Le Coup de Foudre (2019)

Superb!
Never thought that high school romance can be this fun and heartwarming at the same time. Every episode makes me so excited that I binge-watch it for 2 days straight :). It's my first time watching the two leads and their chemistry is the best. The setting maybe cliche at first - "high school love - separated then end up together at the end" ... but there's so much more to the story that every episodes made you feel that you experienced it with them. i felt that I was one of their classmates supporting them. And knowing this was a true story makes it more endearing. Give it a try and you wont regret it.

The second love team are also amazing. Good chemistry and story too.

I LOVE EVERYTHING!

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Chinese dramas that averaged higher than an 8, I usually take notice of. I mean it's even higher than 8.5 so this had to be really good to receive that high of an average rating and it is. At first, I was a little hesitant because of the character Yang Mo. His blank look on his face made me think he was going to be a boring lead but I'm glad that wasn't the case. He's actually pretty funny throughout the drama.

So what does this drama has to offer? It shows events that actually would happen in real life. I mean it is based on a true story. This drama has a series of topics it highlights on each episodes, from struggling in school studies, friendships, crushes, the love and support of family, misunderstandings that causes heart aches (but not as bad as other typical C-dramas), and the repairing and mending of relationships. This drama was written really well. It's definitely one of the best as you can tell the writer & director thought carefully about how to handle this drama and it's 35 episodes. No episode felt like a drag to me. This drama is very light hearted and humorous and the ending was not rushed and fantastic. The best part is no last minute problems Chinese drama writers like throw in the last few episodes. This one didn't have that which I appreciate a lot.

This one is definitely one of my favorite Chinese dramas. It's up there with Put Your Head On My Shoulder & Love O2O and that's saying a lot since Chinese dramas and their writing usually frustrates me on how it's written towards the end. This one is almost perfect. Just need more music because I just thought the music was okay overall.

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Not the best drama I have ever seen, but it could've been..

Le Coup de Foudre is a decent, but imperfect adaptation of one of the best romance webnovels of all time. The production team has totally nailed the essentials. The casting is almost perfect. (the actor playing Da Chuan is not as convincing as the rest) The leads were pretty much perfect for their roles, they've had wonderful chemistry as well. Zhang Yu Jian brought Mr. F's (Yan Mo) character to life just like how I imagined him to be. I only knew Janice Wu from silly romcom roles, but she really surprised me with her brilliant acting in some of the darker scenes this show had. I don't recall all that vividly how the parents were in the novel, but in the drama they were a breath of fresh air, Chinese dramas don't have parents like these two, once again I can only say brilliant acting, well done.

The biggest issue with the drama is quite ironically the writing. The screenwriter code named "Spoon" in her effort to adapt the novel to a drama has added a lot of padding, made some things unnecessarily more dramatic & there were quite a few cliche things added into the mix. I don't entirely blame her of course, the novel has a very unique storytelling style and it's really short, so I don't think it would have been possible to bring it to the small screen without major changes. She has succeeded brilliantly when it comes to the core story. What I found the most out place is the other two couples and their stories. I don't recall the novel having second/third couples. Even if I have just forgotten about them it doesn't really matter, I'm fairly sure that their ridiculous plotlines were not part of the original and those things just don't fit the mood of this drama and there is a LOT OF TIME spent on the two side couples.
Yan Mo's startup company is also probably a new invention with cliche plots like stolen intellectual property & factory fires. Quite a lot of time was wasted on running the company & I did not enjoy a minute of that.
I really liked how the novel defined the OTP's relationship. It was something along the lines of "we have just become lovers naturally". In the drama there was cohabitation, but it was emphasized again and again how they sleep in different rooms. I found that a bit strange, since the drama does feature premarital sex already, so was this some sort of "let's not have too much of that?" thing, I don't know.

I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on the writer though. Dramas cannot be made without sponsors and the sponsors will want the sponsored clothing shown, right? So the the story must have a semi important rich missy wearing all those ridiculous princess dresses and whatnot. Since we already have a character like this, might as well give her a loveline too, gotta fill up the 35 episodes somehow..

The characters must also catch the cold all the time, otherwise they cannot treat each other to all kinds of cold medicines. So yep, this drama is pretty heavy on the product placements, but I must praise the writer a little in this regard, because there were some borderline brilliant Nike & CocaCola related scenes.

I really hate forced separation plots, but the separation works fine in Le Coup de Foudre, because we know from episode 1-2 onward that the whole puppy love thing will fail & it's really gratifying to watch how they meet again. Plus it happens pretty early on too.. This is a great example how the time skip can be a good storytelling tool.

