Thanks to the cracktastic Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, I realize that I no longer have CGI-aversion issues when it comes to dramas, woot! The unexpected result – unexpected to me, at least – is that I suddenly found that I have a whole new world of dramas to explore. As a drama fan who’s been feeling a little on the jaded side of late, this is good, good news indeed.
Lots of my drama friends loved this show when it first aired last year, but I’d missed that train because of this show’s CGI-heavy gaming scenes. I’d poked at this tentatively, but fled hastily at the CGI. Not this time, my friends. This time, I found myself actually rather enjoying the fantasy gaming scenes.
I know. What have you done to me, Peach Blossoms?
Prettyyy…
THE APPEAL
Right away, like, in just the first 2 episodes, I found that this show felt refreshing in a nice number of ways. Here’s the quick run-down.
1. A pretty awesome female lead
I felt like our female lead was pretty darn awesome. Wei Wei (Zheng Shuang) came across as independent, strong, smart, unafraid to speak up for herself and solve her own problems. Plus, as a bonus, she’s nice and pretty too.
Watching her, I felt like we need more girls like her, in dramaland and in real life.
[MINOR SPOILERS] She doesn’t need a guy to solve her computer problems; she simply buys the parts and fixes her own laptop. I also love that she’s not easily cowed, nor easily discouraged. Cao Guang (Bai Yu) smearing her reputation doesn’t even give her pause. She does what she can to set the record straight, but doesn’t let it get to her when he’s a jerk and refuses to believe her. Instead, she cheerily goes about living her life, and I LOVE that. [END SPOILERS]
2. A fun set-up
I liked the set-up, where our OTP knows each other in 2 different contexts. This makes for an interesting, almost “You’ve Got Mail” sort of set-up, which I feel inexplicably drawn to.
As a bonus, the rhythm of the narrative also feels different than the usual kdrama rom-com journey, which I find to be a welcome change. This drama hums at its own pace, and because the usual kdrama rom-com milestones don’t apply, this show feels fresher and less contrived, to me.
3. A handsome male lead
Yes, this is shallow, but I liked that Yang Yang is so very good-looking as our male lead. I found his look rather unusual, and thought it fit really well into the fantasy gaming world as well.
4. The online connection
I don’t game, but I hang around online enough to identify with what it feels like to have an online identity, online friends, & online rapport, and how that is separate from – but can bleed into – your real life. I liked that this was one of Show’s main themes, and found it easy to engage with.
CAVEATS
It’s important to keep in mind that this show has its flaws, some of which are easier to overlook than others. To help you get the most out of your watch experience, here’s a bunch of stuff to keep in mind.
1. The acting.. is mostly not great.
Once I got past the initial episodes, I came to the reluctant conclusion that both leads aren’t so great at the acting. I actually cringed at some of their scenes; sometimes, he looked like he was modeling instead of acting; sometimes, I found the breathy-cutesy rather awkward on her.
[MINOR SPOILER] On a slight tangent, Wei Wei being so in awe of Xiao Nai all the time took some getting used to, because I had her in my mind as a pretty cool chick who could hold her own in almost any circumstance. Once she started interacting with / dating Xiao Nai, though, the fact that she was consistently flummoxed by him kind of niggled at me. But I guess that’s easy to say when I’m not all giddy in love for the first time. [END SPOILER]
On another note, I just wanted to say that somewhere past the initial episodes, I suddenly became distracted by just how skinny Zheng Shuang is. To my eyes, her legs literally looked like they were too thin for her body. Once I saw that, I couldn’t unsee it, unfortunately, and that little detail continued to distract me through the rest of my watch. 😛
2. The humor might not work for you all the time
In general, the humor in this show worked better for me than most of the broad comedy that is commonly employed in kdramas. I found myself quite nicely amused a fair amount of the time.
Having said that, though, there were times where I felt like the humor was losing me, a little bit. In particular, the scenes featuring Xiao Nai’s three roomies, with their comic relief sort of vibe, wasn’t super amusing to me. Sometimes, it even felt rather stilted to me, and that was a bit of a downer.
3. There’s a lot of in-game time
There is a generous amount of time spent in-game, and at times, it felt a little pointless to me. Characters would spend time chatting with each other, and sometimes, all we get to see is them doing a lot of typing. Not super exciting stuff. Which is why after a while, all the in-game interaction started to wear thin on me. I felt like there was too much of that, and not quite enough of real-life interaction among our characters to balance it out.
In Show’s defense, it is true that a lot of the in-game interaction eventually forms a context and foundation for the character interactions in the real world.
4. Sometimes, it’s like PPL city
OMG, I don’t know if I’ve seen another drama with as much PPL as this one, you guys. SO much of one particular brand of orange juice (every. single. meal.), and so much Yakult, and so much Oppo too.
In addition, some of the PPL is super obvious, with actual lines dedicated to plugging the products’ virtues. Like the scene in Xiao Nai’s car, where one of the roomies even names the special technology that makes the car so stable. I found it quite distracting and just a bit much, overall.
5. Sometimes the romance is laced with creepy [MINOR SPOILERS]
I do like that Xiao Nai, for all of his detached coolness, is so into Wei Wei. But, it does feel borderline creepy, that he basically stalks her into becoming his girlfriend. I mean, he can’t see her online, and so he hacks into her computer to see what she’s doing? And this is portrayed as romantic? Uh. I hafta say, I found that a little bit disturbing.
