A Love So Beautiful (2017)

I have put off watching this drama for the longest time, mostly because of how cold Hu Yi Tian's character comes across. I caved because of how shuai Hu Yi Tian is + I wanted something that was light and easy to watch. Overall, it was entertaining and I was able to finish the drama in two days.

Likes:
- Even though I felt that Jiang Chen had zero emotion and was mostly stoic throughout the series, Chen Xiao Xi was really able to be the exact opposite, making the chemistry and overall partnering of the two really work.
- I thought it was quite comical overall and could really resonate with many of their high school antics. Reminded me a lot of the movie Our Times, which I absolutely adored!

Dislikes:
- Time jump that was not really explored enough? I just felt like there wasn't enough substance
- The triangle that was kind of stupid and almost nonexistent because it was so obvious from day one that Cheng Xiao Xi really liked Jiang Chen only (?) but I guess that's the point of the love triangle? I just felt that there was zero chemistry between her and Wu Bo Song!

WATCH BECAUSE HU YI TIAN HAHA (even though tbh his character is sometimes a dumbass MAN who is just stupid and thinks dumbly)

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A series to remember

This was actually the first Cdrama I ever watched and believe me when I say I was obsessed. I absolutely loved Jiang Chen although he was mostly quite throughout the series, his actions spoke louder.

Chen Xiao was an incredible character, the way she was played and protrayed gives me goosebumps everytime. The naiveness and how short she was compared to Jiang Chen was a factor I could not deny was appealing.

Shen Yue brought out the character so well that I almost forgot she was actually acting. The chemistry between them was on point and the OST is addicting. If I tell you I don't have it memorized I would be lying. The second male lead was amazing and the writers really took a dive into his life which made us also sympathize with him even though he was dumped. This drama can never be overhyped and I have watched it up to three times now, currently watching it for the fourth. It's a must watch!

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A realistic portray of life

I've into kdramas for a decade but I never gave any other country's dramas a chance. 'A Love So Beautiful' is the first cdrama I watch and I've gotta say I was pleasantly surprised with the drama as a whole. I think the production was carefully done and the story was properly written and developed, though I have major complaints about stuff here and there. Still, I think the characters were all very relatable and acted according to their age in all the different stages of their lives. I think the story was very realistic and that's probably my favorite thing about this drama.

Be aware, this review will contain very specific plot points and spoilers that would definitely change your perception of the show if you haven't watched it and don't like spoilers. I don't recommend to read it if you haven't watched the drama.

Chen Xiao Xin is a girl heavily crushed on a guy who wouldn't turn his head back to check on her for years. She was brave for making moves on him even though he was blatantly not interested, she was persistent and had a clear goal in her life: become Jiang Chen's something. However, she also had a very poor image of herself and terrible self-esteem and dignity for obvious reasons, which I tolerated in the first episodes because it wasn't that extreme. But after a while it became tiresome and I found myself disliking her multiple times. Still, I liked a lot that she was the one to break up later and she gave herself some place in his life and even made him wait (although only a little bit) until she made up her mind. The writers redeemed the character with that, or so they tried, but I accept it and think she was a pretty good character overall.

Jiang Chen is a cold guy who doesn't care about anything or anyone; he's the smartest guy in school and focuses only on his studies. Until he meets a girl that chases him around and eventually makes him get used to her, as he finds himself caring for her and waiting for her. At first I thought he was just the jerkish type of cold male lead but who would soon change because of the FL and treat her right. Even if I was proven right later on, I think they carried the 'cold guy who never expresses his feelings' narrative for way longer that I would've liked.

I liked their relationship when they dated between 2009-2012, but so many things stressed me out: the fact that they never properly kissed, did not sleep with each other, JC never told CXX she liked her even (during those 3 years), and those things that are definitely unrealistical for a relationship lasting that long. Their relationship was realistic in other matters, like being too busy and not having time for each other, longing for the other, trivial misunderstandings to major ones that changed their lives.

Despite this, I think they made up well for what they put CXX for 20 something eps by making JC the absolute sweetest and clingest boyfriend with the softest gaze and deepest voice. As I watched the last 4 eps I live tweeted my reaction and found myself just yelling at JC's tiny bits of attention. When he realized she was laying down on his office and he went there, slept next to her and then woke up because she'd leave, and back-hugged her in the purest way and asked her to come back soon. God! Or when they were walking holding hands and she said her hand was sweaty and he switched places so he could still hold her hand while walking together. God! OR when they were at the bench before making up and he holds her hand and puts his head on his hands holding hers and says he's sorry. God!