Qiao Yi 's one day in Cambridge reminded me of something that I myself have done in my youth, I too have tried to "coincidentally" meet my childhood "friend" by traveling someplace far, calling it me going on a photography trip. I'm sure many of you found or will find that short episode unrealistic & weird, but it resonated with me quite a bit.

The drama has one of the best happy endings of any drama that I've seen. Typically the last episode is about wedding plans, proposal plans & maybe in the last 5 minutes they show us a family scene and whatnot. But in LCdF we are shown their married life banter at length and it was beautiful. The very last scene is just perfection.

^
Despite the minor issues, every romance fan should pick up this show. It's pretty unique & it really gives one all kinds of feels.
I'm fairly sure that I'll be watching this again a few months from now.

edit: Out of curiosity and boredom I decided to reread the original webnovel. Most of the things I wrote in my review hold up, one notable exception is the Nike thing that I thought was a clever product placement, but I was wrong. The whole Nike/fake Nike/Adidas thing is in the novel almost word by word.
I should attribute more credit to the writer, because she did have some great ideas after all. (the day in Cambride, or the entire stepfather character)
I mentioned that the second couples were bad & probably not present in the original and I was right. What I think is a big shame how Qiao Yi has quite a few friends in the novel, but they have very little presence in the drama. The drama has that one chapter dedicated to Female Goddess, but there are others(Little C, Dorm Leader, Young Master) and they should've have focused on their lives, interactions instead of the second couple stuff that we have gotten.

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I came upon this drama because I recently finished "Find Yourself" which stars the same actor. I enjoyed the cast; they were all incredibly great actors and each fit their role incredibly well. I lowkey rooted for the second couple more than the main couple TT The overall story was super sweet and the visuals were top tier.. One of the top strengths this drama had was the humor, which I wish they had more of, because making it a romcom would have been more captivating..The filming was well done as well as the lovely soundtrack.. overall I had a good experience with the drama but I wished that I didn't skip through the scenes and was more appealed to the plot.

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I am a fan of romantic series. This one offers reality. I have always wanted a romantic series that goes after getting married and so far this is the first one who have satisfied me (but still I cannot get enough). I am a sucker of genius/cold male leads and bottom-ranked/kind female leads. So far, of me being a sucker, this one is the best of them. There are real problems because in reality there are really a lot. Episode one will give you an instant happy ending but still find yourself anxious and worried at the end of it. If you are tired of dramas where events always favors the leads appearing to be very unrealistic. Its love story is composed of many kinds of love.

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This drama is very different from the Synopsis. It is a based on the novel " I don't like the world, I only like you" by Qiao Yi. The story was based on the authors real life. It revolves around the feeling of the ML and the FL from school age to adult. The first 1/2 takes place during the school age and the second deals with the adult. I like that the drama sticks close to the novel, with additions done mostly in relation to the second and third leads. There is also extra regarding the ML business. Overall this is a heartwarming drama. There isn't really any love triangles, angst or betrayals, but instead focus's on how relationships effect the individuals and themselves. Overall a good drama worth watching.

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Finally picked this up after so many years, but was left a bit disappointed

I finally finished this drama and seeing all the high praise and reviews that this drama has leaves me a bit disappointed. The drama just didn't land the same for me I guess. This was such a slow burn drama for me and I feel like once we finally got to where we wanted to get, there wasn't much reward in the end as far as our main couple. I know Yan Mo's love is a much more subtle and quiet, but steadfast, love but I would've loved to see him open up more after they got into a relationship but it didn't seem like it. He was still so focused on work and I just feel like Qiao Yi was just spending her time waiting on him the entire time which really sucks because she literally quit her "dream" job and left her family for him. Honestly, I got really tired of seeing his no expression face that would have a smile here and there. I thought Qiao Yi would've broken down his walls more and helped him open up and having more expressions, but it really didn't get to that point until after they got married. I felt like it took such a long journey for them finally be together, and yet even after they got together, we only had small little moments of their love, leaving me yearning for more. Of course, when Yan Mo would have his little moments showing his love for Qiao Yi, I loved it but I just wish there was MOREE. Switching gears, on the other hand, I absolutely loved loved loved the brotherly-sisterly bond between Qiao Yi and Guan Chao. They were so sweet and cute and Guan Chao would do anything for his little sister. I loved their close friendship. I honestly liked Guan Chao the most throughout the series, yes he was immature, but he was willing to do anything for the people that he loved. I also loved just the entire family dynamic. The stepdad loved the twins so much as if they were his own and supported them so much. I loved that he was the one who picked up on the little hints and things.
All in all, I enjoyed this drama for the most part. I just found the main couple to be lacking but enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd couple enough. I loved how the relationships were portrayed in this drama and how realistic and meaningful some of the lessons they had in life were. I probably wouldn't watch it again though, it was too long for a drama with too little reward.

