Forever Love (2020–2021) User Reviews

Another Cookie-Cutter Coming-of-Age Romance C-Drama

[nishera · 7/10 · 19 March 2021]

Although I didn't find much that was unique about the plot of this show, it was still entertaining enough, with good cinematography and decent acting. If you like Chinese shows and stories about college/ student life, this is worth a look. Circumstantially Recommended.

ROMANCE RATING: * * * 6/10. Although this IS a love story and the leads had good chemistry together, the romantic contact was kept squeaky clean, even by Asian standards. Three brief kiss scenes with barely there lip contact was less than satisfying in my book (though you may disagree), and basically zero sexual tension. But if that's your cup of tea, then there you go!

Good but not great mostly because it drags a bit and there are not many surprises

[leahcubed · 8/10 · 17 October 2023]

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2020; Chinese Romantic drama with 28, 35-48 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis Xia Lin Xi (Xiang Han Zhi) and Jiang Zheng Han (Wang An Yu) were not fast friends when they first met in high school. In fact, top student and class President Lin Xi is charged, by their teacher, with reeling in Zheng Han to comply with some rules. She accomplishes her original missions then sees there is not only a deep intelligence but a hidden side to Zheng Han that reveals he is intelligent and kind. This makes Lin Xi determined to fully convert Zheng Han to help him realize his academic potential. Study dates become akin to real dates and the two draw close enough as more than friends that Li Xi's tiger mom notices. Nearly overnight and without many words Zheng Han is on a bus out of Lin Xi's life. Not one to go down without a fight, Lin Xi chases after Zheng Han only to have her pleas fall on deaf ears. Fast forward several years and the two former friends are now in the same college, the college they had promised each other they would attend together. But, having mended her broken heart, Lin Xi also barricaded it shut and is not ready to give Zheng Han the chance to explain. Being among the Gods and Goddesses of the campus neither lack for potential boyfriend or girlfriends and as their relationship has moved backwards it seems Lin Xi at least may make another choice. Through college and then early professional careers it becomes apparent that their love was not just a passing high school crush.

Review

This story begins "How I met Your Mother Style" with the start being the end of the story and the rest how they got there. I am not a fan of that style as part of the allure to me is not knowing, beyond that it ends happy, just how things will end up. So that was a slight detractor. It is a rather simple, predictable, yet heartwarming romance. Rich girl and down on his luck guy, good girl and bad boy, are the overall vibes. It is a good romance, not over the too great but good if you appreciate straight forward stories.

It ends happy. I recommend it if anyone is a fan of either actor or if they like coming of age, rich girl/poor guy tropes. I would not watch it again but am not sorry I watched it once.

Spoilers

I thought her cousin was mean to the lead girl"s best friend and it was a struggle determining how she would have fallen in love with him. They did really turn it around though and their romance wound up being very sweet.

It is one of the rare occasions when I did not feel sorry the 2nd lead did not get the girl. Not only did he not take no for an answer he tried to use the parents to get her tied into an arranged marriage. He went behind her back getting her in trouble with her already difficult mother. He threw his friendship with lead guy out the window and was willing to tarnish his former friend's future prospects to try to take him away as an option for the lead girl and to save his family's failing company. There is a tiny bit of redemption with him in the end but not nearly enough to overcome all the crappy things he had done. He even completely crushed the girl who had lovingly stood by his side by suggesting she become a secretary with benefits for a rival company. I was completely glad lead girl did not get with him and did not feel sorry when he was sad.

Lin Xi's mom was a tiger mom who projected all her failings and worries of future difficulties onto her daughter. She could not get along with Lin Xi's father because she was a harpy, so she projected that onto Lin Xi's relationship with Zheng Han. Yes Zheng Han did pretend to be a teacher but he delivered and Lin Xi's math skills improved. But her mom did not to hear why a high schooler might have done that, or that he was a good tutor, she simply wanted to hate on him because he was not who she wanted her daughter to marry. At the wedding she was still acting harsh to him when she should have apologized. Sending Lin Xi to study abroad served no purpose but for her to exert power over her daughter, She was an abusive person who was all criticism and no praise to the extent her family was emotionally terrified of her,

The father in law and son in law relationship that developed between Lin Xi's dad and Zheng Han was beyond cute. He was the only kind parent in Lin Xi's life. Her dad helped the couple as much as he could without incurring his wife's wrath. As her father was the one Lin Xi could go to for emotional support it was clear that Zheng Han would also support her. With a mother like she had she would need the two caring men as a buffer.

I do not like the leaving for your or my own good trope and it was particularly annoying in this because Lin Xi literally had no benefit.

It had so little intrigue and a very simple plot, so that it dragged a lot in the latter episodes. They could have easily told the story in 20 episodes so the fact that it was 28 is part of the reason it was so slow in parts.

#ForeverLove #XiangHanZhi #WangAnYu.

Too lighthearted and simple for me

[hanalisss · 6/10 · 22 September 2022]

Found it extremely bland.

Im a sucker for school Chinese drama and this one had so many positive reviews and high ratings I wanted to give it a go.

The acting is great but the story is just too simple and typical. Almost every scene is about the main couple and yet I couldn't feel the rush or the emotions anywhere. Very slow and some chemistry but nothing else.

The thing it put me off the most was the fact that they literally show you the ending at the beginning of every episode, so there is no surprise at all. You can literally guess everything by the first scenes and dialogues ( even the title is full of spoilers lol).

If you like slow burn sweet EXTRA LIGHT romance this one is for you.

Missed Opportunities: A Disappointing Blend of Mediocre Writing and Execution

[Omid_M · 5/10 · 18 December 2023]

I considered giving this one an even lower rating, but a few sweet moments and interesting side characters (e.g, Duan Ning) nudged my rating up slightly. While the minimalistic romantic story had its potential, the drawbacks, at least for me, were too noticeable to overlook and significantly marred the overall quality of the show.

The issues plaguing this show begin with the casting choices. The female lead, barely 18 during filming, visibly lacks the depth of a seasoned actress. She still manages to pull off the high school phase and compared to her counterpart, she outshines in expressing emotions. The male lead, unfortunately, falls short with a static and emotionless portrayal, making the chemistry of some side characters more convincing than the lead couple.

Additionally, intimate moments suffer from uninspired and poorly executed scenes, something that I think is primary the responsibility of the director. If for whatever reason, you decide to try this series, I strongly recommend skipping the kissing scenes, as they were among the least convincing intimate scenes I've ever seen. Ironically, there is a scene where the lead couple are watching a romantic scene from a classic movie- could be Gone with the Wind (1939) or Notorious (1946), either way, to me it was so sad to see after almost 80 years, the series fails to replicate the memorable romantic essence of those classic movies.

Last but not least, the writing here is a chaotic mess. Twists and challenges faced by the couple felt disorganized, with resolutions consistently worse and totally unsatisfying. For instance, the love triangle subplot in the awkward birthday party scene, and the male lead's decision to hack into a public monitor or something similar to confess his feelings- a bizarre moment that lacks any emotional impact. The show is riddled with such poor writing choices, leaving viewers puzzled by what should be memorable emotional moments. E.g., the male lead's tragic!?! Backstory, his unexplained departure from his hometown, the messy introduction of the love triangle, the infamous timeskip towards the end (which I've seen almost everyone was confused about) and lots of more bad calls which only add to the series' narrative shortcomings.

In conclusion, I cannot recommend this show due to its amateurish execution and the absence of finesse expected in a quality romantic drama.