THE BEST C-DRAMA I EVER WATCHED
I hadn't watched Chinese Dramas for so long (binge-watched S. Korean ones) but when I came across this drama (and its ratings), I decided to make a comeback to C-Dramas. I must say that that's the best decision I ever made till now because "Hidden Love" totally changed my perspective of C-Dramas (previously, I thought they were good but cringe). This drama genuinely captivated me from start to finish. However, as much as I adored it, there were a couple of elements because of which I gave it a 9.5 and not a perfect 10. But I'll write about that in the end of my review. Let me first tell you what actually made this drama so so so good!So, what truly made this drama shine was the exceptional acting. The main lead actors Chen Zheyuan & Zhao Lusi took their characters to a whole new level of depth and authenticity. It was as if they breathed life into the screen, making each moment truly memorable. The ML's (Duan Jiaxu's) eye expressions were to die for! The FL's acting was phenomenal too. The supporting characters also did a great job & that's why I gave the acting part of this drama a 10/10.
One of the aspects that made this drama stand out was its ability to create an immersive and heartwarming atmosphere. It felt like a warm embrace to me. This is where the drama truly excelled, portraying the delicate intricacies of relationships, friendships & emotions. I loved the bond between FL (Sang Zhi) & her brother Sang Yan.
Now, let's come to the couple of areas where the drama fell just shy of perfection (in my opinion). Firstly, the supporting characters (Sang Yan, Wang Ruolan & Jiang Ming) didn't receive as much screen time as I would have liked. While the main leads shone brightly, I wanted to delve deeper into the lives, thoughts, and emotions of the supporting cast. Providing them some more screentime could have added an extra layer of richness to the drama.
The second point that I found kind of strange was the sudden change of the ML's feelings for the FL. The ML admitted his feelings for the FL out of nowhere & it felt so abrupt that I couldn't help but notice it. While the chemistry between them was incredible & undeniable, I wished to witness the different stages of his emotional transformation more vividly – from initial denial and hesitation to eventual acceptance and determination. A more gradual progression would have made his character's growth of feelings even more compelling.
*Edit : Another thing which I was concerned about while watching this drama was that they chose such a young girl for playing the role of 14 years old Sang Zhi. Since there is a 5 years age gap between ML & FL, they should've chosen a girl who actually looked 14 instead of 8 so that viewers won't feel disturbed. Just remembered this point & wanted to add it but otherwise it's alright. Kindly continue reading the rest of my review below.
In conclusion, despite these minor setbacks, this drama remains a beautiful and emotionally resonant experience & it's far by the best C-Drama I watched. It enveloped me in a world of genuine warmth and heartfelt moments. The exceptional acting and the portrayal of intricate human relationships make it a must-watch. While it might not have been a flawless 10/10 for me, it certainly left a lasting impression on me ❤️.
(P.S. : I'm IN LOVE with the ost "Forever Star"!! ✨)
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
This is what you called a TOP TIER SERIES
This is the classic romance series yet the execution was just so fkcing good! Everything was perfect.Lusi and Zheyuan put their blood,sweat and tears for this drama likeee?? They're chemistry is servingg.
Now for the plot, i think people would easily misunderstood it if they don't watch the show especially with the ml meeting fl when she was a kid, however it was done perfectly and i feel like people who misunderstood it either watch the show with eyes close or just saw people hating on it and decided to join them. (Also there was even a scene in the show where they explained that if he ml likes the fl since she was a kid then he have a fcking problem).
The music was soooo fkng good likee, it was the first time i ever put a song from a series in my spotify list.
I'on even wanna talk about the acting cause one look at that series and you would knoww that they are doing it great. Also i love the micro details.
The rewatch value is definitely high for me because why not?? Everything is perfect, the way both the main lead and support lead act, the chemistry, the little details, the execution and pacing of the story, and last but not the least the music.
SO IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A SERIES WITH MINIMAL ANGST OR NOT EVEN EXISTING THEN THIS SERIES IS PERFECT FOR YOU. HOWEVER IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A ROMANCE WITH ANGST OR ACTION THEN THIS SERIES TARGET AUDIENCE ISNT YOU.