STUFF I ENJOYED
Despite the stuff that wasn’t so great, I marathoned this one real quick, to the exclusion of pretty much everything else – and you guys know I’m generally not given to intensive marathons.
Here’s the stuff that kept me going, and that made this show a fun little watch, in spite of its shortcomings.
1. Cheeky Xiao Nai
In the earlier stretch of the show, I found Xiao Nai rather inscrutable, thanks in part to the writing, and thanks in part to Yang Yang’s rather stiff delivery. But, he still had my attention because he’s really quite lovely to look at, heh.
The good news for me was, as the OTP relationship grew, Xiao Nai got to show more and more of his cheeky side, and that upped his appeal in a Big Way. There’s a particular scene in episode 27 where he tosses a cheeky eyebrow wiggle at Wei Wei, then follows it with the sauciest grin, evar. OMG, that was the total highlight of the episode for me, seriously. Squee! <3
Here’s one more shot of Cheeky Xiao Nai, just because. 😉
2. All of the kisses
Unlike most other dramas I’ve seen, this one’s not at all stingy with the skinship and kisses. There are kisses sprinkled throughout Show’s mid-to-late episodes, and, Yang Yang demonstrates very clearly that he’s very capable in delivering the kisses with.. feelingg. <3 All in all, a very happy combination indeed. Ahem.
The only downside is, Wei Wei mostly looks like she’s just enduring the kisses, and that really sucks a lot of the fun out of the kisses. It would’ve been so much better, if she would’ve kissed Xiao Nai right back, like the awesome, strong, capable female lead I’d first pegged her to be.
Still, despite Zheng Shuang not being much help in this department, Yang Yang single-handedly made the kiss scenes quite spine-tingly and squee-worthy, and therefore another highlight of my watch.
3. All of the trust
Another thing that I found very refreshing indeed, is the extreme levels of trust among many of our main characters.
Yes, there are times when that trust is put to the test, but more often than not, instead of taking a side-step into a Big Misunderstanding that drags on for episode upon episode, Show puts the unshakable quality of our key relationships on display instead. I liked that a whole lot.
4. Stuff stays simple
Thanks to the solid amount of trust between our characters, in general, I found that conflicts and tensions got solved relatively quickly in this drama world. No angst lasted for very long, and trust and loyalty would ultimately triumph.
On a related note, no baddies were really all bad either. Pretty much every antagonist felt understandable, and therefore human. Some of them even got a bit of a redemption arc by the end.
This angst-lite, feel-good vibe reminds me somewhat of Something About 1%, and also, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. If you enjoyed either of those dramas, you might like this one too.
THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]
Unsurprisingly, all’s well that ends well.
The 2-year time-skip allows Wei Wei and her friends to graduate, gives Xiao Nai and his company time to flourish, and sets the stage for wedding-related stuff to percolate and come to a head. All fan-servicey fluffy good things, in my opinion.
It’s not groundbreaking stuff in any way, which is in perfect keeping with the rest of the show. And while I usually tend to roll my eyes a little bit at time skips, I couldn’t at all complain about seeing Xiao Nai working to win Wei Wei’s hand in marriage, from her misinformed, grumpy dad.
Plus, the finale is also peppered with more of those capably-delivered kisses – and I’m absolutely not complaining about that. <3
THE FINAL VERDICT:
Insistently sweet, simple, and light on angst. A nice little cotton-candy marathon.
FINAL GRADE: B+
TEASER:
MVs:
On the Cdrama psychopathy index scores only 2/10 for low grade stalker behavior. Not bad. Way better then Well Intended Love (10/10, perfect score!) or Begin Again (which could have been so charming, and was enjoyable in many respects, but FL this time earns 5/10 for the worst noble idiocy ever).
The main emotional focus of this was on portraying a kind of ideal male partner for (I assume) a female audience. This is where CDramas fall down again and again from my point of view. He is – of course – model handsome, and the smartest guy in school, and successful and rich and perfect in every way. And I get that it is supposed to be a fantasy, but there’s something just plain inhuman about him, right? As if it were a cardboard cut out of a man rather than the real thing. Some of the writing on this is just poor – they keep telling us again and again how wonderful the leads are rather than showing us. But there is also something important missing in terms of showing an actual relationship between actual people who like each other for specific individual reasons. It’s as if FL just checked the CV of every guy on campus, conducted some polling on who everyone else thinks is hot, then picked the best one and decided to fall in love with him because he looks good on paper. I can only think that the intended audience enjoys this – but I just don’t get it. How about writing some real people who meet each other, make some kind of specific connection, shared experiences, realizing that they fit really well… never mind.
While I’m perfectly happy to leave the melo out of my romcoms, I was a bit confused by the evil characters here. The script seemed to be building up to them doing some serious harm to the OTP, but then you realize this is just dragging on forever and there isn’t time. Then, they just never got their evil on and go away. Pointless. Even though I kind hate watching these sorts of characters sabotage to OTP from the half way mark to almost the end – if they do nothing, why have them?
I liked the idea of having a parallel story in the real world and the fantasy game, but feel like the writers didn’t quite know what to do with this. The fantasy game just lead into the early relationship then fizzled out. Could have been much better.
