I saw that a lot of people liked this drama so I don't want to discourage anyone but for me it was a boring drama and the acting was so-so. The best parts for me were the interactions between Xiao Nai Friends and his girlfriend...
The hero, Xiao Nai saw a girl playing an online game in a cyber cafe and he fell in love with Wei Wei. He meet her through the game, they meet in real life and began dating. The end.
I was cringing my teeth because of Xiao Nai catchphrases...It was so "classic". Personnally, despite the fact that he is handsome, smart, athletic, I won't want to go out with someone like him. Life will be too boring.
This is only my opinion, feel free to watch and check it yourself!
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A drama where there's no drama between the leads
If you mainly focus on the romance and complicity between the two leads, I'd say this deserves a great review. This drama stands out from other dramas largely because there was no misunderstandings and trust issues between the leads. Surprisingly, they were fairly honest and trusted each other regardless of the obstacle that came along their way. This might be one of the reasons why so many people fell in love with this drama. The main couple was actually really adorable together. Beside, most people like the usual "popular and cold male lead that is only nice to the female lead " and "the female lead who is desired by many is only shy and adorable with the male lead" kind of trope. Another thing that was interesting with this drama was that they actually showed the "live action" of the game they played. I think this might also be another element that made this drama more compelling. I say you should definitely judge for yourself.Was this review helpful to you?
Truth be told, I am not the biggest fan of pure romance, but here it got me. I will probably rewatch this many times.
Do you know the meme-face, which pukes a rainbow? Well, imagine it with puking a stream of pink hearts - that would be me watching this drama. It's embarassing, but I will admit to it.
I give this drama a 10, because it deserves this in terms of romance. You can scratch the whole side-plots (of which aren't too many around) and still have an awesome couple.
What this drama has NOT and I didn't miss either:
1) Misunderstandings between the couple
2) Second-lead-syndrome
3) Evil mother-in-law or alike
4) over-the-top dramatic circumstances like amnesia, murder, sickness etc.
What this drama has:
1) A handsome, cool, intelligent, competent, polite male lead, who does - let's face it - all the right things which no man in reality can live up to
2) A female lead, that manages to be clever, polite, witty, modest but self-assured and lacks the typical submissive side, which I so often dislike in Asian dramas
3) Some cool and funny supporting characters, that have genuine connections between each other
4) Minor tensions that are resolved easily and in a superior way by the main couple
5) All the bullies get their mouths stuffed right away, which is just SO satisfying
6) Some ear-reddening kiss-scenes...
This truelly is a drama to romantically relax. It doesn't have the nerve-wrecking plot-twists that we all know and just want to get over with. Instead, we see a believable and perfect love-story and since it doesn't aspire to be more than this, it hits the mark.
The only thing I missed from about episode 20 onwards were the scenes from the game, but since they moved the relationship to real life, it happens fluently.
I have to admit, I fast-forwarded some of the side-story, just because I couldn't wait for main stuff happening, but I see this as a plus.
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But...
Gradually the simplicity of the drama conquered me. It is a modern drama without cliches, without melodramas, with almost no complications, which is appreciated! But is too idyllic, this bordering on fantasy. OMG! This is stupidly corny and full of sugar. Ultimately, I love the sweet. I can not deny it!
I like how they use the cyber world to unite the protagonists, but in fact it was he who sought it. So there's a little trap on that. I liked that the protagonists, they never separated, never have a conflict. They are adorable all the time.
The story and characters are traced to those of Boss and me, just change the place and how to meet, but otherwise follows the same pattern. But instead of food have online games. And so... Campus = office. Third brother = Big boss. No wonder share the same writer. Inevitably I have made many comparisons of a drama with the other. And for me Love 020 loses out.