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Use of aesthetics to cover a lacking story
Honestly, I was not very keen to watch this drama but given the ratings & hype I decided to give it a try. Visually the drama is very pleasing. I liked the first half where it told a story of a young girl having one sided crush on an elder guy who happens to be her brother's best friend. It reminded me of my childhood when I had a similar type of crush. There were scenes which was so relatable such as when she found his name spelling like the excitement was so real! I suddenly recalled those moments when I was 19-20 y.o and my entire day used to be blooming just because I found my crush's info- his full name or fb profile. So yeah it felt so so like a normal crush story.The second half however was meh and i ff/skipped a lot. There were two reasons for that:
A. The storyline was bland. There was nothing going on plot wise. The leads just met in different clothes & different ambience with flashbacks which was shown like 15 mins ago. Their conversations were like that of a constipated person. The entire line of side characters were made just to make the relationship arc shine which felt redundant. They wasted resources on actors which had no purpose and could have been done by one actor alone. The scope was so limited.
B. The infantilizing of the FL was way worse compared to other dramas. ML attended her PTM, buy pads for her, changed her shoes, cooks and clean for her, picks her from office basically treat her like a 5 yr old. FL parents controlled her too much, yeah one can say this is common in Asian families but that makes you a kid and not a person suitable for romance drama. This portrayal of women is not new in dramaland and has been a constant hit amongst audience so I won't waste my energy on saying like please give us a semi-independent FL or least someone with half a dime of brain, so i'll let it go.
My recommendation- go for a mature plot , there are plenty ones out there. This is not worth it no matter how good looking the cast is and how aesthetically good the production.
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Two Steps From Heaven
10 mensen vonden deze beoordeling nuttig
Absolute Perfection 10++ stars
I could have sworn I'd left a review already. Anyway, this is the sweetest, most romantic C drama I've ever watched and it's one that I'll rewatch often.XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
A well-done romance drama with age gap
Personally, I am not fond of these types of plot where there's a big age gap between the leads. However, I decided to give this one a shot because I've heard good things about this drama, and also the actors are some of my favorite chinese actors. And I'm glad I gave this one a go because the story was really written carefully and still preserves that sweet innocence of love.I love Zhao Lu Si and Chen Zhe Yuan's acting and chemistry. They are just so good and so natural in bringing their characters to life. No wonder their works in the industry are so popular because they are just that good at acting. I just have one tiny tiny issue with the casting though, and it's the child actress for the female lead. I think she's too young for a 14-year old. If they decided to cast someone as young as her, they should've also casted another actor to play the younger version of the male lead. Other than that, the rest of the casts are perfect.
The portrayal of the family of the female lead is so lovely. They are so good with gentle parenting. I think the parents should be set as a standard for any parents, especially in an asian household. The brother-sister dynamic is also hilarious. I love watching their scenes. They always give me a good laugh. Also, it's too bad we didn't get to see the brother having a love life haha that would have been the cherry on top.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with this drama and also sad when it ended. I've given this a 9.5/10 just for the tiny issue with the casting as I've previously mentioned. But this is definitely a must-watch drama this year 2023!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
What to expect from c dramas lol?
First of all I don’t watch Cdrama , cause it’s always silly kiddos , but about hidden love, everyone was taking about it , so I wanted to give it a try but what the heck?? I think the people who are planning to watch it based on it’s rating please don’t waste your time and ruin your mood , the people who are giving rating are 90% Chinese and all kids , it’s a drama for 13,14 years old kids literally, even when I was 14 I didn’t even watch this kinda silly things but its an another Chinese drama with 00 story , female leads acting is 00 ,the male leads acting was good but what’s the use?? The total drama is 00 ??♀️Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Innocent, Heartwarming, and Definitely A Hopeless Romantics Dream
I loved everything about this series! It's honestly such a feel good one, that'll leave you smiling and giddy with butterflies until the end.The chemistry between the leads is on fire. The story was perfect (in my opinion) as nothing was rushed and the transitions are seamless. The development of both characters individually and as one was also something I loved watching- their journey was sincerely heartwarming and heart fluttering. It's also big relief that there wasn't any real villains and angsty scenes- enjoyment was to the max! Plus, the bromance and sibling relationship in this is top notch and is honestly every little sisters dream. The circle friends of both male and female lead are also all amazing and very supportive. Honestly, this is such a sweet show that I'll probably never tire or re-watching.
Definitely a favorite of mine now!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
I don't even like cdramas SO WHY WAS THIS SO DAMN GOOD
listen I would be the most happiest woman on earth if someone like duan jiaxu was mine. THE DUDE IS SO FRICKIN FICTIONAL CAUSE NO MAN LIKE HIM EXISTS. I absolutely love how when he realized he liked her he didn't go into no stupid stage of denial like "oh she is my best friends sister I shouldn't have any feelings for her" blah blah! THE MAN FELL AND THEN KEPT FALLING HARDER. i bloody love green flag men.And regarding the female lead? I found her absolutely adorable when she was drunk and crying over her crush. like pls stop making me wanna squeeze your face through the phone.
what do I do now this show is over?
