When I Fly Towards You (2023)

The one and only romance to fly towards... all of its watchers can testify!

I could do without Hidden Love, Love 020, and Falling Into Your Smile. The same can't be said for When I Fly Towards You.

If you like a beautifully paced and written youth drama with some scattered embarrassing (but not cringy and coincidental) moments, a genuinely smart and confident female lead (you will never find another Su Zai Zai), insightful and witty comments, character growth and life lessons, mostly a lack of nationalized propaganda, interesting and adorable side characters (I could watch a whole drama on any one of them), realistic and relatable characters, and a romance without weird break-ups, triangles, and other fire pits dramas tend to fall into...

Watch this. Otherwise, you're missing out.

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I WANNA GO BACK AND JUST FALL IN LOVE!

I don't know where to start. My heart is so full right now. Getting the chance to meet Zhang Lurang, Su Zaizai, Gu Ran, Jiang Jia and Guan Fang's precious high school life to college to working individuals makes me tear up. I really loved every scene and I enjoyed everything. I definitely recommend this!

This became my favorite chinese drama dethroning Hidden Love. I need to give it to my main guy Rangrang. 😗

This story starts with a one sided crush from the female lead, trying to get closer with the male lead. Her persistence and her hardwork and she gives him assurance even though they're just friends. You know she likes him but he does not confess until they're old enough to take responsibility of what they have. And the male lead's confession is everything. I basically screamed when he confessed. It was the best timing. Their college scenes are one of the best.

THEY'RE MADE FOR EACH OTHER 🌻⭐️
They never made each other doubt
They always put each other first
They always find time
They are perfect for each other
I am so so happy for them

If I'd have someone like Rangrang in the end, then it's gonma be worth it 😭

I'd give everything just to have a Season 2 for Gu Ran and Jiang Jia. This would be the best since I want to see more of them. 🥰

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Chef's Kiss ;'>

Straight to the point review.

• i love the cinematography. Cutaway shots are aesthetically pleasing 🥹
• the short messages in the end is so powerful, makes me weak with heart eyes 😍
• su zaizai's lines are deep that i want yo use it to my fiance hehe 😋
• rang's character development every episode is to die for. ( the slow changes on how he treats su zaizai 😭)
• the set decorator did a good job with their aesthetic rooms. (Not me searching for the flower pillow and failed 🥲)
• i love their fits too, stylists did great. (Especially gu ran's & su zaizai's)
• the ost in this drama brings you back to your young days. I dont know whats in these songs and its giving throwback vibes. Too bad not available internationally, only option is reuploaded through lyrics videos in youtube by fans. (My favorite OST is the one in the beginning 🥰)
• the supporting roles own story is good.

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A typical school/campus series that have its own charms

I just love that even though this drama is "typical school drama" it still shown its own charms. What I love mostly for this drama are the characters well except for Rang's parents, you will know why hahaha.

Even though main characters are Zaizai and Lurang, the drama was able to unfold stories from their friends.

Guan Fang's background story, his character development and his relationship with his grandma was told in a good way that it makes me miss my grandma too. He wasn't just a character intended for comedic relief, he has his own story to tell.

Gu Ran's situation with his doctor parents are well told too, they shown a perspective of a child who's unintentionally got neglect by his parents due to the kind of work they had and love how they shows Gu Ran's perspective within the situation.

Jiang Jia's choosing what career to go through was represented well, as a person who go through the same thing, choosing for career path was one of the hard things to go through in entering college and the way they shown how Jiang Jia put her mind through it and not just choosing relentlessly is something I applaud for her arc.

As for the leads, Rangrang came from a family who constantly compares him to his sibling who appears as "better" than he is. As a child who also had a sibling I kind of experience this kind of thing, maybe this was "normalized" in asian household? Which should be stop as confidence is something hard to build for, it's easy to destroy one's self-esteem but building it again is not. I like how they show his brother's pov with this situation too, not just Rangrang. Not dwelling too much with the parents for the succeeding episode was good too, his parents don't deserve to have a close relationship with him as they are the reason for affecting and questioning his worth, however, it's good that things changed after his "brother" incident but reconciliation is not needed and they didn't push that arc thank god. I love how they focuses more on his closeness with his uncle and celebrating with him during holidays. Him seeing different light of life after meeting his friends was represented well. He is so introverted boy who got to meet extroverted friends.

As for Zaizai, she had a good and cheerful family, most of her arcs came from school related stuffs unlike Guan Fang, Gu Ran and Rangrang's situation. She knows her worth and standing up for herself is something I admire for her character. Unlike other female leads in other school dramas who are damsel in distress, Zaizai is a character who knows her rights and knows how to defend herself. She is also the pillar of F5 (their squad), without her initiating to know Zhang Lurang in first episodes the squad wouldn't even the way that they are in succeeding episodes.

Their squad is also something you'll love in this series, all of them are for there for each other through thick and thin. The way they resolve one's problem together and support each other's decisions is something I really admire with their friendship. Their rapport and dynamics as a squad felt so real, it wasn't forced, they all went through gradual process of building friendship, Gu Ran and Rang already know each other since they were kids though. From only knowing one's name to slowly getting to know one's personality and that's where their friendship begins.