The cast:
I do not understand why they chose to Zheng Shuang to play Bei Wei Wei. To start she was not physically for the character. She did not even puts his voice. The dubbed voice, it is so unpleasant, artificial, which spoils everything to me. The protagonist girl loses naturalness that she should never lose. And how unpleasant it is to hear your thoughts all the time, as to the girl protagonist of Boss and me but she was so funny, while this girl do not get at all. Or rather, the voiceover is the only who can not get. That's what I much hate! Worst! She is not able to properly respond to kisses! However, she is pretty. She is also a little smarter than Shan Shan. In the end I get used to her. If only they had not dubbed his voice. It would have been great!
Xiao Nai is an exact copy of Feng Teng. They never lose. They are so frozen, with distant look, that is impossible to know they're thinking. No complaints on the performance of Yang Yang. He can be so quiet that not even blink. But he gives excellent kisses! unfortunately the girl squandered.
Music:
Music is not outstanding. It is well below that of other chinese dramas. At first I skipped the opening, but eventually I ended up enjoying the song.
Rewatch:
I never see this again. Or maybe I see only the end. I am very satisfied with the ending. Despite my negative comments. This has not been a bad trip.
PS: They could not choose an uglier actor to represent Feng Teng? They could have simulated Zhang Han, even without showing his face. They finished with all the glamor the big boss!
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Love O2O gave me a break from the tiring tropes of K-dramaland. Wei Wei and Xiao Nai seem like stereotypical leads for dramaland. Xiao Nai is the perfect and aloof male lead who seems so cold. Wei Wei . . . actually I haven't run into her character that much. She's the school's second beauty, only because of some shady stuff did she lose first, and she is used to getting confessed to a lot. Just like the male lead. She's smart and confidant. Able to handle and make her own decisions. While it seems silly that Xiao Nai falls in love with her and asks her to marry him in the game, they quickly discover each others personalities. Leading to an unshakeable trust between the two and being able to know each other so well that others' schemes can't shake their relationship. They talk immediately about issues and don't hide anything.
Xiao Nai is up front that he knew who she truly was and that he persude her. Instead of hiding it and having some stupid misunderstanding. In fact, between the leads the “misunderstandings” that usual drive me nuts in most dramas aren't present. Because they COMMUNICATE!
The leads aren't the only ones well developed. The side cast is so well done. Xiao Nai's bros are so awesome and the way they interacted left no doubt of their friendship in my mind. In fact, I was almost moved to tears at one point. What was even better was Wei Wei's friendship with her dorm mates, especially her best friend Er Xi. Now female friendships in K-dramas are something that either get benched or don't exist. Normally it's the female lead against all the other evil female characters. That's one thing I've found I like about Chinese dramas, and especially about Love O2O. Each female friend stood out. While Er Xi may be the overly cute and excitable type, I had no doubt of the friendship between her and Wei Wei. Even their fight and eventual makeup felt authentic. Watching them together was just as enjoyable as watching Xiao Nai and Wei Wei fall in love.
The parents of both characters weren't present all that much, but when they were there I bought it and loved that they had personalities. Many scenes of them meeting the parents and their reactions to their children where wonderful. I enjoyed that the villains and love rivals that where present didn't always stay conniving people. In fact, the “villains” grew and felt remorse. Reflecting on their life and actions.
That said I was slightly disappointed about Hao Mei (one of Xiao Nai's bros, AKA Mr. Beauty) and KO. Their relationship fascinated me from the get go. It was basically bromance at first sight, and I was convinced something more for KO as he hacked Hao Mei's computer. Then began to stalk and insert himself into Hao Mei's life. Before the time jump KO “back doors” (don't get dirty on me) his way into living with Hao Mei. Then they're never mentioned in the time jump what happened between the two. Er Xi and her love interest are at least given a bit of time, I felt cheated out of a very interesting story. In truth I probably never could have gotten enough of Hao Mei and KO. At least I'll always have the lovely image of KO in that suit.
