Completed
bloombloomz
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 19, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

my fav novel became my fav drama ♡

Words are not enough to express how much I love this drama.
I am very excited every time I get new news about the making of this drama until it is broadcast and until it ends.

Before the filming process for this drama, I had finished reading the original novel, so I know how the author carefully arranges an innocent puppy love story to turn it into an adult love story.

I am very satisfied with the drama's cast, all of them are very suitable, especially Zhao Lusi as Sang Zi, Chen Zheyuan as Duan Jiaxu, and Victor Ma as Sangyan.

I'm glad that this drama is following the original novel, with a perfect story, a very beautiful ost, and a cast that fits the characters. I would say Hidden Love is one of my favorite dramas of all time!♡

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Completed
Whimsy
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 17, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Like A Warm, Comforting Hug. Worth The Hype!

This Chinese drama shall go down as a modern day classic.

It has a relatively simple story, but the execution is marvellous. The casting is on point and all the characters were brought to life so incredibly well. Every single song in the soundtrack is lovely and fitting. The plot and premise of this drama is fairly straight-forward but perhaps that is what makes it so brilliant. It is realistic, relatable, and immersive. Slowly but steadily, Hidden Love will blossom in your heart as you watch the ML and FL's relationship grow, transform, and mature.

There are many similar productions that I would've rated a solid 8/10, but Hidden Love just feels too special. There is not an ounce of artificiality or overstatement. I laughed, I cried, I felt their heartbreaks, and I felt their ecstatic moments too. This drama also contained hands down THE cutest drunk FL scene I have ever witnessed, plus many other scenes that were so adorable, funny, and heartwarming that I rewound multiple times.

This drama will remind you what it feels like to love, and to be loved.

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Completed
Maryland Girl
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 21, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

This drama is so freaking amazing. The high rating is accurate.

I was not prepared for how much I was going to love this drama. The way the story is told is so beautiful. I love the characters, the acting, the music, the scenery. It was funny, sweet, heart-warming. I had to pause some scenes to process how good they were and how good the acting was and to grab some tissues. I absolutely love this couple. I'm gonna have to watch it again, because I'm not ready to move on from these characters. The main couple, the brother, his college friends, San Zhi's roommates. I loved them all. Absolutely one of my top favorite dramas now. Highly highly highly recommend.

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Completed
Miss Ivy
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 8, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Always a must watch!

DANG, IT! I loved this drama! I couldn't wait for every 5 episodes to be out on Netflix so I just binged watched it on Dramacool and I'm glad I did. This drama was sweet all the way. Not even any breakup scene. YAH!

The couples are soooooooooooo cute together! I love that we showed him starting to have feelings for her and wanting to woo her. I loved every episode of it. Made me laugh, cry, and just happy all the way!

The acting was amazing all the way! And honestly, 5 years isn't bad at all. Trust me. I looooved both ML and FL. They worked perfectly and adorably together.

Honestly, I loved everything about this whole drama. It was so adorable to see the two lead together. You can tell there was so much chemistry happening, even down to all the kissing scenes!

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Completed
CaliDreamer
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 7, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Classic Rom-com

This cute love story has 3 arcs as to when SZ met DJX: middle school, HS and College. The pre-teen yrs to teenage was shown from ep 1-7 where she displays puppy love/crush. Ep 7-25 is the adult arc. They met again when SZ is already an adult and attended university in DJX hometown. This drama depicts one-sided hidden love on SZ side. Just to be clear they got together when she was of legal age.

How is this different from other rom-com or coming of age dramas:
- focus briefly on school but instead the challenges of young love
-pure and innocent love that flourished to real love
- matured teenager, she basically knows what she is fighting for but at the same time she is not aggressive.

Pros:
ahhh-mazing chemistry of the leads, sibbling and family relationships
ML background did not lead him to go astray but responsible and loving
Great acting, directing and novel adaptations

Cons:
As much as I love ZLS, the first 7 episodes where she is acting as a teenager still attached to her stuff toys with her childish vocals was quite overdone. Not sure if it’s per the novel or director’s call. But her character devt was amazing.

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Completed
Idyllic Daisy
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 21, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5

When your high school love turn real

Made me giggly like a high school girl thinking about her first crush. But also bawling like a girl that just breaking up with her first love.

The main couple both are sweet human being and the biggest green flags ever. Their love is so pure, and I love that they really respect and rely to each other in a very healthy manner.

FL's family is a model family with believable moral compass. I really adore this family relationship with each other.