Still, I liked the movie more than the drama
1. Bei Wei Wei – Angelababy was more natural to me and she really bought me. I really really love her as Bei Wei Wei!. Even though I had an idea of the main character as such, because I read the manga and watched the drama before the movie. In the drama, I was disturbed by constantly emphasizing how beautiful Bei Wei Wei is, as well as the fact that in the end she was only an accessory for her prince.
2. Relationships: between girls it was much better in the movie, in drama definitely between boys. And in the drama there was more time for KO. But it’s probably related to the airtime difference.
3. OTP after all the film, I honestly felt more ties and fascination between the characters, and the elevator scene only added a dot over i 🙂
4. I cannot choose between Jing Boran and Yang Yang. I really like both of them, although … Jing Boran … I finds him somehow more attractive hmm and his voice om nom nom 🙂
Finally, if you have 1.5 hours of time, I recommend the movie. If you liked the drama, I think you will enjoy the movie too.
Dear fangirl, having begun a rather crazy addiction to kdrama, I finally watched this C drama after much hesitation. Your reviews as always are so much compatible with how I feel about most dramas, thank you so much for the time you take for this.
I truly loved Love 020. Especially liked how mature the male lead was. His character was so responsible a d mature from the very beginning and the four boys together show such a lovely camaraderie!
What other dramas show a mature and responsible male lead ? Would love to hear your opinion.
PS. Though I agree the male lead got very bossy and at the end he was too commanding. I felt Wei wei did not just succumb to it.
uggh. I have so many expectations for this show.. friends have been recommending this to me.. but I was disappointed.
I actually survived the first half of the series with so much in-game interactions going on.. because I was so curious on how they would interact once they got to know each other in real life..
but I was disappointed with the turn-out, as I could really not feel the chemistry between the two. In the beginning I was fine with it.. I was giving them the benefit of the doubt that maybe because its the beginning of their real life interactions, they would be awkward.. so I stick around for a bit more. But then in the episode where Xiao Nai suddenly kissed Weiwei in his office.. I just couldn’t feel the sparks..I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt again and thought maybe because it was their first kiss Weiwei would be reluctant to kiss back.. but I grew impatient, so I actually skimmed to the last episode just wondering how the chemistry between them would grow over the time of their relationship.. but then the chemistry was still so dry.. and I find their interactions kinda forced.. and also ya girl was still so reluctant to kiss back.. urgh..
I thought that Weiwei was just awkward because probably her character is that she’s sort of socially awkward to new people that is why she resorts to online gaming and interacts with people through it.. or so I thought… the actress was indeed awkward to watch.. I find her acting stiff.. and dry.
props to YangYang tho.. that guy knows how to kiss <3 haha I don't know why she wouldn't kiss back.. girl, it's an opportunity of a lifetime, why wouldn't you kiss back… *sighs*
unfortunately, even though I have been drawn to YangYang's charms.. I can't bear to watch another episode..
Aw, I feel your pain, daughti.. I found the way Weiwei was portrayed very awkward as well. I stayed mostly for Yang Yang, I have to admit! 😅 Boy isn’t a super strong actor, but like you said, he does know how to kiss! 😆😍 No need to push yourself to keep watching if you’re not enjoying it, I say.. there are definitely other better dramas out there, waiting for you to discover 😉
Ah, did you check out Put Your Head On My Shoulder? I thought it was cute and pleasant, and I definitely liked it more than the average C-drama I’ve sampled. 🙂
awwwee. thank you for the recommendation <3
I have seen Put Your Head on my Shoulder.. their acting skills were not really spot-on and the kissing scenes were no better.. but it was bearable and less cringey. The show successfuly did make me feel fuzzy inside.. and it was an easy breezy watch. I manage to binge-watch it in just two days (goodbye sleep and social life) 😂😂
Even though Love 020 was a failed attempt (amongst other failed Chinese drama conquests), I have not given up my hunt just yet.
Also, I have not given up on Yang Yang 😂😂.. I may have fallen hard for this guy. 😂😂 I just hope he has better projects coming up.. or be paired up with people he certainly has chemistry with, although, he has an upcoming drama with Zheng Shuang.. again. *sighs* I hope girl would up her game this time..
I switch back and forth through Kdramas and Cdramas just to widen my drama palette.. and also refresh my lenses as both has different feel and flavor..
anyways, thank you for reviews. i'll look up on your other recommended shows on other blogposts as well. <3
P.S. may I ask if you've seen Le Coup de Foudre? I thought maybe you didn't coz you don't have a blog entry for it.. but I would recommend it if you are in the mood for slice-of-life feels..
the premise maybe similar to most youth dramas.. but it has a different charm to it..
Ah, glad you managed to enjoy Put Your Head On My Shoulder reasonably well, even though it wasn’t as cracky as ALSB. As for Yang Yang, I’ve heard good things about The King’s Avatar, where he’s the main actor. There’s no romance in it, but it’s reportedly a good watch, for the e-sports and the team dynamics. I’ve got it on my list, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Might be worth looking at, since you’re sweet on Yang Yang? 😉
As for Le Coup de Foudre, I’ve watched about half of it, but have stalled. There’s something about the show that doesn’t quite work for me, but I haven’t given up on it just yet. I’ll go back to it soonish, and give it another try. Hopefully I will like it better this time around, since so many people enjoy the show! 😅
Yeah I’ve heard about the King’s Avatar, since some of my friends are into the comics too. But as soon as I’ve heard that it has no romance in it, I’m like naaah. But now that I knew Yang Yang stars in it.. maybe I’ll give this a try. Let’s see how far my love for Yang Yang will take me. 😂
Hope you don’t give up on Le Coup de Foudre. I guess with slow-burn romances and slice-of-life, it really depends on your mood. I guess for me that’s the case. Like for example, Be Melo, I kinda dropped it half way, not that it was bad, I was just not feeling it at the time. But other shows with similar feels, like Age of Youth, I finished the two seasons consecutively, with ease. But no pressure, if you don’t feel like watching it, you don’t need too just because many of us loved it. 😂 Soo many dramas, soo little time, I guess we will just have to watch what we feel like watching at the moment.