I feel odd saying this but I actually found that the actor doing the aloof and cold Xiao Nai brought so much warmth to his character. I feel odd because I thought Wei Wei ended up feeling colder. It could be a big part of the director wanting to emphasize that Wei Wei changed Xiao Nai into a warm blooded male and that she was shy. However, Xiao Nai—actor Yang Yang—blew my mind with his intense kissing techniques. While Wei Wei was pretty much cold through out. I think the blurred affects were done to make Wei Wei seem passionate in the later kissing scenes. However, I never thought Wei Wei's actress did that great a job. She swooned well and did the embarrassed face stuff well. But it was often the same facial expressions over and over to convey things. Every once in a while I felt like she really fell into the role, but it never lasted long.
Er Xi's actress did a wonderful job and I loved the energy she brought. The other girls were great, but I felt like the males of Love O2O did the best. They interacted well together. I debated about giving the acting a 7 due to Wei Wei feeling really awkward at times, but I couldn't do it to everyone else.
Yang Yang gets a 10 for his skills in bringing Xiao Nai to life. Oh, my gosh. Some of his facial expressions slayed me. Especially when Wei Wei bit him . . . then the scene helping her dress for a wedding . . . and so many other bits!
The visuals for when the characters are the game characters were brilliant! They felt like a game and looked stunning. From the scenery to the wardrobes. There was an awkward instant where they used CGI to create a mall scene, but I bet they did it to lower costs on shutting the place down for the scene. Other than that Love O2O is a beautifully shot drama.
The music was fun and I liked how some of the sounds simulated old video game noises. While I'm not the biggest gamer I do know somethings. The music fit the drama well and had a fun light style to it. Nothing to brag about though.
This was fun and unique enough that in a couple of years I'm sure I will want to experience it all over again! Whimsical and lighthearted dramas are so hard to come by. How could I say know to smiling for 30 episodes?
Overall I think Love O2O is the perfect thing to chase away the K-drama blues. Or at least wash the stereotypes and drama tropes out of your mind. Also, a great place to introduce yourself to Chinese dramas. This isn't my first C-drama, but I've had great luck so far and Love O2O is only building my love more for them. There pacing is great and there's no dragging. Only a few slightly slower plot points such as the business world of gaming and competition against other business. (AKA a little corporate espionage drama.) Not enough to ruin it though. The cast of character are wonderful and it's not just about the romance of Wei Wie and Xiao Nai. Both the friendships of the girls and bros are wonderful and I loved that just as much as the official romance. Love O2O was a satisfying viewing experience and wrapped up nicely. It's a fun and unique time all around, and despite it all remained a very realistic drama.
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A story of first love…with a twist.
Ok I admit, I regret a bit that I put off watching Love O2O for so long (there are just so many good dramas to watch), but it’s better late than never!Things that I like:
• I’m not a gamer, but I like the idea that the ML Xiao Nai (Yang Yang) and FL Bei Wei Wei (Zheng Shuang) started as a couple in the game “A Chinese Ghost Story”, where Xiao Nai first “pursued” her, then eventually in real life (They being Computer Science students is a plus!). Their in-game interactions and experiences together laid the groundwork for their eventual meet-up and relationship in the real world.
• Casting the same actors to portray their in-game characters, which made me more invested in their scenes inside the game. I enjoyed watching their interactions and action scenes in the game, which were well executed.
• Fluid transition of the story from online to offline scenarios.
• Smart, interesting and attractive ML and FL. Especially the ML, he’s so well-rounded, almost perfect, too good to be true at times!
• Amazing chemistry between Yang Yang and Zheng Shuang. They look so good together! They have many light-hearted, sweet and romantic moments, and Yang Yang is a good kisser! He mostly carried their romantic scenes 😊.
• There is mutual love, trust and respect between our main couple, and I like that there is not so much drama and misunderstanding between them.
• Great circle of friends for both Xiao Nai and Bei Wei Wei, and healthy family relationships.
• The drama showed Xiao Nai and his friends navigating the gaming industry through their start-up tech business, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them.
• Love the OST! The songs just fit the drama so well. So glad they’re available in Spotify and Youtube.
