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We All Need Friends Like These Five!
A touching coming-of-age story about five youths who grow up in the same residential compound (which is similar to an American apartment complex for anyone who’s wondering). The group consists of three boys & two girls who share an unbreakable bond. We meet them in their high school years as they’re discovering who they are & who they want to be.With five different personalities the group is bound to clash & squabble at times, but they always have each other’s back in every situation. The boys look out for & protect the girls while the girls do the same for the boys but in different ways. They’re allowed to pick on each other, but no one else had better try or they’ll face the wrath of all five teens. Their loyalty is solid & each one knows that they’ll never have to face anything alone.
They get up to some crazy adventures due to the antics of the two main leads who often seem more like rivals than friends, which brings lots of humor to the show. And while this isn’t strictly a romance, we do get the enjoyment of witnessing these two experience the beauty of realizing they’ve fallen in love with their best friend. I would’ve loved to have seen more of them as a couple, but I also understand why we didn’t get that until the end due to their ages. It didn’t at all detract from the storyline or cause me to regret watching this.
The friendship these five share is enviable & heart warming. I enjoyed how each teen got their moment to shine, allowing us to get to know them as more than just a support character. Each one brought a necessary dynamic to the group, they weren’t complete unless all five were there. It was refreshing to see the ways they always worked through any issues rather than letting things fester. And if any of the five were at odds with each other, the rest of the group helped them resolve the issue(s) & regain the group’s harmony. It was also touching to see them rally around each other when familial stuff arose. They didn’t let their age negate their place in one another’s life or cause them to stay silent if one was being mistreated.
Being a teenager & going through high school is tough. Having a group of friends like these five who you know you can 100% trust to always be on your side is what we all wish for during those years. 🩵
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-⬇️ S P O I L E R S 🚫 B E L O W ⬇️-
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The things I always want to know 😏😉…
- First(real)Kiss : ep.16💋
- Together : ep.16 👩🏻❤️👨🏻
- BreakUp : Nope 😌
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This review may contain spoilers
a drama that is NOT really a drama
This is a "slice of life" drama that "slices" a bit too much.There is basically no horizontal plot line going on but theme based episodes with the same characters.
Our protagonists are a bunch of teenagers that navigate through life and bring us along.
It is hard to feel connected to the characters when there is basically no development or "plot" going on.
I cannot say I didn't feel any emotions because some episodes were really touching.
The one when the ml is rebuilding his relationship with his father or when the old neighbor died were really touching. I even cried.
The only dynamic that takes place on multiple episodes is the main couple love story. I found it pretty sweet and considering the nature of the drama, they did a decent enough job but there wasn't "enough" stuff shown in my opinion.
I am making it clear because if you are here for a sweeping love story, this is not the drama for you.
The other love story in the drama is shown pretty poorly. We start on early episodes with the other 2 characters getting closer to then abandon this story line for entire episodes.
I am not saying this is a bad drama, but it isn't really a drama in my opinion.
There is stuff going on but everything is disjointed.
If you like to experience cute, emotional stuff going on without a plot connecting everything together you might still enjoy "lovely us".
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Realistic and endearing!
Love the cast. The young actors and actresses who played were spot on. The story was simple, fluffy, funny, touching and refreshing. I like childhood friends-to-lovers trope so I really dig this drama. I wish the second OTP had gotten together. The only thing I probably am frustrated with the drama is the open ending. I just hate open endings. It would have been nice if there was a wrap-up in all the characters. But overall, a great youthful drama! Will rewatch if needing a light-hearted and funny drama.Was this review helpful to you?
BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL DRAMA
Where do I start this review. I don't write reviews often unless i really love a drama and want everyone to watch itThis drama is one of the most beautiful, heartwarming, touching dramas I have watched. Friendship to me is very important. And the friendship between the 5 leads is just the sweetest thing ever and I will always remember it. Honestly I am a rom-com person and I don't usually like dramas with slow romance. But for this drama, it didn't matter. Because everything else just made up for it. The chemistry between the ML and FL is perfect as well as the 5 friends themselves. THEY ARE FRIENDSHIP GOALS!!! They may tease each other, argue with each other but they ALWAYS have each others backs. They support each other and guide each other.
And honestly their friendship is not the only pleasing part about this drama. The families. The families where like each other friends. Every parent/guardian adored each of the 5 friends. Honestly it was just the most beautiful thing ever.
