A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It: When Comedy, Romance, and Burning Butts Collide

📝 Review (WARNING: Potential Spoilers — I’m Not Saving You from Emotional Damage)

This is absolutely one of my ultimate rewatchables. The enemies-to-lovers tension between Xiao Ju and Shi Yi flows naturally; every awkward glance, every miscommunication, every flustered moment lands just right. The slow-burn romance is balanced beautifully with laughs and genuine heart, mostly delivered by the supporting cast, who shine in ways that keep you glued to the screen even when the leads hesitate to fully express themselves.

The plot’s transition into adulthood is… chaotic, to put it mildly. One minute they’re figuring out college life, the next they’re suddenly navigating adulthood like the narrative hit a fast-forward button. It’s frustrating, a little jarring, and yet somehow still amusing to gripe about. Family dynamics add weight and realism, reminding viewers that life isn’t all picture-perfect, and the occasional absurd chaos—like someone’s butt getting blown up by firecrackers—is pure comedic gold.

Wang Rui Chang’s performance deserves its own fan club; his voice, his presence, the subtlety in his expressions—my heart was not ready for the sheer emotional “boom” of it. And yes, full disclosure: I ended up singing the first line of Xiao Ju’s big moment in Mandarin in my living room, even if my pronunciation was questionable. This drama strikes the perfect balance of sweetness, humor, and heartfelt romance, and the supporting cast ensures it never feels empty, even when adulthood sections stumble a bit.

💭 Final Mood
💖🔥 Smooth enemies-to-lovers, quirky chaos, rushed adulthood aside, Wang Rui Chang’s voice, and mandatory Mandarin karaoke. Basically a heart-fluttering masterpiece.

Read More

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

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

Read this if u are deciding wether to watch it or no

Alr so basically a lot of people might not like this drama cuz it basically has no romance scenes of ml and fl cuz it mainly focuses on teen life or college life and friendships and one sided love.The ml likes the girl but the fl wont like him to the end which might be frustrating for some people but trust me guys the ml is the greenest flag and his character is so well written.This drama is a slow pace drama so some might hate it.If you dont like to watch slow pace dramas or u like romance dramas when the main leads are dating or stuff then u might not like this drama.But if u wanna see a good chemistry and a drama based on friendships this is the best drama i have ever watched.The story is so well written that even without any romantic scenes between the leads they have the bestest chemistry.One thing is that they wont date atv all they will just straight away get married in the last ep which was a little disappointing but the show was overall sooo good that i didnt mind it.I watched it last year and till today i have never watched a drama as good as this.The fl likes the mls frnd and will keep chasing after him until the end which was quite frustrating but trust me u wont regret watcching it.Thsi drama and the character and the ml li shyi has a special place in my heart and i have never seen a character like him.

Read More

Love you wang rui chang ❤️?

Okay so first of all this is a really good drama. The best i have seen after go ahead. The ML was the only mature,practical guy but the FL was actually stupid.
Mmmm there is no kissing scenes in this drama.1 or 2 kisses in 36th episode that too for 1 second. If you are looking for something with good adult romance so let me tell you this is not for you. Apart from that this drama is so engaging. I laughed, loved and cried. Wang rui chang is so good omg.he is such a great actor. His expressions are too good. He made me stick to the last episode. The other ML was also good and the FL was too obsessed with the cheng that she never noticed wang rui( shiyi) efforts. My heart was aching for that man. Supporting characters taotao was so insecure. She chose to break up everytime instead of having a talk with her bf. Other than that the ballet girl simply ditched the guy and choose to marry some foreigner not even her ex bf. Few things messed up in the end. Specially FL scked in the end as she was so arrogant to accept the wang rui. Till the last episode she behaved so immaturely. So basically wang rui was the most mature among them because he was so practical. The FL was so immature 🙄. Still the drama is good 👍🏻 I loved it and enjoyed it.
This wasn't a love triangle it was a circle 😄🤩 but I loved it and now I am going to watch another drama like this. ❤️😄

Read More

A Refreshing Tale of Growth, Love & Youth

This drama offers a fresh and realistic take on the journey of youth. The storyline is different from the usual tropes and genuinely feels like a slice of real life. It carries emotional depth and is suitable for family viewing, which adds to its charm. The cast did well in their roles, and the chemistry between characters was noticeable, especially in the bonds of friendship and slow-burn romance. I personally enjoyed watching their growth and the emotions were well-balanced throughout.

I felt a little unsatisfied with Cheng Lang’s ending it left me wanting more closure for such a sincere character. Also, Xiao Ju’s resistance toward Lu Shi Yi felt unnecessarily prolonged, although I was glad to see their relationship come full circle by the end

Lu Shi Yi’s character was definitely a highlight. Mischievous yet warm, flawed yet pure hearted his journey stood out. Rui Chang did a fantastic job portraying him.

While I did feel a little bad for Huang Jun too, the story maintained a realistic balance of wins and losses.

Overall, while it may not suit every viewer’s taste due to its subtle pace and emotional realism, for those who appreciate heartfelt and character driven stories, this drama might still be worth watching.

Read More

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.

Read More

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

Read More