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Best Coming age Drama .... !!
Why 25 eps ended so fast lolIf you need Drama that explode your Brain with a lot plot twist this is not for you. This is just simple love story with a lot fluff but executed very well.
Worth to watch every episode. Even though I finished watching it, I rewatched it again and again for consecutive days now. And the OST just too Good i still hearing OST on Spotify until now.
Also, you can see the transition of Sang Zhi from being a simple school girl to college girl with lots of maturity in mind. Like, the confrontation of her and to the lady who constantly harassed Jiaxu for the death of her father. Sang Zhi handled that confrontation so well that she managed to stay calm the whole confrontation part even if the lady bombarding her with a number of negative comments about Jiaxu.
Love all Relationship on this drama from Her Family, Her Friend, Her Obstacle and after all No Toxic Character. Only 1 Character that make DJX difficult but still reasonable.
This is the only drama with Propose ending but make me cry and Also sad because already ended.
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
absolutely adorable and heartwarming
I just finished watching this and what can i say, i understand the hype. I remember seeing this cdrama on mdl while it was still airing and wondered why in the world does it have such high ratings. well it makes sense why now that I've watched it.i started it whilst it was still airing, and finished just now and well im obsessed. the story was absolutely adorable and so heartwarming as i mentioned in the title.
i absolutely adore how the ML showed so much vulnerability in the last episodes and we got to see his struggles. i think the actor really did an amazing job portraying the character. i just felt so weak when he would cry and be all vulnerable with Sang Zhi.
Talking about Sang Zhi, she was the sweetest and most adorably naive girl I've ever seen in cdramas. she was just everything and i loved how she adored Jiaxu until the last moment, always supporting him no matter what. I feel that this drama wanted to highlight that men can also be vulnerable and have some sensitive moments and that women are supposed to also comfort them. Zhao Lusi was amazing and i feel this drama wouldn't be the same without her.
The reason i didnt give this a 10/10 was because i love me some melodrama and some heart aches which this drama didn't give me any at all. it was adorable, sweet and didn't have any unnecessary bad moments even if i still wanted to see them argue. arguments are important in relationships nonetheless.
and also because it only focused on the MLs which honestly i absolutely loved that. but in some dramas the SMLs are so lovely and in some they are unnecessary. its always 50/50 but i cannot go on and say that i didnt like the fact that the drama mainly focused on the MLs as we got to see a lot of growth.
overall i loved this and would definitely recommend!! plus made me cry like a baby in the end, so cute !!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Take a shot everytime FL says she's a grown up
First, this drama suffered with too many episodes. If you're going to make a drama with no side stories, second and third leads to create conflict so the main couple can grow stronger, etc. Then you have to cut the episodes. It becomes extremely boring to watch half of a drama of nothing but mindless fluff. This would have been better with 14-16 episodes like most K-dramas. 25 was too much. You Are My Glory also suffered from this. Too much fluff and not real story telling.Anyway, this drama is about a 14 year old crushing on her older brother's roommate. Nothing original really. We've all been there. The thing I didn't like about this whole drama was that it was FL personality trait at some point.
If you also hate the naive childish female to mature woman trope, you'll really hate it here because she never got to the mature part. Everyone said as soon as she got to university, she would mature, but it never happened. ZLS really put the baby uwu talking on thick in this drama. If you are around real life teenagers, you know they do not act like this.
Then there is the repeated phrase "I'm not a kid anymore." or "I'm an adult now." I don't know if she was trying to convince ML or herself. But for a supposed adult, she didn't understand simple stuff like him having a real grown up job and that having to come first instead of a date.
At one point, something breaks in the game. Not just any game. It's the most popular game in China in this drama. Anyway, something goes wrong and he has to stay at the office and work on it because you know, that's his job. Instead of understanding this like an adult, she pouts and gets all sad and questions if he likes her. Not only that, her roommates also jump on that train instead of saying "You know, he's a grown man with a job and actual responsibilities. Calm down and have a snack."
I also didn't like miss "I'm an adult" playing games after he confessed. Young women of the world, do not try this in real life. It backfires every single time. You don't need to test men of their love like a soap opera.
The most realistic thing in the drama was the parent's concern and brother's reaction to finding out they were together. Even that was solved quickly.
All in all, it's just another teen love story with a male lead written by a woman for women. Turn off your mind to watch this if you're older than 20.
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