PS. Do you have any recommendations for dramas with similar feels to Suspicious Partner or Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, where the OTP bickers incessantly and has great chemistry? Maybe I’m done with this “perfect guy meets awkward girl” feels and want a little bit of crazy fighting 😂.
That’s true.. we should really just watch what works for us at any given point in time, regardless of everyone else’s opinions and experiences! 🙂 In terms of bickering romance, have you tried Let’s Eat 2 and Fight My Way? Go Back Couple is another one that I really liked a lot, and they do fight quite a lot, in the beginning. I hope at least one these works for you! 🙂
Hi Fangirl.
I watched this one till episode 17. I swear I wanted to finish this one… Yeah but the acting and the chemistry between the two leads did not work for me since the beginning. I totally agree that Yang Yang’s character did questionable things to make Wei Wei his gf…. Like hacking her computer! Dude what was that? Just because you are good looking and the main lead everything done by you can be taken as romantic and a product of your genius brain! I got through the initial episodes thinking that these two main leads are shy and there is this transition between online and real world which will take place… But just nothing was working for me. I didn’t like Yang Yang’s acting TBH, he is just a porcelain statue yeah just capable to delivering good kisses here and there… Last but not the least… Sorry if its body shaming but once I saw Wei Wei’s legs, I couldn’t unsee them for rest of the show. What beauty standards are these? Sorry had to drop this one!
No need to be sorry, Bharati! We all have different tolerances for different dramas. I do think if I’d been in a different sort of mood, that I might not have been able to swallow the male lead’s stalkery behavior. Also, this was earlier in my foray into Chinese dramas, so I was more accepting of various tropes (like stalkery behavior being served up as romantic) that I probably wouldn’t, now. And yes, Wei Wei’s legs were just so thin! I was quite distracted as well. But I enjoyed Show well enough to finish it, so there’s that. 😆
I watched the series just last night and most of the comments/reviews i would have to agree. It was a very light story and I like it that way. And I noticed that as well – can’t see an episode without that juice brand and yakult.
I thought it was only me who noticed it — I am also drawn to Wei wei’s legs everytime she’s on those tennis skirt of some sort. Wtf! My arms are as big as those legs or even bigger. And it cringed me a lot when she can’t even position her lips seductively. I can just only imagine if it could have been me. And yes Yang yang’s smiles! One of the cutest (Number 1 is shawn dou xiao) He also has the same aura with Xing Zhao Lin.
Lol. Thanks for joining me in the Wei Wei Is Too Skinny camp, Glenda! 😆 I found it extremely distracting, and since they say the camera adds 5 pounds, I can only imagine how thin she is in real life. 😱
Also, I must agree that Shawn Dou is very lovely indeed. 😉
Loved it, but the sexism got me in the end:
I’ve now watched a number of these Asian series about couples who fall in love in college. Each one is totally compelling, despite all being almost the same story — cute girl falls for aloof man who spurns the attention of almost every screaming, drooling woman on campus. At least this one didn’t hurt her over and over, as some of these other series portray. He truly loves her.
So yes, I binge-watched this and enjoyed the pretty faces and twists and turns. Everything about it was excellent, the adorable actors, the graphics, the timing, the way the story line was tied up. But… I want to add something else, the cultural context. For a modern American woman, the prudishness, having to remain virgin until marriage, have the parents’ approval, the absolute reliance on public and family opinion, and taking an endless amount of time to get to the first kiss, is awkward to watch.
In this series, the sexism was particularly uncomfortable. You have this brilliant young woman, clearly one of the smartest in all of her classes, with mastery in computer gaming, and she proves her intelligence, diligence, ingenuity, and competence, over and over. Yet in the end, she is taking orders from her fiancé (he doesn’t say please); he becomes more and more controlling, despite being adorable about it. He assumes their relationship and marriage and parenthood without asking what she wants. There is no sign whatsoever that she has any sexual interest or passion; she never kisses him back when he kisses her so beautifully. She lies there like a corpse or just gives little shy smiles, and he is the only one who has to control himself. And why? In the end, it seems like he decides to make love to her before their marriage anyway, after he has dressed her in her traditional marriage garb. Yet, despite becoming less shy and more confident in their relationship and able to be quite funny about it, she is unchanged by this experience. He is the one who has to hold back his passion; not her. When she asks whether she (who has been an intern in his all-male company) will now get paid to work for him after her graduation, he says no. She doesn’t have to get paid since she has him. She will not earn her own money; she will be the “head of the household,” and she will have two children. In the beginning of the series she is a great warrioress in the computer game that takes a central role, but at the end, when she finally duels the others again, for some strange reason, she takes his role, one that she is not familiar with, instead of her own, so she has to be coached by him. This gradual loss of decision-making power for the woman, and her happy compliance, since she is so in love, took away from the obvious pleasure of the series. Another note about this is that business is all run by men, the big decisions are all made by men. (I did see this when I was in Japan; large teams of men with maybe one or two women at business lunches.) There is also the terrible embarrassment the guys feels about not appearing masculine enough and in charge enough. Even in the relationship that seems the most moving toward homosexuality, it is never mentioned and Mr. Girly, is mortified by his nickname. Maybe this is where Chinese culture is at currently; most of the cultural mores I surmise about it is from these series, which I understand are geared to teenagers, but if so, gender equality has a long way to go.