However if there was one thing I would have to say sort of left me with mixed feelings is the ending for Chen zui. He was legit the kindest, sweetest soul in this drama. He always put everyone else and their happiness before him. I wish he had got the happy ending that he wanted and well deserved really. But its just a minor thing so don’t let this compel you from watching the drama. I don't want to spoil anything so I won’t say more.
Anyways overall its an amazing drama and I strongly recommend it. If you are looking for something light hearted which will make you laugh and cry but also feel the love that is hard to find these days, has romance and great chemistry between the leads, you should definitely watch it. There is no complicated plot, no evil characters its just a group of friends and five different families growing up together supporting each other and loving each other and caring for each other. Honestly guys you won’t regret watching.
The episodes go by so quick honestly 16 episodes was not enough. I want a season 2 which shows us their college life!!!!!!
Also really want Li Ming Yuan and Silvery Li in a drama together where we get to see their couple moments too!!
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PLOT:
The plot is basic. It is inspired by Reply series and revolves around 5 childhood friends who grew up in the same neighbourhood block. They all attend school, are all unique in their ways and it follows their adventures during high school. I honestly loved all five of them - they were unique, loyal and funny as heck. Arguing with families, struggling with studies and finances, the interactions between parent-child, the hope of youth, fangirling, skipping class, falling in love - they do all of this in the drama. There is no negativity anywhere and it showed how real people are. I am sure everyone can find something relatable in this drama. As for me - this resonated a lot with my own childhood. It reminded me of some of my stupid classmates and my own school crushes. This drama couldn't have done it better.
CHARACTERS:
Tan Song and Cheng Zi are cute as eff. Tan Song is a playful, jealous boy that the actor did an amazing job of. Cheng Zi took some time to grow on me but she was very cute and innocent. Their friends Jinxiao and Jinzhaoa re hilariously opposite and Zui(? - i forgot his name) was too cute for words. They reminded me of Reply characters and the way Song and Cheng Zi bicker was very similar to Shi Won and Yoon Jae's bickering in Reply 1997. Their parents are also portrayed as hard-working and supportive which I terribly liked. The romance was lacking but I wasn't missing out on that since their friendship made up for any lack of it.
REWATCH VALUE:
Surely, I'd love to watch this again a few months or year from now on. Maybe I'll see more sides to the characters which I might have missed the first time around. This drama is very re-watchable.
OVERALL:
I highly recommend this. It's not a fancy drama nor does it portray glam lives like Gossip Girl. However, it perfectly captures the innocence of teenage years and will leave you highly nostalgic. It's a bit slow - so if you don't like the characters then you won't enjoy it all. However, if you stick around - I promise it would be an enjoyable one. Every friend is unique and have strong personalities. I am up for a 2nd Season if they ever got around to making one.
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FLAWLESS. This should be hyped up
I just love this soooo much! One of my all time favorite dramas.If you liked Go Ahead or Le Coup de Foudre definitely watch this. It's shorter but the characters are really well developed.
I saw some people saying it didn't have much romance, but there IS enough to make you go all fluffly and happy, so don't worry.
I have no idea why it isn't more popular, I'm already telling everyone I know to watch this.
Do yourself a favor and watch this already, I was filled with joy watching this and I hope you will be to!
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Feeling nostalgic with laugh & cry because of this drama!
I never thought I can laugh and cry just because watching this high school students drama... It's been so long since I was in high school, but this drama is waking up my memory about those good old days to be spent with friends.. Those hectic yet fun life with exams, homeworks, cram-school, also school events. And the most important part is the parents dominant role in our school life.By watching this drama, you will learn the true meaning of family, friendship, and love... all in 1 in lovely way as being mentioned in the drama title. The story probably could be longer.. but it will lose its own beauty.. so I think 16 episodes is good enough to describe the lovely youth. Each episode has its own theme, and it's totally meaningful.
In the end of the story.. we will learn that love can be ended well or remain in friend zone too. However, their togetherness as childhood friends will remain strong no matter what.
I'm grateful to watch this drama. It's inspire me to respect more about the dream, also the role of parents and friends in life :)
It just a bit sad that not everyone can be together as couple... The one sided love story between Chen Zui to Jin Jiao is leaving us with a big question mark after all. It's an open ending.. so probably there still a chance for them to build their relationship in the future. As the audience, they let us imagine what will happen next in their relationship whether just a friend or become lover.
"From friend to love" story between Tan Song and Cheng Zi are definitely lovely and adorable. It reflects how youthful their life is. I'm glad that they are still together at the end no matter what. Lovely couple!
