A River Runs Through It (2021)

Still one of my favourite dramas after so many

I can really relate to this story being around the same age as them. Parent's pressure. being the oldest and always having to give in. unsure of what I want to study and do. Family problems to deal with at home. The joy friends bring you. The support you get from the most unexpected people. The process of growing and exploring.

To be honest the love plot of this drama reminds me of True beauty except Shiyi, who I thought was the 2nd lead at first, gets a happy ending with the FML.

And I just realised how many love plots there were.
- Unrequited love
- Love at first sight
- Bickering couple (Kind of enemies to lovers)
- Cheating, heart break
- letting go of each other for the better
- Perusing
- Childhood friends to Strangers to Lovers

This drama is just almost perfect. I just wished there was maybe 2 or 3 more episodes since the ending seemed quite rushed. This dramas is still one of the best out there pulling me out of my c drama slump.

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Story like a river

This story is like a river, with all of these flows, ups and downs. It's a great modern drama, and I'm not a huge fan of modern dramas. I cried watching every episode, and I found myself binge watching this series. I loved how all of the characters grew throughout the story, it was logical in a sense. The romance between QLT and Huang Jun was unnecessary. His character was irrelevant, you could've changed him for BXX. Lin You's ending was, not what I hoped for. I loved of LSY and XXJ helped each other grow and find their true passion. It was really heartwarming, this drama. From how close all the moms were to the past of LSY's dad, it can be relatable yet so out of reach at the same time. I really have nothing I really didn't like. The ending was not my favorite, how XXJ had her emotional outburst, but I understand why. I really didn't like Shen Duo, for obvious reasons, the whole arc. Overall, this drama was like a river, flowing up and down. It's forever one of my favorite dramas, being a modern drama as well.

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He was the main lead and I didn't realise it

Honestly, this story was exciting at the start but I swear this is the only drama I have seen where the main lead was acting like a second lead until episode 28 he didn't confess to her which was very slow for me. The main characters both had similar characteristics and they didn't confess to their loved ones. Maybe if the show moved on quickly and if the main leads had more screen time as lovers it would have been great cuz I shipped them so much but there were only a few episodes of them being a relationship which was kinda disappointing however the plot and the acting, music was so good and its worth watching.

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OMG THIS IS THE BEST DRAMA EVER

I've watched soo many dramas before! but this one deserves 10\10. I usually don't write reviews but this one deserves this ;). This drama shows strong relationships between school, family, love and FRIENDSHIP! I really love the cast and storyline!
I love the way how everything is simple and cute...nothing complicated! and it's so natural :)
I really love lu shiyi's eternal and unconditional love for xiaoju.
This drama doesn't discriminate between male and female! The plot twist was amazing!!
The way they also showed the relationship between child and parents was awemazingg! this is mostly ignored in other dramas...I'm really looking forwards for season 2! i mean I really do BEG FOR SEASON 2

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River runs through eyes

This drama started off really really well. From highschool to the time they have their own careers

Liked the highschool phase more than the university one. That made me cry, laugh and feel nostalgia.

College part was a bit draggy. I wish they introduced them their working part a bit earlier than in the last two episodes.

XY had crush or liked CL for a very long long time from school to even just like before graduating.. the story kept going in circles like she wants to confess but won't coz he isn't brave enough. Then once ML realises his feelings for FL, he keeps delaying his proposal (well it's understandable since they all are good/ best friends). Wished they ended FL liking SL a bit earlier and develop something between two leads.
ML always teased and be mean to FL in high school but he starts behaving better towards her once he realises his feelings for her.

Character growth in this drama are for only two roles SY( a little less) and LT (from being always with her bf she ended her relationship in a mature way)
Liked all the characters. Grown attached to them but wishes they just planned it well.

Writers should have planned the story well.

Overall, it's a nice story except they added some cliché parts like fake dating and stuff. And parts feel realistic like you won't always end up whom you want with. There are few lines which will make you understand the life, in the drama.

