He's Into Her (2021)

A typical setup with an atypical plot and characters....

I accidentally stumbled upon this drama and I'm very glad that I did. This is my first Filipino drama so I did not have much expectations from it. As many viewers seem to mention that this is a Filipino version of Boys over flowers (BoF). The first half of the first episode I also felt like that because of the setup. A poor girl gets into an elite school where 4 rich guys basically rule it and she offends the leader landing her in trouble and making her the target of all the bullies of the school.
But as the show went on I saw the major differences between the 2 shows. He's into her (HIH) establishes a very detailed family background, atleast for the main leads. The FL is the love child of a commoner and a rich heir. She doesn't end up at the aforementioned elite school through a scholarship but is enrolled by her father who finds her after years and takes her in. She doesn't go with him because she wants to know him or wants to live a comfortable life but to pay him back for helping with the medical bills of her grandma. The FL's major struggles involves countering the bullies and trying to fit in not only in school but also with her father's family.
The ML is established as a jerk at first which is later revealed to be a defense mechanism to counter his own family issues. He hurts others to take his mind off of the problems in his life like his comatose brother or ignorant mother. Both the leads are shown to be different at first but as the series progresses they find similarities in their lives which ultimately helps in their relationship and chemistry development.
As compared to BoF, HIH is a bit more realistic. The FLs family in BoF is poor just because, despite running a small business. In HIH the FL's grandma falls sick and the hospital bills pile up while the income declines resulting in their financial crisis. The ML in BoF stopped bullying the FL because he started liking her and went back to bullying her when she rejected him. In HIH the ML realized that he was wrong to bully people without knowing them or their circumstances and was helped by the FL in stopping bullying at their school. This part is the most significant development as it shows how HIH's ML is better compared to that of BoF for realizing, accepting and rectifying his mistakes. Instead of forcing the FL to be with him and stalking and obsessing over her like the ML from BoF, the ML of HIH slowly pursued the FL and took her on dates, helped and supported her and finally won her heart.
Now I know this may seem minor differences to some and some hardcore fans of BoF might argue saying how can a short web drama even compare to kdrama romcom classic let alone be better. But trust me and just watch this and you'll know that these minor differences is what makes this drama better in story, quality and performance. To use an analogy BoF is like a dish from a 5 star restaurant, expensive, flashy and tasteless whereas HIH is a dish from your favorite restaurant, hearty, tasty and soul satisfying. You gotta try it to experience it.

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Yeah i admit it, i fell in love with this teleserya.Although i am more into the old-school soap opera tropes i do appreaciate cheesiness when its done right.In this case the story line was done perfectly in just 10 episodes with the perfect cast to deliver it. Donny and Belle had the CHEMISTRY to make us feel kilig (romantic thrill) in their every scene together. I love how their characters went from enemies-to friends-to lovers. Donny`s character Dieb Enrile really grew on the viewers,he fell much early in love with Belle`s character Maxpein.God how much he courts,chases and loves her throughout this story,near the end he also tells her with tears in his eyes how much it hurts.His character reminds me of another badboy character from a filipino teleserya with the name Gino.Although Gino was more selfish and wicked in character from the start,he grows to become his female leads most ardent, relentless and humble lover. Maxpein herself wasn`t a bad heroine,i almost crushed on her myself since she is such a badass who stood up against Dieb with dignity when he bullied her...while also stealing his heart.

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