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"No drama" Dramas are very hard to do right - they tend to come across as boring. This one really showed how to meet the challenge. It was a simple, sweet story full of fun and light, with almost no angst at all. What made it work was the casting and the acting. The two leads especially really sold me on the story, and I lost count of the number of times I laughed out loud, then gushed "awww" at the sweetness.

The only reason I 'downgraded' this fine Drama to 8.5 is that it was a little too long. had it been somewhere between 25-30 episodes, I feel certain I would have given it a 10. As it is, it's still the second highest score I've given to any C Drama, and only the second to go over 7.5. A refreshing change from the current Korean obsession with the supernatural, psychopaths and serial killers - often all together. This one was an almost perfect confection.

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A more mature, drawn out version of Love 020

Le Coup de Foudre follows two main couples for the first 2/3 of the show. The primary couple (Zhao Qiao Yi and Yan Mo) are stereotypical: caring but a bit clueless woman + the cold, ocpd and brilliant man. The secondary couple (Zhao Guanchao and Hao Wuyi) I found more interesting: a playboy who doesn't believe in marriage due to his abusive father + a confident, creative writer who has a huge romantic streak despite a lonely childhood.

How the main couple will come together is resolved early on, and their troubles are replaced by Yan Mo trying to start a corporation and the issues of Yan Mo's co-founder.

I lost my interest and the show fizzed out for me. The one saving grace of the show is the acting is excellent and naturalistic and that there are true to life problems and obstacles to conquer.

I grade on other criteria as well:

Complex Themes -4
The only real theme is healthy supportive relationships makes the ups and downs of life more bearable.
Character Growth -4
The only characters who show a bit of growth are the secondary couple - and even then their acting doesn't change much. They feel the same as they did in the first few episodes.
Nuanced Women -7
I really liked the friendship between the two main female characters, and I liked that the show depicted women with varying different dreams and goals.
Cinematography/Production Values - 5
It's competently done for the most part, but not at all cinematic. As one reviewer mentioned, there is a hazy tone over most of the scenes to denote nostalgia/the past. But since most of the story is set in the past, this choice was a strange one.

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At first what really caught my eyes how beautiful the whole drama was directed and produced also, i thought it will only tell the love story between the two main leads it didn't actually the number of episodes were perfect for the story and it didn't feel rushed
I liked the other couples too they were all sweet and loved how the twins shared their feelings together
Actually it's second to best for me after a love so beautiful it was just so great drama
Also i liked that they didn't tell their school flashbacks for too long as i think it wasn't a school drama

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Perspective review from someone who don't like youth drama

First of all, i'm gonna tell you all that i am not a fan of highschool/college drama. I dropped many youth drama, such as love 020, Go Go Squid, A Love So Beautiful, etc. So everytime i see people recommends this drama i was like 'meh'.
BUT--- after going through 'trial and error' finding my perfect drama, i decided to jump into this one, without no expectation at all.

Plot
The plot was superb ! As a non-fan of youth drama, i really like how they put the snippets from their future life in early episodes. It made me stay thoroughout the early plot of their highschool life, which is sometimes a little bit boring for me. Plus, knowing they're gonna ended up together save me from the pain of suspense when watching a drama.
The puppy love story in highschool was okay, but the only thing that really stands out for me is the FL family's dynamic. It's the kind of family that everyone hopes for, isn't it ? Being poor is suck, but having people that always stick with you no matter what circumstances is a real blessed in life.
The twins dynamic is also great. I like how they hug each other giving support, especially when the 'bad news' happens and the FL just automatically clung to her brother. It makes me really miss my brother :')

Acting/cast
I gotta admit that i'm not a big fan of Yan Mo at first. The poker face annoys me but then i realized it's just his character. In the latter episodes his expression grows and you can see how his lips curled slightly or how his eyes twitch when he's jealous. Other than him, i have no complaints about other casts. They act pretty well ! Especially Janice Wu ofc.

Music
The soundtracks are good and well placed

Minus
The brother's plot arc near the end is a bit draggy for me. So many misunderstanding and miscommunication ! I just watched it 1.25x faster lol

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