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Lu shiyi deserved better

This was my first C drama ever. First 20+ ep were amazing. In the starting I felt that lu shiyi was a bit too mean. But his character development was soo good. Honestly I cannot see why Xiao ju was so madly in love with Cheng lang. Shiyi was so much more considerate towards her. I know the heart wants what it wants and that it is hard to move on but srsly it was a bit too much. Even the time skip did not help at all. I thought that at least Xiao ju would have moved on in 2 years, but to me it seemed that she still liked CL and it was annoying.
Shiyi financially and emotionally supported her when she was at her lowest. He even kept her secret. He had all rights to be crazy mad when Xiao ju mistakenly confessed to him and later told him it was just a dare. Even after realising that she liked someone else he did not get impatient with her. Encouraged her to choose her passion which was the tourism major. He became her support system but Xiao ju remained blind to everything. She only saw Cheng lang's "kindness", even tho he barely looked at her twice. Agreed that the whole fake dating trope was cliche but he was still respectful of her boundaries and did everything to make her happy.
What felt odd to me was that even tho Xiao ju was claiming to be considerate for Shiyi because she did not want to ruin their friendship or hurt him, in the end she only crushed his heart more. She straight up called him crazy when he confessed to her. Would go on a date with him and be ok with it, then later push him away. Be nasty with him. Even after breaking his heart she did not spare a second thought abt him. Obviously because she was more concerned about CL and Lin you's break up. She was so invested in making CL feel better she even created a misunderstanding when they were eating hotpot together, but no, she was not one bit worried abt clearing the misunderstanding. She claimed how both CL and Shi yi were her best friends when she blatantly cared only abt one. More so ironic was the fact that Xiao ju was trying to cheer up CL out of the exact same misery that she had put Shi yi in. Sure, shi yi and Xiao ju were not dating unlike Lin you and CL, but Shi yi was also suffering through a heart break but the hot pot was only for CL. She was so cruel to shi yi that she would not even let him move on in peace. Like at 2 instances shi yi was sitting in his room and Xiao ju knocked at his door and came in, shi yi was obviously elated but soon disappointed to know that she was there only to enquire about Cheng lang's whereabouts and not him.

Now, for Lin you . Idk why I never liked her. She did not have anything to herself. Before CL confessed his love for her the first time he had still made it very visible that he was very interested in her, any girl with 2ounce of brain could understand that but she acted oblivious. I understand that she had stayed in a relationship with her ex for a long time. But I had hoped that the 3 years she spent with CL had meant something to her. But obviously the had not. Not only she left him for his ex and went abroad but then came back with a different guy.

Letao was my fave character in the series( aside from shi yi). She knew how to love but also knew how to move on, which sadly many characters in the series did not know. Her marriage with bao bao was rushed for sure but I was sooo glad that she did not end up with that jerk Huang Jun.

Overall the ending was rushed. The series deserved a better finale and Shiyi a better female lead. So much was rushed in the last few episodes. The things that were built so strongly were thrown away all in the end. Over 30+ ep were spent lamenting over an unnecessary unrequited crush of Xiao ju on CL. And the last 6 ep were even worse and did not compensate for any damages but created more.
All in all the series was beautiful in the starting, it could have been so much more. It is special to me. But I am sorry for the way they ruined it at the end.

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Waste of time

If you have lots of time in your life to waste then watch it otherwise don’t watch.

Total drama is totally boring. The lead female can only act as a spoil child with hot temper. At first I thought her character would be strong minded but her temper and tantrums were discouraging. Her liking and obsession with the second lead male was ridicules and un-realistic. The second lead falls for a different girl and she put up with it for years in college and determine to be their friend while she still likes him. No Way!!!!! The lead male as much as he does not understand girls especially the lead female who is a friend from his neighborhood and he is in love with her. He treats her abusive and sarcastic. It's his way of showing his love. As much he helped her and was there for her because he loved her she could only see the second male lead "Cheng Lang". Until the last episode were all of the suddenly they are in love and he proposes to her on her friends wedding. Taking away her friends special day. This was not my kind of drama. Not Romantic. Strange love couples, I hate when they leave everything to the last Episode and 10 minutes before it ends everything becomes perfect. The writers of this drama did not do research to give these characters a better story.

