China is the expert in producing youth dramas like “When I Fly Towards You”. Therefore, it’s really hard to have another youth drama that stands out. “When I Fly Towards You” is rated really high at 9.0 and receives glowing reviews from many. But is it really worth such a high rating? To me, not quite. It’s a good drama, but it doesn’t set itself apart from many of its predecessors.

Having said that, I have a very enjoyable time watching this. I do think the strength of this drama and what makes it different from others, is the characterization of our main leads. Su Zai Zia (FL) is bubbly and cute. She’s not naive and will fight back against injustices and those who are unkind to her. Zhang Miao Yi plays a very lovable Su Zai Zai. It’s so easy to cross the line of being cute and bubbly, into annoyingly cute and fake. Luckily, I find Su Zai Zai very easy to root for and very adorable. I enjoy all her pursuit of Zhang Lu Rang without being stalkerish.

On the other hand, Zhang Lu Rang (ML) is adorably shy. Who can resist his dimples? I’m glad to see he’s not the typical arrogant, cold genius. He’s actually just quiet and introverted, and is never mean or unkind to Su Zai Zai. In fact, he always responds to Zai Zai neverending questions and comments, though with short phrases. The contrasting personalities and family backgrounds make their romance sweet and romantic. Because of Zai Zai’s loyal and unconditional love for Zhang Lu Rang, he’s able to heal and believe in himself. In the last episode, when he is on stage answering questions from the panel, the answer/confession he made sums up their love story perfectly. Zhang Lu Rang is another Mr. Green Flag.

The friendship of the 5 friends is sweet and cute as well. However, I’ve also seen friendships like this in many other youth dramas. Each friend is given their own spotlight to tell their own (short) story. “When I Fly Towards You” is a very easy watch. It doesn't really go into any serious issues that high school students tackle such as bullying, extreme family pressure or poverty. If that’s what you are looking for, this is the perfect drama. The secondary romance is also nothing special. It’s a story that we’ve seen many times before. However, the characters are fun and very likable.

Another minor criticism I have is the pacing of the drama. In 24 episodes, we follow the characters from when they’re 16 to being adults and getting married. That’s a span of 10 years in 24 episodes and the majority of the time was spent in high school. I feel that the drama is trying to cover too much and would benefit from stopping somewhere after college. Or if they want to adequately tell 10 years worth of stories, the time spent in high school should be shortened. Otherwise, it feels like the drama is rushing through the college and adult days.

There are a few characters that need to cause some trouble, but not to the extent of them being overly annoying. There’s not enough time for the drama to dwell on these characters anyway. In fact, it’s so lovely to see a caring and lovely grandmother, supportive parents, good teachers who really care and classmates that are generally sweet.

I recommend this drama for those who are looking for something sweet and cute, without angst or misunderstanding. Everyone is really cute and fun. But if you have seen many youth dramas before, this drama might not impress you. It’ll make you smile though. 🙂



Other Random Observations:
1. Zhang Lei (FL’s father) - He is in SOOOOO many youth dramas either as a parent or a teacher. I’ve seen him in “With You”, “My Huckleberry Friends”, “Skate into Love”, “The Best of You in My Mind’, “Lovely Us”, and “Forever Love”.
2. Every time I see a lovely grandparent in a C-drama, I worry if anything bad is going to happen to them. I always wish C-dramas don’t kill them off. You never know!
3. So many snacks in this drama. PPL for the win!
4. As much as I love the leads, I have enough of hearing FL calling ML “Rang Rang” a billion times.


Completed: 9/6/2023 - Review #350