I found 'Always Have Always Will' to be very entertaining despite the presence of some well-worn tropes.

There's the roommates of the female lead who blame her for being more appealing to a boy they all like and who do everything they can to torment her.

And there's the snarky girl who pursues the male lead relentlessly despite being rebuffed over and over. In real life a person like that would be considered mentally ill. Alas, I don't think this trope is going anywhere soon.

One trope that this drama nicely subverts is the presence of a second male lead who is left heartbroken after losing out to the ML. In 'AHAW', this character has a level-headed approach to the FL that only makes it appear that he's courting her. (Later we learn that he has a girlfriend and isn't interested in the FL that way.)

But, to get to what impressed me the most: Le Gi Yang's performance as Luo Yan is nothing less than extraordinary. Watching this series I could scarcely believe that this is the same actor who played supporting roles in 'The Love Equations' and 'My Youth'. In the latter especially, by the end of the series his character has aged into his late 20's and looks like he's been through every year of it, yet in 'AHAW' (filmed two years later) he is convincing as both the high school and college versions of his character.

Dawn Chen as Fang Li continues the tradition of FLs in Cdramas who suffer from severe self-doubt and occasional stupidity. Fortunately, the character is intelligent enough to major in chemistry and seems very smart academically. (She's really cute, too.)

The side couple consisting of Fei Fei, the FL's best friend, and Shi Xu, a friend of the ML's, adds some comic relief. Their story leverages another familiar trope: the suitor who pretends to like the girl then finds himself developing real feelings for her.

At the heart of the series is a mystery involving the ML's loss of his memory during high school. How did it happen, and why? When we finally got the answers to these questions I have to admit that I was disappointed. I'd been hoping for something more impactful. The way the FL learns the truth is pretty ho-hum too -- her senior friend from high school just sits her down and tells her. He gives her a reason why he didn't do it sooner, but the way the premise of the series just seems to deflate feels like a let-down when compared to everything else it's had to offer.

We also never see the ML actually regain his memory. I was expecting that to eventually happen, but I can also see where it wasn't really necessary to move the main story forward.

In all, I enjoyed this series a lot and rank it in the upper tier of Cdramas set at a high school or college. Considering how many of those there are I guess that means I liked it a whole lot.