Hi there Elaine, you make a lot of great points! I have to confess, when I first started watching dramas (Korean, then with the addition of Japanese and then Chinese), I was much more able to look past all of the behaviors and plot points that you’ve listed as problematic. I was too swept up in the romance of the story to notice or care too much, if I’m being honest. That, and the fact that I am Chinese, and therefore was exposed to a lot of this type of thinking growing up, even though I live outside of China. Having watched dramas for 11 years now, and with gender equality becoming more and more top-of-mind in mainstream reporting and media, I do notice that these things irk me a lot more now than they did before. For example, I loved kdrama Secret Garden when it aired in 2012, but now can’t bear to watch it because I find the male lead too much of a chauvinist jerk.
Long story short, the dramas still have quite a way to go, in terms of portraying relationships that are more balanced and equal. And yet, I still watch them – though I cull a lot more of ’em now, and would drop a drama on account of offensive behavior by a male (or female) lead. 😉
I agree with all of this. One of the most ridiculous parts was that she was the top computer student in her class and during her internship when they are running against the clock to get the demo ready, she is solving food and blanket issues? Ugh! Why wasn’t she debugging, testing, or doing something that showed her abilities. I originally thought he fell for her because of her computing brains – as in he had met his match kind of thing- but slowly realized he didn’t see her as an equal brain at all. Ditto the points made about dead fish kisses and passion being something only he felt and therefore had to exercise self control, as opposed to both of them having to restrain themselves from acting on their mutual desires – as it should be!
I agree with every point you made, first of all, I liked female lead (despite actress acting) she is pretty and most importantly a nice person (unlike the girls we see in real life) and I really liked the game setting but disliked the overused low-quality CGI and like you said I found main lead stalking bit creepy reminded me of Bollywood and I liked female leads best friend why people call her ugly she is cute really I love your reviews thank you
Thanks for enjoying the review, Rajesh! 🙂 Also, hi5 that we feel similarly about this show! 🙂 That stalking bit really wasn’t very romantic, was it? 😝
XDDDD I laugh so hard reading you review for this part: “I suddenly became distracted by just how skinny Zheng Shuang is….. and that little detail continued to distract me through the rest of my watch”. That also happend to me 😛
I did enjoy all the game time, because I used to play with my husband, and that gave me the feels.
I was also kinda upset with Wei Wei in all the kissing escenes… but I read that in the novel we can understand why she is like that. (dont know if is true 😛 )
THANK YOU. I thought no one else noticed how crazy skinny Zheng Shuang was! I was sooo distracted every time I caught sight of her skinny arms and legs.. she looked like she was in danger of breaking in half, I think! 😝
If there’s a good reason for Wei Wei to be like that in the kiss scenes, they should’ve included it in the drama! I mean, now all the drama fans just think that Zheng Shuang REALLY didn’t want to kiss Yang Yang! 🤣
Hello, I this is my first comment in your blog after sometimes visiting your blog so first let me say that I love the way you put your review. This drama is special because this is my first cdrama in after almost 10 years staying away from it since just like you, I can’t stand their overused CGI and over lavish costume in their period drama while in their modern drama the stupid misunderstanding and stupid heroine were so overbearing. Not to mention the number of episodes, one of the reason why I’m more to jdrama than kdrama. I just marathoned it few days ago because I’m curious on why my best friend love it so much (even watch the movie version and read the novel to understand) plus I just need something “light” to watch.
With that said, the first eps sold me because of Wei Wei. She is something! I like her! As someone engineering background, sometimes it’s frustated me when some fellow classmate look so helpless and have to get a man to fix something that can be easily solve with a mere screwdriver. And as a former gamer (though I’m not into online game as I prefer a game that has an ending), the gaming part is the one that I enjoy the most. I like that the CGI look like CGI as it is in the game world.
I finished 30 eps in around 12 hours.
But it doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy it. I just think that it will be good as a 16 eps drama. I watch 1st eps fully, started to skip the opening and ending song on 2nd eps and the skip button went crazy after that. I love the gaming part so I never skip whenever they are on it and unlike you and I like Xiao Nai’s roommates so never skip their scene as well. But not with Wei Wei’s roommates. It also has too much fanservice and many unnecessary scene with no substance for the plot. I mean, what the needs of full flashback for something that just happen few minutes ago while it can be done with just a voice over for the important sentences? Do those slow motion really necessary? And man, I though that kdrama is already crazy enough with their Subway and Samsung, but this drama bring PPL galore to the new level!