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First of all, I was very undecided about how many points you should give this series. The drama was very entertaining in the first episodes. Especially the fights between Lu shiyi and Xia xiao jun were very funny. Then it was as if the whole story revolved around xia xiao ju's love for cheng lang. We watched one-sided love for 28 episodes. I think the character of Xia xiao ju is weak because of this one-sided love. Also, Lu Shi YI, who was always by his side, noticed a lot. I would like to see more love between the two lead roles. I wish they were real lovers, not fake ones. As for the final episode, I think it was incomplete and could not convey the emotion. How he proposed to me without ever having a girlfriend, I think it was ridiculous. The last 2 episodes could have come together and then proposed to marry. After all, the number of episodes of the drama was long enough. But other than that, it was LU SHI YI who saved this drama. I watched for him.

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Enjoyable and frustrating

This slice of life, coming of age drama was a nice watch. The plot wasn’t a new concept for high school, college dramas but this one ranks high among dramas of this genre due to the great acting, relatable topics, and realistic ending. The English title was a great choice to sum up the happenings in this show. There were many joyful light hearted and frustrating heavy moments that kept me watching. I was highly invested into each character and their story. For the time period, 90s to early 2000s, definitely brought back some nostalgia with the clothes and technology being used. The time period was well represented and the OST was very nice.

The main negatives were the overuse of misunderstandings being dragged out. This is a staple in cdramaland though.

A definite recommended watch.

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My favorite Cdrama of all time!

- A masterpiece fr. I really love this drama!
- Perfect casting and realistic plot.
- The acting was very natural.
- It showed us the beauty of friendship, love (one-sided love/first love/great love) and life as they grow old.
- It has a great transition of high school life to adulthood of the characters. The title gives so much sense.
- Slowest slow burn trope I've ever watched but it was really worth to watch.
- Lu Shiyi is the best male lead I've ever watched.
- Wang Ruichang portrayed shiyi very well.
- This drama deserve to have season 2.
- I am still invested on this drama. I re-watched it for like 5 times already and im still missing them. I love them so much.

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Pretty good, I recommend it

MINOR SPOILERS

Overall: I liked this show! It did frustrate me at times at how naive the characters were and some characters REALLY got on my nerves (COUGH HUANG JUN COUGH)... and let's get to certain things that I had issues with!

Story:

Typical story with enjoyable comedy. FL is one of those characters who isn't really quick witted and can't respond quickly when faced with a problem which creates even more misunderstandings that never exactly get completely cleared. I liked how there was a reason that ML liked FL but I would have preferred a more clear reason for FL liking ML (there is a reason, it just isn't as clearly shown as I would like it to be). I think Huang Jun is a fairly realistic/unrealistic person at the same time but he's a very interesting character. HE ANNOYS ME...but I do have to appreciate how nuanced he is. ML hurt me the most honestly, ML is a very funny, typical tsundere character but sadly he became very annoying when he grew up. There's a certain part of the show that isn't really addressed or clear whereas FL potentially got taken advantage of by ML? I mean she woke up and her clothes were not there anymore right after an... interesting scene. That's very upsetting to me AND ON TOP OF THAT ML is just very irritating when he comes back after being abroad (the audacity of these MLs istg). I felt so much second hand embarrassment I had to skip a lot of scenes which is more of a personal issue I suppose but if you also dislike second hand embarrassment then you should skip scenes too. I liked how I wasn't able to tell who ML and who SML was though, I was very confused until SML got a girlfriend. A part of me feels like FL and ML are better as friends because their platonic friendship was very cute but in dramas, a man can't be friends with a woman unless one of them has a significant other 😔. We barely get to see anything school related after they graduate unless it has something to do with romance. I think certain plot points were half baked like when SML (forgot his name oops) witnesses someone get hit by a car and misses his entrance exam. The show never really addresses it ever again, I think it would have added more nuance and made the plot more interesting. For example, they could have maybe made SML more aware of roads whenever his friends cross because he's scared they will get hit. It's not really an important detail to add but it would add more depth to SML's character and would make the plotpoint have more significance rather than just a sloppy, lazy, sad excuse of an empty plot point (a minor inconvenience used only to affect a certain part of the main plot). There is more I could get in depth with but I'll stop there.

Acting/Cast:

Yeah, they're pretty good.

Music:

The music isn't very memorable, I like the song FL sang at the competition but they keep reusing that one song and it's not even an original song.

TLDR;
- Underplayed plots
- Typical romance
- ML might have taken advantage of FL but once again, I'm not sure
- ML gets annoying
- Some characters are well developed, some could have been better
- The ending wasn't really satisfying because at that point, I kind of disliked ML
- I'd recommend this show

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