Even if I think his character was dull and nothing compared to the SL, I rooted for him too and think JC was really into her. It annoys me, though, that he only told her he loves her directly once (the confession was absolutely cute and heartwarming) and twice while talking to Bo Song, but he didn't even know he was on a call. But I guess drama directors just really love the cold, no feelings guy.

Now, moving to the best character of the show, Wu Bo Song. A boy with only one induced thing on his mind: swimming. Until he meets a girl that makes him think of her all day long. What they did to WBS is horrible and I feel so sorry for him. The fact that he wrote once that he loves CXX (confession 1), then openly confessed before graduation that he was in love with her and that she'd do anything for her (confession 2), and finally, they even made him propose (confession 3) and say the sweetest things in both 2nd and 3rd confessions. It hurt me so much to see him tell CXX that he was joking when he first confessed, later on admitted to not be joking and that he actually loved her but he had decided to give up on her. Then years later he confesses to love her once again, proposes to her and even tells her he knows what her answer would be but he still had to try. Hello? Did you have to hurt me so much like this, writer-nims? When he said he didn't plan to do it so soon and that he wanted to give her more time but "you know I get anxious when I see a certain someone." Was that necessary? Please, answer! Was that necessary? Holy God, it hurt me so much. Whenever he said that he would do anything "his boss" wanted, he bought her all the stuff she ever mentioned she needed. When JC asked if the ground where they were standing was hers and WBS appeared and said that if she wanted he would buy for her. Please! Why do they need to do that! They just made my poor boy suffer so much for nothing.

On top of that, when he was knowingly rejected and called Lu Yang and started drinking with him, simply showed him the ring and LY immediately knew what was going on. Then JC came and writers even made WBS literally beg him to "let him" have CXX? WBS said "give me CXX back" and JC replied "she's always been mine." I never wanted to punch a character so much. But I was so much more hurt because of WBS begging him and later finding out he was actually on a call with CXX... because even if he was hurting and even if he loved her to death, he still knew she wouldn't be completely happy with him even if she ever accepted him and wanted the best for her and got out all those words from JC... I'm just baffled at the amazing character he was and how he was paid dust. Literal dust. I can't wait to see Gao Zhi Ting on a ML role in a romance drama to finally see him get the girl and be the happy boy he deserves to be.

Lin Jing Xiao was the baddest and kindest girl ever and I loved every aspect of her personality during school and college days. Since the very beginning I knew she and Lu Yang would end up together since it was the obvious thing to happen, although I didn't think they would have such a lovely story. I used to think LY was just the loser-y friend of the group but he was so much more than that. I loved the beginning of their relationship and how honest they were with each other, the fact that their love was so pure and they lasted so long having their cute dynamics. I teared up a bit when they were saying their vows and how purely in love they were with each other, complementing the other nicely. It was the best couple of the drama obviously and one of the best second couples ever. It made me want to see more of both actors.

Overall, I agree on the common idea that this drama was good in like 75% because of the friendship, 10% on the plot and 10% Wu Bo Song alone and 5% on the main couple. They were dull for like 20 eps until JC finally decided he needed to TALK to get things like, you know, an adult would do. At least he did open up and he became sweeter and kind and most importantly, not behind the scenes but actually showing it to her. It bothered me so much that he never told her he loved her once in 22 eps. Yes, love can be also demonstrated in acts and he definitely showed her his love and I will give him that because, as a viewer, I know he loved her dearly from school days. But it wouldn't have hurt him to say it every once in a whilecwo that she wouldn't be so hurt. The first time he said it to her (out of 2 total times that are in the same scene), he said "then why do you always forget that I love you with all my heart." Please, you never said so before? She's not a witch to know what you're thinking. Also, I just remembered when she told him she was tired of trying to figure him out and his thoughts, that she was not curious to know about what he was thinking anymore. And then he started TALKING. That's how you resolve adult problems.

Anyway, despite my criticism and the fact that I'm terribly dissatisfied with what they did to Wu Bo Song, I still loved this drama very much and think they portrayed all the stages of life in an amazingly realistic way (despite certain fiction instances, of course). Their struggles and concerns were always according to their ages, their feelings and how they reacted to them was lovely, as they wanted to be their best selves no matter how young or old they were. Their friendship was very pure and I loved all their trips together, they really cared for each other as friends and it made my heart warm. I must say I had never watched a drama that went from school life, through college and until post-college adult life and do it so well. It's really such an espectacular drama, I would recommend it always.

