't get mad at my review as it is just my point of view, regards.
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Ends without really getting started....
I love the ML and like to watch his dramas but this was really frustrating for me. The FL lead is madly in love with him but they don't talk or be honest with each other when they start to get close. When he finally starts to like her, she becomes cold. The ending!!!!! SERIOUSLY!!! Watched 30+ eps for that ending. All about love yet very little to walk away with in this drama. The Second FL and ML were more interesting but they also had an unfinished ending. If they had a season two then it would make it better but having it end without actually seeing them be together is cruel.Was this review helpful to you?
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Heavy unrequited story
This story depicts multiple females having unrequited love for men starting from high school carrying into adulthood. One sided love occurs for many of us at some point in our lives but this show depicts the worst sides of unrequited love. My own personal preference is shows that have strong female leads and that was not the case here for the lead or supporting female actors. They played their roles well but the characters were ultra annoying in their clinginess and whining. The female lead spent years in an unrequited love and then lied repeatedly when she finally gets to spend time with that person then was a selfish snob when that person didn’t trust her and pulled away turning her back on him. It took most of the series to have positive results that were then short lived and an ending that seemed rushed in the last few minutes. I like the male lead I’m just starting my third show with him in it. This show could’ve had a better storyline and ended in 20 ep vs 38. Musical scores were good. If you like unrequited love this may be a good show for you. So-so for me the first time and not on my watch list.Was this review helpful to you?
good watch to reflect the youth
First off, this is all based on my opinion and taste, the story is good and close to real life scenario. However, it's pacing is too slow for me. Cast is amazing esp the FL, i guess she is the best choice for this character. Hu Yitian is improving but lacks facial expression on some scene esp if character is in pain/agonizing. It also deals the reality of every Asian family, the pressure on each member to thrive for excellency with no room for mistakes. The story makes me sad, esp the last part of last episode. Overall, this is a nice drama to watch if u want to look back on your youth.Was this review helpful to you?