I like that nobody is not completely bad and I also like Wei Wei-Xiao Nai relationship in term that it has no stupid misunderstanding and noble idiocy, but I’m rather disappointed with Wei Wei’s development; from a strong-independent heroine, she then turn into flower girl. Okay, may be because Xiao Nai is so perfect so she’s thrown to his shadow (they show how she stand up for herself during meet up, the Zhen boy and later Cao Gua). But I don’t understand why Xiao Nai become so attached to her. The good part of the movie version is that it’s clear that Xiao Nai needs Wei Wei and Wei Wei is still Wei Wei after they’re in relationship, but as the drama Xiao Nai is so godly perfect, I can’t see why Wei Wei is significant for him. A trophy? Since he’s so perfect so he needs a girl who can match his status (looks, brain)? I will not comment on novel version this is the first time I find a drama adaptation that has better plot than the original source.
Somehow, if they stick to the story, this will be a good 16 eps kdrama. Again, stick to the story, don’t turn second leads to crazy one and add unnecessary angst as the conflicts are good enough as it is.
All in all, despite my best friend’s love for Xiao Nai (and Yang Yang offcourse), if she really meet someone like him in real life, no matter how good looking he is, I will ask her to run away from him since he’s a creepy-possessive-stalker who can lead to unhealthty relationship and might harm her in the long run.
I’m sorry if this turn into a long ranting comment.
Hi there yukari! Thanks for sharing your perspectives as a girl from an engineering background (woot!) who also happens to enjoy gaming (double woot!) – I can totally see why various elements of this drama world would appeal to you specifically 😀
I completely agree with you that Wei Wei’s character development took a nosedive after her relationship with Xiao Nai was established. She wasn’t even half as awesome or kickass as she had first appeared to be, I thought. Also, I agree that this one could have benefited from having fewer episodes. ALSO – YES, Xiao Nai in real life would totally feel like an obsessive stalker! I actually found that pretty disturbing, that his stalking-hacking behavior was passed off as romantic. No thank you, I’ll pass – even if he is a cutie! 😆
I didn’t quite get the ending. So we’re they actually legally married when they were going to make Love or not because she didn’t even know how to wear the dress? And he said he couldn’t wait any longer? I mean she had the wedding certificate but if they weren’t married yet couldn’t he had waited until they were. I’m not sure if it was the translation that was said wrong or what.
I’m sorry to say that it’s been a while since I watched the show, so those details are rather hazy to me. If memory serves, the wedding dress scene occurs before they were officially married.
Hi kfangurl, I absolutely love and appreciate your blog and recommendations. You have become my go-to for what to watch, as i find myself almost always agreeing with your take and perception on things. Just wanted to say thanks for all you do here!
Aw thanks, Rhoro, for the lovely encouragement! 🙂 I’m glad you enjoy the blog! I haven’t posted in a while, but I hope to get back into the writing zone soonish. Your comment definitely gives me a nice boost of motivation! <3
I really liked this post! I will say that the second half of the drama was definitely more intriguing for me than the first half. Yang Yang was the main reason I kept watching the show. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the post, zebrapg 🙂 I second your main reason for watching the show – Yang Yang’s handsome face was a big highlight for me too! 😉
I finished it in 2 days!!! The funny thing is that I absolutely had the same opinion as you! I actually wanted to back out watching it just because of the animation from the first few episodes. I wasn’t a fan of that due to bad editing in the past dramas I’ve watched. But I pushed through it and finished the whole drama due to binge watching. I actually agree with your opinions especially the one about the main actress being too skinny and being made aware of it all throughout the drama after realization. Though it would be too much of it too say that I hated it since we don’t really know the personal life of the actress. I’ve thought about it over and over and the plot of this drama is actually pretty flat. There wasn’t any real tension in it nor was there any main buildup that I’m used to from watching Korean dramas this whole time — it portrays life as it is I guess but it was quite of boring. I agree with you in saying that the actors weren’t really that good and I honestly think that I just got sucked in because of Yang Yang ( It was my first time seeing him and
omg he is crazily handsome!!!!!!!!!!). I do agree that Wei Wei was actually really gorgeous though. But without Yang Yang, I would’ve not finished this at all sadly. It is true though that he was too stiff as an actor for my type but I guess I saw past that and only to his face (I know I suck as a person for only seeing his looks but he was just so freaking sweet to my eyes!) I don’t know if it was the acting or the plot or something but in the latter part of the drama I kind of wished they would break up just to give that sense of reality, I guess. Don’t get me wrong though I wished for a breakup followed by a make up scenario because who wouldn’t love them? It would give some spice to their romance, if that actually makes sense. Their overall romance was actually too perfect for my taste. I loved their cheesy-ness but for the latter part of the episodes I found myself actually cringing when they were too sweet. :((
This was actually my first Chinese drama and though the plot was kind of just *okay*, It’s because of this drama that I have opened up myself to the whole reality of Asian dramas being awesome (lol!). I only have watched Korean dramas this whole time. Who knew other asian dramas could be good too? I would even consider watching the dramas with CGI through its entirety just because of this. It was truly an eye-opener.
P.S. To whoever the writer of this review is, I think we have the same taste in watching dramas. This is actually the first review I have read from you and because of both your opinions and mine match I would love to read your other reviews as well! Will surely bookmark your page and visit time and time again. 🙂
Hey there bingewatchergirl, great to meet you! It does look like we have similar tastes in dramas! If you’d like to check out other Chinese dramas, you could consider the fantasy drama that cured me of my CGI aversion 😉 Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms is a lot more cracky than Love O2O too. I loved it and if you’re a fan of romance, I think there’s a good chance you’ll like it too. 🙂 My review of Peach Blossoms is here, if you’d like to check it out! 🙂
Meh Love o2o is very mediocre, if not for eye candy it wouldn’t be as popular.