Other comments:
• Zheng Shuang is pretty, but I find her a bit too skinny. Her acting in some of the kissing scenes could be better, as most of the time, she was a passive receiver of Yang Yang’s passionate kisses. To be fair, there were some kissing scenes where she did better than in others. I read that her character is written that way in the book.
• There were a number of annoying characters, who seemed to spend most of their time gossiping and trying to pull others down. But hey, they made the story more interesting, so they’re a “necessary evil”.
• This drama has a high rewatch value for me. After I finished it, I rewatched the last 3 episodes the next day. Then in the following days, I rewatched my other favorite episodes, before starting from episode 1 and rewatching the whole drama (albeit with some skips the 2nd time). So I watched the entire series twice in a little over 2 weeks.
Overall, this is a fun, feel-good, and enjoyable drama for me. I highly recommend it!
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This failed. Miserably.
I can push through a bad story if the acting is decent but for such a bland storyline and HORRENDOUS acting, this is one of the worst drama.1. Yang Yang’s good looks could not save him. His acting is the same overall- quick delivery, monotone and boring.
2. FL could not act if her life depended on it. Most scenes of her acting naive, innocent, surprised, excited, frustrated etc were of her squinting her face, blowing out air and looking pretty.
3. CRINGY bromance and friendships. All the guys tried too hard and all the girls sounded like 12 year olds trying to be cute… in college.
4. I had to ff some of their romantic scenes bc it was all so predictable and repetitive. He’ll say something flirty, she’ll look surprised, then shy, then flustered and cut scene. The kisses were all him kissing a wall. She could not kiss. Awful.
Watch if you are bored and need a quick drama to kill time. If you like watching bromance and romance in the gaming like world, watch Go Go Squid. If you like Yang yang, watch You Are My Glory.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not my cup of tea!!
So contrary of popular opinion, personally I did not like the drama. I watched it after falling into your smile because of the same gaming - romance genre but I was disappointed.Story wise it lacked character development of the male lead. Like at one point it kinda became frustrating. The gaming sequence was also tad bit boring and tbh I just skipped most part.
The main problem for me here was chemistry between leads , was just too forgettable and felt forced.
The OST was nice though.
Honestly this wasn't my cup of tea but again I would understand if anyone else loved it. :))
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I had to compare it to Boss & Me and... Love O2O is in no way inferior to B&M. Both of them have their flaws and slow pace, so I think 7.5 is a good rating for them. This is based on a webtoon/novel as far as I've heard. And after watching this, I can imagine the webtoon being the exact same way.
The drama follows that basic romance concept many shoujo-mangas have. From beginning to end. So, it was quite easy to guess how the story would unfold and also end. It only varies in their executed subtleties.
As for the pace... Like I already mentioned in earlier posts, it's very slow. Though the beginning was more interesting and thrilling in a certain way, the second half becomes very weak. It was an up and down as repetitive trouble for our leads kept appearing, and not all of them could hold my excitement.
The romance part is clear and straightforward. Regarding its execution... It has its sweet times, that even make you blush sometimes but it also had some problems with showing passion in... certain moments. I enjoyed some of the characters alot although they were quite stereotype. The one I grew fond of the most was the male lead. He will linger in my memory a very long time.
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The drama has its cute moments that are worth re-watching. Compared to the usual 40-50 episode Chinese drama this drama has almost the right amount of episodes. The only things that I didn't quite like about the drama was how repetitive some of the scenes were between Xiao Nai and Bei Wei Wei. It bordered on being predictable and almost unnecessary. The acting doesn't really evolve between Xiao Nai and Bei Wei Wei. It pretty much begins with instant adoration and love between the two characters. However, the length that Bei Wei Wei goes to suppressing who she really is in order to be what she thinks Xiao Nai wants in a girlfriend is kind of off-putting. In addition, Xiao Nai is supposedly a cold and collected character in the drama but he often comes across as flat.
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