I'm excited to see how the Korean version is going to develop the introduction to adult life and if they will correct some wrongs on the Chinese ver. And especially, I'm expecting the SL not to suffer as much as Bo Song wrongfully did.

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Funny drama

Story - 8/10
The story is very straightforward. High school drama life and a love triangle of course.

Acting/Cast -8/10
The casts could have made more effort when acting. Some of the moments are cringe but the cringe parts are what makes this drama funny.

Music -10/10
Cute

Rewatch Value -5.5/10
It's not worth it to look back at the cringe moments.
Watch it again if you wanna feel like the high school life and laugh a lot

Overall - 8/10
There is nothing amazing about this drama except the casts which are Hu Yi Tian and Shen Yue. The drama gave them a boost in popularity in the acting industry.

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A very by the books drama that drops the ball on the few things it does differently

I've been out of the drama game for some time, and when I saw this on Netflix I decided to give it a try given how accessible it was. I did some reading and saw raving reviews to boot, so I went in with some high expectations. A Love So Beautiful has a very simple, cute premise of a young girl (Xiaoxi) being in love with her neighbour (Jiang Cheng) and trying everything she can think of to get him to like her back. They're neighbours, they go to school together, their families are friends. Everything sounds great, except Jiang Chen doesn't reciprocate Xiaoxi's feelings, and does a bad job of showing anything at all. Cute hijinks ensue and I'm all for that.

The series follows them through elementary school and there's a crew of supporting characters who really save the show. They're great friends (Jingxiao is just so good), and the chemistry is believable. The characters together are the best part of the show. The worst part of the show is when it's busy checking off its list of drama tropes and not doing anything remarkable with them. It all feels very tepid, and eventually the cute hijinks between Xiaoxi and Jiang Chen start to get frustrating, with Jiang Chen's stoicness going from amusingly cute to almost sociopathic in nature with how he almost seems to enjoy leading on the poor girl. The times where he shows to actually care (or even show personality when he's not just playing off of his more charismatic friends) are few and far between.

Eventually, the show starts doing some timeskips. Note the plural. This is where A Love so Beautiful starts to drop the ball on one of its more interesting aspects. The show spent so much time developing the characters and their friendships in their school days, but the episode count after the timeskip simply isn't enough for the transition into their adult lives to be handled properly. It's a shame, because what could have been a very gratifying payoff ended up feeling rushed at best and awkward at worst.

Still, the show was a fun watch! The friends are cute and I do admit that a little part of me loves to hate on a drama that pulls out all the usual tricks that we're used to, especially after I hadn't watched a drama in such a long time. So while the show was certainly entertaining, it's hard for me to say that it's good.

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Your Heart feels warm and cozy

It has been a long time, since I watched a beautiful, innocent and cute love unfolding on my screen, without any action sequences or fantasy. I tend to say I love a story that is more on the action side, that keeps me in my chair and my eyes glued on the screen.
And a Love so Beautiful did just that.
It had everything that made it a beautiful and enjoyable series. Loveable Characters with their very own personality and different ways of action. A Love that was portrayed so real and beautiful that it gave me the wish , that the series would never come to an end. And even a Development was seen in this series from both the main characters, which is not so commen in - only - romance series.
But A Love so beautiful does not only tackle on Love and Relationship. It also shows the amazing friendship between all five 'main' characters, that despite some struggles, never came to a tragic end. It even -despite being a minority- talks about depression.

Story: As I just mentioned it's a pure romance drama, no action or suspense. Just two different Individuals slowly falling in love with each other, where the female Lead tries everything to impress her crush, who is brushing her off in the very beginning of the series and despite his negative comments towards her, she never gives up on him.
It's nothing new or original, this concept was seen a lot of times before, but A Love so Beautiful made it seem so unique and enjoyable, that I couldn't stop watching and always craved for more. I now finished the series and I feel a little bit sad that I will never see more of this two and their friends again (only when I rewatch the series, which I definitely will).
The Story will always hold a special place in my heart, for being one of the most romantic series I've ever encountered.

Acting: The Actors were amazing, all of them. They made the Drama seem so real and alive. They portrayed their characters so believable and gave them so much personality, that made the series so much more enjoyable. The chemistry was also one of the best I have ever seen, not only between the couples, but also the group of friends.

Music: I didn't really pay attention to the soundtrack but still it was beautiful and I liked it.