If you want substance and a drama that’s deep, compelling, very well acted and does make sense, watch Nirvana in Fire. Google the name, it was the most critically acclaimed, most watched, most successful c-drama of 2016, it is 9.1/10 on imdb.
Seriously if you have time watch and write a review of Nirvana in Fire, I love ten miles of peach blossoms as well but I’d rate NiF above TMoPB.
just wanted to say that she already watched Nirvana in Fire and has a review of it , i agree nirvana in fire is probably one of the best series i have watched, but it is a bit political heavy, i think Ten miles of peach blossom and love020 are much more lighter and a nice watch, was love 020 the best romance i have ever watched, probably not but i liked the lightness and fluffiness of it cause that’s what i wanted when i watched it, it was mediocre in sense of writing perhaps (the novel is better written cause it’s more compact) but regardless, i still loved it cause it suited my needs that moment
Yeah, it was really mediocre and the acting was terrible. it was still really addicting for some reason and it was a decent summer drama for what it’s worth.
i’m anime lovers so i love this drama, so fun to watch and refreshing xD
yang yang so handsome, i found my self smiling like idiot when i saw his handsome scene lol, esp when he’s riding bicycle and walk and sitting next to wei wei in basketball tribun xD so handsome xD
even my friend who’s kdrama freak, love this show very much and felt in love with yang yang. ❤
i agree with u, wei wei is too skinny, i got distracted too. She just looks skin and bones. but she’s pretty, i love her chemistry with yang yang^^
I’m so happy about your review of Love O2O!!!! I’ve been anticipating this review since I finished watching Love O2O (last September of last year) and I found myself grinning and totally agreeing (even the negative ones) to almost everything you said! We’re all very shallow indeed, Yang Yang is so gorgeous and that’s enough to continue our journey to this drama. Zheng Shuang is distracting with her skinny figure (but surely very pretty) and I hated her for feeling very stiff with almost all the kisses, though their last kiss was very well played by both of them.
With acting, I hafta say Love O2O movie version is much better (Jing Bao is surely good looking, too and Angelababy is gaaaah so lovely) but a cute and light experience? The drama works better.
SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS REVIEW!!! With the light drama experience, you put up a light drama review as well. Nicely done, kfangirl. <3
It’s been a while since I saw it, but I remember liking the first half better than the second. I liked the whole gaming aspect as that is what really gave it a different flavor. I thought him falling for her happened way too fast even if he thought she was awesome in the game, it seemed to simple and wish that had been addressed more. Your review was spot on really. Where I watched there were so many comments about the actress being so thin that it was impossible not to notice. And about those kisses….I’ve seen enough behind the scene videos of dramas to know that the kisses are directed a certain way so the man and woman looking shocked and lips barely touching seems old fashioned so now we have the guy all in on the kiss, but the girl looking ridiculous. It makes viewers of these dramas frustrated with the actress who probably generally doesn’t have a say. I do realize back in the day if an actress had a girl next door thing going on, they would adjust for that but certainly we’re beyond that now…. or I guess I wish we were. The C-dramas have really kicked it up a notch this last year, and I think a lot of it is they are doing so many dramas based on books now. They can still ruin the book of course, but at least there are some different concepts coming into play.
Yup agree with your comments mostly. Yang Yang is very nice to look at and Zheng Shuang not so much simply to skinny. I mean put on some weight girl. I learned a thing or two about online gaming from this how, how it can be pretty cool to develop games. My first ever C-drama and was quite into it.
Hey, Kfangurl! Long time no see 🙂
I read the novel before watching snippets of the drama and the movie, and I have to say quite a bit was lost in the transition from print to screen. My preference of the screen versions was the movie, though. It’s probably just my bias, but I much preferred Jing Boran’s Xiao Nai to Yang Yang’s. The movie was kept even simpler than the drama (unsurprisingly; only so much can be fitted into 2 hours) but I thought it was ok. Maybe I should go back and give the drama another try . . . 🙂
Long time, shl!! 😀 I recently got around to watching the movie version, and probably because I haven’t read the novel, I found the movie trajectory too simplified. I do agree that both leads are better actors though, and did better jobs bringing the characters to life. I think the movie appeals more to fans who are already familiar with the source material, because standing alone, the story progression feels too simplified and there isn’t enough believable development or dramatic tension. Having watched the drama first, though, I could fill in some of the blanks that the movie glossed over. Looks like it’s pros and cons for both the movie and the drama, since the drama fleshes stuff out more, but is hampered by the less than stellar acting of the leads. So.. if acting matters more to you, then you might find the drama disappointing 😛
oh my, after NiF and TMOP, Love 020? have you fallen through the cdrama rabbit hole? damn i’m excited!!! welcome to the broadening of your horizons!!!! (apparently there are lots of sweets, just have not found them in real life) i watched the series after i read the book, and i quite liked how the series adapted it (they did add some extra storylines), i also loved the whole KO and Hao Mei storyline (in the book they get together, in the series it’s hinted), what i also loved was the low on angst type of feel, hardly any annoying second leads, plus yes it’s pure cotton candy fluff which i needed when i watched it, also the kisses ! if only the female lead would kiss back, sigh, so much potential lost, i wish Yang Yang would have progressed from being ‘ethereal’ to more his cheeky self which we saw later on even though he was a bit of stalker in the beginning, but all in all, it is for those days where you are sick misunderstandings between the OTP, and just want something simple and sweet:)
Tee hee! I do think I’ve fallen through the C-drama rabbit hole! It’s a refreshing change of landscape, after having spent almost all my drama time on kdramas. So many people have given me recommendations on C-dramas that I should check out, I don’t even know where to start! 😆
Ah, I did feel like Show was hinting at a loveline between KO & Hao Mei as well, but didn’t feel confident of being completely clear about it. Which actually made some of the interactions between them come off a little bit odd, I thought. Like KO’s intense stares in Hao Mei’s direction all the time, and the online stalking. It sounds like the book handled it better.