Setting, costume, OST, and direction is so well thought. And the last but definitely not the least, the acting! All cast working so well and looks very natural. I never watch these casts work before, but I think Lu Si and Zhe Yuan are romance monster. They are so good. Really good. Whoever has first idea to put them together should get an award😂

I'm gonna give shout out to Victor Ma. He is the most believable brother in drama land. He reminds me with my own brothers and several other stories about my friends brother. And he looks like he deserves his own story, I bet he will be very charming. But the rumored spinoff will use different actor, it's okay, but I still want to give shout out to him, haha.

I'm such a Kdrama girl before. But I should say well made Cdrama are superior. I really appreciate that they not afraid of 'cliché' ending and forcing plot twist. Well made cliché is good. I mean, so many people living similar life, yet so different.

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Completed
[email protected]
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 7, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10

surprisingly good

Having watched #HiddenLove brought back a lot of youthful memories. I remember having a huge crush on my best friend’s older brother in secret and the giggly feelings .
The story of Hidden Love is so heartwarming and lighthearted at the same time. I love the goodness shown in this drama that when you are well loved you pay it forward too. Moreover I just love the family dynamics as well as how SZ developed into a mature young lady. Both Zhao Lusi and Chen Shueyan delivered their portrayal of their respective role effectively plus Victor Ma wow what a pleasant surprise he did great too!
THE LOVE STORY! What can I say ‘chef’s kiss’ . I wish everybody can have this type of loving and healthy relationship .
I highly recommend this drama and it’s a drama for all ages👌🏻👌🏻

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Completed
May007
24 people found this review helpful
Jul 6, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

This drama is a Happy Hormone Booster everyone needed.

I am a vivid Chinese novel reader. I have read and loved this novel since 2021.
Last yr, I heard they will make this novel drama adaptation. I was so happy because it happened to be ZLS , whose acting is excellent for me, will act as FL.
But I had some worries at that time too bcoz the storyline is so straightforward and simple with no plot twist whatsoever that I am afraid many will find it boring.

Turn out I was wrong totally.
Because the way the script go, the way the actors act and even OST are so perfect that you forget what you are doing, where you are or what time is it.
I am so surprised by what this drama makes me feel. It is even better than the novel.
I am completely addicted to it now and will rewatch for a thousand time whenever I feel so down in my life.

I really hope people will give this drama a chance too. Because you know what, in reality our life are so harsh and stressful. We need to watch perfect ML and perfect FL in love with each other and living in a perfect fairy world surrounded by their loved one happily forever.
🥹❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Completed
Tain
10 people found this review helpful
Jul 15, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Perfectly describes first love

I started this drama twice. The first time I didnt understand why we were spending time with a middle shcool character, and the second time- I could not stop watching. As someone who has never experienced a first love, or even a crush, the writing and acting done in the show managed to portray all the feelings that come along with it in a way that even i ended up feeling them. It felt as if i was expriencing it along with the FL, the innocence and heartaches of a first love. The time the show spent on that part of the story ended up being my favorite part.
But besides that- i believe most of the cast, especially the leads did a really good job; their facial expressions and body language were on point. Specifically in cdramas i think its the most important part of the acting since the actors get dubbed over.
One thing that did bother me though is that sometimes plot points were dealt with too fast- i wont spoil it, but lets just say that there were never any real consequences to anything, and even if there were they were solved very very fast.
I think that was a real waste, since it could've been used to develop the characters and let the audience have a better understanding of them.

In conclusion- if you're looking for a sweet, healing and worth while drama, this is the one for you!

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Completed
shibachibi
10 people found this review helpful
Jul 20, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

If you're looking for something cute, light, fluffy and with almost zero conflicts, this is for you.

My review might feel a little harsh for some people, but understand that that is only so because I'm a real fan of the original material, so I had really high expectations for this adaptation! Some of which were met, and others, unfortunately, were not, so each point not met hurt more than usual for me.

Regardless, this is still a really good drama in general. So, if you're here reading this while still not being sure whether you should give this a chance or not, I would like to say: GO FOR IT.

My first encounter with this story was through the manhua adaptation. Chapters came out really slowly (and still do), but I was immediately hooked because, one, the art was absolutely gorgeous and, two, the story was really fluffy and cute. So when the manhua had only the first few chapters, I found out there was a novel and there was already a completed english translation. From that moment on, my husband only saw me again after I had finished binge reading it all! I'm absolutely crazy about this novel.