Overall: It has been a while for me, that I watched a series with so many emotions involved. I cried, I laughed, I giggled and I felt with the characters. It also was the first drama that turned my mom back to her feelings of being a teenager again. She also couldn't wait to watch every new episode right after dinner. We both smiled at each other and talked a lot about this drama series. So I think if my mom would read this review, she would agree to all my words with a 100% approval.
Thank you A Love so Beautiful for giving me a happy time, while watching you with my mom. I will watch you again, I promise.
And for your dear Reader, I hope you will fall in love with this drama and it's characters, just as much as I did. Have a nice day!

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The chemistry between characters and the heart grabbing storyline is what makes me come back to this drama and will continue to do so. No matter how many times I see it, it still makes me laugh as hard as the first time, it still makes my heart flutter and makes me fall only harder and harder for this story and characters. It deserves all the recognition it got and more. Hope for new amazing acting opportunities for these actors.
This is an amazing romance show. It's extremely funny, heartwarming and relateable. I loved the storyline between main characters as well as their friends. It's rare to fall not only for the story of the main characters but also be equally fascinated by the stories of their friends. Truly one of the kind.
This was the first Chinese drama that I've watched so far and I loved it even more than some of my favourite Korean dramas. I will be exploring Chinese romance dramas more for sure, especially the ones with the piles of humour like this one. Recommend it, will watch it again soon. Simply great!
BTW I've already rewatched this drama three times.

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WAJIB NONTON

Aku suka banget sama drama ini. Mulai dari kisah yang relate dengan kehidupan SMA hingga kuliah. Kisah cinta seorang gadis SMA yang mengejar si cowok dingin. So sweet nya dapet, baper dan komedi nya juga dapet. Apalagi si cowonya ganteng buangett WKWK. Kalo mau nonton, nonton ajaa ga rugi deh.
Btw, aku sendiri ga suka kalo drama ditonton 2x, so yaa memang aku ga nyaranin untuk menonton ulang, karena aku paling gasuka hal itu. Tapi, kalo kamu mau nonton 2x atau beberapa kali, yaa itu terserah kamu lagi.
Oya, ostnya ituu woww banget, maknanya dapet, bapernya dapet dan ku nyanyiin terus-terusan. Liriknya tuh lucuu banget wkwkwk.
Langsung nonton ajaa gais cuss deh wkwkw >o<

@vianney_ft

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A love so beautiful was a great love story. I loved the storyline and how it flowed, It wasn't rushed and it wasn't too slow it was perfect. I usually don't like high school centered dramas and when I found out that this story focused a lot of time in High school I almost didn't watch. However, The cast is awesome, great chemistry. I was drawn in throughout the storyline I didn't even know who to root for the second lead was as mature, sweet and handsome as the main lead. I hated how the mother kind of disliked the second lead because of his "dark skin" but it wasn't a big deal and didn't overshadow the show at all it was just something that bugged me personally because I thought he was a cutie. I love how the show didn't waste time on trivial things other shows would be the main character failed her college entrance exam and had to retake the exam instead of focusing on that for 5 episodes the audience got a condensed episode of study scene and college life which was great because it cuts out the filler episodes and leaves room for more productive content. Overall great show, great cast, and storyline.

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Perfect First Love Story

This was one of my first Chinese Dramas I’ve ever watched. I started watching them this year and now barely watch anything else. I am now rewatching this for the 4TH time! I fell in love with Hu Yitian in Handsome Siblings (my 1st Chinese drama) and it led to this. Thanks to him and Shen Yue I’ve discovered the world of cute love stories in these dramas! The theme song is always stuck in my head and I sing it when I’m happy! The story and development makes you wish you were in school again hoping to find The One. Chen Xiaoxi is a brave girl that doesn’t give in and lives every day with hope. It definitely makes you reminisce the days when you had a crush on someone so it’s easy to connect to it. You’ll root for all the characters. It’s a fluffy drama with some sad moments. I highly recommend this and it’s so rewatchable. Does anyone know where I can buy her cute cartoon images that she drew of them when they were young? So cute!

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Can't get over to this drama!!

This drama is so pure . And we all really need such type of people in our life, who supports and stands with us thick n thin. Remember your first high school crush , this drama will just bring all the memories back to you. This drama goes from high school to adult life.
This drama has all kinds of emotions , it will be a rollercoaster of emotions for you. There will be happy, sad moments in this drama. And you just can't choose one of your favorites among all these 5 characters, each character has developed so good when they grew up in the show.
Do not miss it

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