I KNOW, if only Wei Wei had kissed Xiao Nai back! Argh, that was a downer indeed. I found her wide-eyed surprised & stiff reaction plausible for the initial kisses, but by the time we got deeper into the show, the stiff reaction didn’t feel organic anymore. Surely you’d respond with more feeling, if you’re kissing the love of your life? 😑
But yes, overall, this show was a really nice angst-lite watch – a nice change from overly dramatic storylines in the rest of dramaland 😉
hey!
i am sorry, i completely fell of the radar but just wanted to say that my drama ban has been lifted 😀 ten miles of peach blossom here i come!! also i watched the move Love 020 and i liked angelababy better in her role as wei wei, but not the movie itself so much 🙂 i feel the drama had so much more time to really flesh out the story lines that the movie fell a bit short for me ,
also with all the recommendations, take it one at at time 🙂 i feel like i fell behind these past few months but honestly, i don’t care am just taking it one drama at a time 😀
talk to you soon!
RE: Enduring Lovely Kissses –> oh how much better those kisses would have been if Wei Wei had j u s t kised him back! I completely agree with you!
RE: Acting –> in as much as Yang Yang look good, his acting looked sooooo stiff. He might as well have been a handsome-smirking cardboard life-size picture the whole show!
YES. She should’ve totally kissed him back! How can you not kiss him back, when he’s the love of your life – and later on in the show, your new husband?? I didn’t get that. Hahaha! Yes, there were times Yang Yang could’ve passed for a cardboard cutout of himself, but all the cheeky grins & wiggly brows in the later part of the show totally redeemed him, for me! 😍
I read the novel first and then decided to watch the movie version instead. I didn’t think I’d be able to sit through 30 epsodes of utter cotton-candy fluff. 😀 Besides I like Jing Boran a lot more than Yang Yang. He’s a better actor as well.
Well, if you read the novel, you probably already had the best available experience of this story, Timescout! 😆 I’ve heard varying opinions about the drama vs the movie.. some people say the drama is a closer adaptation of the book. But, I’m intrigued by various people saying that they prefer the movie version, and will probably check it out to see for myself. I have no prior experience with Jing Boran (or with Yang Yang, for that matter), but my initial impression is that Yang Yang is better-looking, HAHA. Yes, I am so shallow! 😂
Being longer, the drama is bound to be closer to the novel, I suppose. I liked the movie version well enough.
Well, Boran like Zhang Ryo Yun and I’d say Mark too are not your typical “pretty boys”. Althouhg they photograph quite nicely, to relly appreaciate their charms it’s better to see them in ‘action’. ☺ I think that their ability to act is part of the appeal.
Yes, you’re right. I have my very shallow fangirl tendencies, but I do appreciate an actor who is skilled at his craft, so I will be sure to approach these guys with an open mind! I should try watching the movie again – I very shallowly bailed after a while, because I couldn’t (yet) see the Jing Boran appeal. I’m contrite now; I’ll give it another go! 😀
My boyfriend and I watched the TV series together first, and we both love it. Then we started watching the TV version, and we tried but we just couldn’t bare to finish….every character is worse than the TV version. I’m curious if it’s only us or others will feel the same. Please tell me your feeling after you watch the movie version of LOVE 020 🙂
I personally preferred the TV version as well. The movie version felt a little rushed, with more story to cram into less screen time. I did prefer the female lead in the movie version though; I found her a more natural actress 🙂
Sorry typo. After finishing the TV series we started to watch the movie version but couldn’t stand it.
I disagree that the movie version is better than the TV series version…Boran Jing didn’t present the character ”Xiao Nai” as good as Yang Yang. I’ve read the book as well, and I think Boran Jing is actually like another person. He doesn’t make me feel obsessed, and I’m not convinced of his charm. I think Yang Yang is not only a better presentation of Xiao Nai in the book, but also a charmer version.
FYI, I never claimed the movie version is better. I didn’t even watch the drama adaptation, so can’t really compare.
Your judgement about “Boran Jing is a better actor than Yang Yang” makes me mad. They two have both played Xiao Nai, and they’ve both played Qiling Zhang in THE LOST BOMB. Most audience feedback is that Yang Yang played better in these two roles. Acutally these two roles are the reason that Yang Yang starts to be popular in China. Before these two TV series he only had hundreds of fans. As for Boran Jing….his movie MOSTER HUNT is good, but if you want to compare the two roles which Yang Yang played as well…..sorry I think most of the comments support Yang Yang.
Well, that is my subjective view on these actors based on the projects I’ve seen them in. We just have to agree to disagree on this. I have no beef with you or anyone else thinking otherwise, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.