Having this been said, I think the drama adaptation failed in quite a few points. Before I get straight to them, firstly I would like to state that I don't mean to spread hate in anyway, but still, I gotta express my opinion.

So, the first thing that the drama adaptation did, that, for me, wasn't really well done, was when it decided to change the age gap between the characters by making drama Sang Zhi older then she actually is during some scenes. It's like they kept novel's SZ age mentality (of a 12 year old) and put them on a 17 year old drama SZ. Because of this, I found Zhao Luo Si's acting in the first part of the novel way too childish and unnatural for a supposed 17 year old girl. Had I not been familiar with the novel, I would probably think that teenage SZ was mentally challenged.

Also, some really important little nuances and scenes from the novel, sadly, didn't make it into the drama version. Two that immediately come to mind while I'm writting this is how they changed the scene and reason why SZ decides to stop the pursuit phase and accept DJX. This scene change really affected one of the most important moments for me in the novel, which is the moment DJX shows his real self for the first time to SZ and opens up about his family situation, while being serious and vulnerable. Though the drama did include this last scene, it didn't really have the same emotional impact the novel had.

What's more, for this drama to be perfect to me, I would change Sang Yan's casting. Though I like Victor Ma, his version of Sang Yan didn't really catch the actual character's essence...

On the other hand, I loved the rest of the casting, in special, Zhao Luo Si, who made me cry with her in both airport scenes, she's really a great actress. Her feelings of first and pure love really reached and moved me. She was able to convey adult SZ's spoiled and cute nature really well.

The OST was good and solid. I expect to put at least 3 songs in my playlist.

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Completed
irnchua
10 people found this review helpful
Jul 19, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Best drama ever

The ML and FL visual are perfect.
Their acting are perfect to move my heart eventhough the story line are simple.
I watched twice lol, so sweet drama and no tension.
Lusi acting always go high another level for each drama.
The best drama so far I watched.
What I don't like is, the drama too short!!


The ML and FL visual are perfect.
Their acting are perfect to move my heart eventhough the story line are simple.
I watched twice lol, so sweet drama and no tension at all.
Lusi acting always go high another level for each drama. Her acting are so natural and her small gestures and aurura can drive you into the story lines feel.
I never know who is Chen Zheyuan till I watch this drama, omg his eyes are so beautiful and can give a different emotions by just staring. He really don't need to do anything lol.
The best drama so far I watched.
What I don't like is, the drama is too short!

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Completed
Park kum jin
10 people found this review helpful
Jul 19, 2023
25 of 25 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10
I'm a sucker for a good romance story, and Hidden Love did not disappoint. The story of Sang Zhi and Duan Jia Xu's forbidden love was heartwarming, sweet, and relatable. I loved watching their relationship grow and evolve over the course of the drama, and I felt like I was right there with them every step of the way.

One of the things I liked most about Hidden Love was the way it dealt with the topic of love. The drama didn't shy away from the challenges of being in love with someone who is not your "type," but it also showed the beauty and power of love. I thought the drama did a great job of portraying the different stages of love, from the initial attraction to the deep, abiding love that can last a lifetime.

Another thing I liked about Hidden Love was the way it explored the theme of friendship. The two leads, Sang Zhi and Duan Jia Xu, are best friends, and their friendship is a major part of the drama. I thought the drama did a great job of showing how friendship can be just as important as love, and how it can help us through tough times.

Overall, I really enjoyed Hidden Love. It's a heartwarming, sweet drama with great characters and a beautiful story. I would definitely recommend it to fans of the BL genre or anyone who loves a good romance story.

Here are some specific things I liked about the show:

* The chemistry between the two leads was undeniable. I felt like I was watching two real people fall in love.
* The story was heartwarming and sweet, but it also dealt with some serious issues. I thought the drama did a great job of balancing the two.
* The characters were relatable and well-developed. I felt like I could understand their motivations and why they made the choices they did.

Here are some things I didn't like as much about the show:

* The pacing was a bit slow at times. I felt the drama could have been more concise without losing any important plot points.
* There were a few plot holes that I didn't quite understand. However, these were minor issues and they didn't detract from my enjoyment of the show.

Overall, I enjoyed Hidden Love and recommend it to fans of the BL genre or anyone who loves a good romance story. It's a heartwarming, sweet drama with great characters and a beautiful story.

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Hidden Love (2023) poster

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  • Score: 9.0 (scored by 49,876 users)
  • Ranked: #55
  • Popularity: #92
  • Watchers: 88,282

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