I'm gonna give my thumbs up for the acting skills of all characters in this drama. It's totally awesome and each character has successfully bring us to falling deep to the story and feel it more emotionally.. their existence really give us a meaningful message. The drama ost songs are also good and refreshing.
I love how this drama is successfuly bring us back to year 2007 with strong youth elements like Jay Chou's era, old TV, flip phones with ringtones and sms, MP4, handycam, bicycle, olympic, phone strap, key chains, and also diary. We can see all of these stuff in this drama, and I can relate how classic it is, yet so nostalgic.
Salute to the drama production team for giving us such a nice plot and settings too.
I spent 2 days to finish all episodes.. It's totally worth to be watched!
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If you love school, youth, slice of life dramas you will absolutely love this one!!!!
I started this drama because I had nothing else to watch and looking at the plot it was totally my type of drama. I didn't really have any expectations heading into this drama cause I had never heard of it before. But when I tell you this drama was absolutely AMAZING!! It didn't only focus on friendships or romance but also focused on other relationships such as families, or relations within all the families living in that society. It had a very youthful feel and managed to check all the boxes for a slice of life drama. It didn't have a big conflict, yet every episode had a different yet realistic issue that the group had to deal with. The romance is prominent during the first half of the show but still there's a spark between the leads that is obvious. This show is super super close to my heart and is one of the most underrated dramas out there and I think it needs way more recognition then it gets. Also a big shoutout to the entire cast for portraying their respective characters so so beautifully. The music doesn't play a huge part in the show but it is still amazing corresponds to each scene beautifully. I laughed, I cried, I fawned over the ml and fl and their cute moments. This show made me feel all the emotions and I love it so much and is forever my comfort show and I still rewatch it sometimes when I'm upset and want to laugh. If you're someone who likes slice of life dramas I highly recommend this show and I guarantee you'll love it!! So what are you waiting for, GO WATCH LOVELY US!!!Was this review helpful to you?
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Slice of life done well
This show is about growing up and slice of life done so well... c drama writers do this genre so well and this is just another exampleThe cast was great and the bond between the 5 was amazing
The story hits all the major points of growing up and doesnt extend them into draggy long winded story... like an afterschool special with a subject in dealing with death or loss of something special to parents and emotions ... simple.depictions of said subject then even simpler resolutions and move on to the next thing
The romance for the ML and FL is great. Wish the same could be said for the 2nd but not all in life works out. Which sucks but thats life
Just fun light watch. Watch it to feel good for the holidays
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a sweet, heart-warming drama
The main characters are so loveable and their friendship is so sweet and lovely (as the title of the drama would suggest). They support each other, bicker, laugh, and ultimately are there for each other through the rollercoaster of growing up, helping each other in subtle ways which will warm your heart and make you feel fuzzy inside. There is also a lot of antics and fun which ensues :)On top of the light-hearted fun, all the episodes conveyed beautiful messages about life, family, love and friendship - the romance between Tan Song and Huang Cheng Zi especially was adorable. The episodes which discussed parental love had me crying - as they touch on emotions which I think a lot of people will be able to relate to . This drama, in a few standout episodes, also didn't shy away from the reality of loneliness (that elderly people feel) and unrequited love, and didn't glamourize them. Some of the conversations and reflections the parents or children had about their feelings and relationships were so bittersweet and real and really solidified this drama's place in my heart.
Regardless of what age you are you can take something away from this drama, be it a lesson learnt about friendship, or a reflection on our own pasts and relationships with our friends and family.
Overall a wonderful drama filled with many moments that will make you smile. Don't miss out on this one!
I'm so glad I didn't as it's one of new new favourites.
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I REALLY REALLY LOVE THIS DRAMA
Best chinese drama in my opinion..why do I say the best...because I've never repeated watching a drama 5 times...story...characters...plot and music...all wrapped up neatly and beautifully...seeing this drama I can laugh.. .crying and amazed by the story...the chemistry between all the characters is very good...no excessive love story...no bad characters that can make you hate...watching this drama is like seeing our daily lives.. .the story is really true...not made up...simple but really touching...episode per episode is really good to enjoy it doesn't make you bored...the ridiculous incidents between the players really make me laugh...and that makes me the most falling in love is FL...the acting is really very natural and the face is very cute...it fits the character...for those who haven't watched it...you have to watch this...must...but there's one thing that's disappointing. ..why are the episodes so short...i can watch this drama up to 100 episodes...i really hope there is season 2 for this drama...i really love this drama...
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