For the Loveline aspects, it will take a while for them to officially date but you can tell in early episodes that both are whipped with each other. I love how Rangrang wasn't your typical cold, arrogant and rude male lead, he is just quiet but a lovely boy as Gu Ran said, he is just your boy who is shy and awkward but that doesn't make him a cold and arrogant. I love how he embraces Zaizai and the squad with his life.

Zaizai on the other hand wasn't the female lead who constantly stalks and follows the male lead, both of them went though getting to know each other phase, though Zaizai takes the initiative, she didn't harass the male lead contrary to other school dramas. I love the rapport within their relationship, the misunderstandings doesn't drag on as it was resolve within 1-2 episodes. The assurance and communication of these two is so good that'll make you ask if they are really high schoolers? Those two are better than adults. Their trust for each other is too good to be true, nonetheless, it's something to dream of in real life.

Gu Ran and Jiang Jia's love story was your typical frenemies-to-lovers trope with a little bit of one sided crush, it was executed well though! This is the first time I love second couple as much as the first couple.

Guan Fang doesn't have his own love line which is not really much needed and I applaud the director for that, not because your friends are in love you have to be in love too. I love how he is fifth wheeling though HAHAHAHA.

For me this is their own charms, it may be your typical coming-of-age drama they were able to show us the innocence of friendship and youth. It wasn't forced, it feels like you are growing with them too. The five main characters felt that they are real as they faces their own shortcomings, they weren't perfectly perfect, they have weaknesses and they slowly overcome those throughout the series. It's like you were also one of their classmates as well since those situations are something you did experience or might experience too. That's something some youth dramas failed to show as most of them focuses on love story and having an oh-so-good godlike character that can do all and a dumb-dumb character that will depend their life with their crushes, of course I love those storylines as I am really a sucker for youth dramas but it's kind of outdated trope now to be honest, I'm glad When I Fly Towards You gave something typical but admiring storytelling for youth dramas.

I've been waiting for this drama since their booting, I'm so sad when it gone through postponement of filming to changing some actors and filming setting (Guan Fang and Gu Ran's actors are well fit though so I don't mind the changes with their actors), they've gone through much. I saw Miaoyi's video crying after watching first episode and I can really feel her as this production have their setbacks while filming, I'm really glad that her and Yiran didn't left the show despites of the despites, can't imagine someone playing Rangrang and Zaizai as both of them embodied the character so well.

The success they're getting right now was well deserved, I just hope Youku promoted it the way it deserves, they kind of stop promoting this show after releasing Hidden Love not that I'm telling HL don't deserve it but I just hope they didn't neglect this series as it was a gem for coming-of-age drama.

Anyway, I'll be having a hard time to watch Zhang Miaoyi and Zhou Yiran's Drama with Seventeen's Jun and Dafei as I can't move on with their team up. They embodied Su Zaizai and Zhang Lurang so well that I don't want them to see with other partners, however, I'll still watch those to support my newly favorite actors. I'll watch out for you Yiran and Miaoyi! I'm glad both of you are open to work together again, hoping for more success!!

PS. The OSTs are so good too! The feeling of nostalgia and wanting to go back in year 2012 while listening to it was captured in the songs.

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Best youth film have ever watch

This is how I want all the script writer to be writing their school or college drama. I can say this is the first school drama I watch that I don't skip any episodes the acting is the best I even backward some of it, their friends is the best so funny except for the main lead parent I find small annoying, and the best things I like about this drama is that there is no annoying character that disturb the main lead relationship and I like the FL acting is so good if there is something call persistence, nothing is more than that and all the parents in the drama a very lovely. I was having a bad day just came across the drama and all my worries fly away....

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nothing can ever compare

I don't even know where to start.. I am crying like a baby cause I just can't accept the fact that I finished this drama. Nothing Nothing Nothing will ever compare to the feeling of comfort this tv show brought to me. I am afraid I'll never like any piece of fiction more than this, no I am almost certaint I will never enjoy a piece of fiction like this one. My heart is swollen with passion, heartache, joy, sweetness, nostalgia and every emotion possible all together. I will never never never forget this drama. There is no comfort drama that could ever top the way this drama healed me. At the same time it is also my biggest heartache cause I just passed my teenage years and I now know for sure I will never experience a youth like theirs. I will long forever for a group friends like theirs, and even tho I never got my young Zhang Lurang, I will keep waiting for adult Zhang Lurang in my future. Ah... I just can't stop writing... the lingering feeling that this has really ended... I just can't let go of these characters!! I will miss them so much it's unreal I could start crying all over again ...
pls pls pls if u are reading this and still haven't watched it don't waste a single second! I can swear on my heart you'll never regret it.

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Cotton candy fluffy goodness

So, one of my favorite dramas of all time is "A Love so Beautiful" (2017) and I watch it at least once a year. I've been looking for a similar drama about friendship and first/only love and nothing came close until I watched When I fly towards you. I absolutely love this drama and watched all 24 episodes in a few days. Now some might be wondering if When I fly towards you is a carbon copy of A love so Beautiful and in short the answer is no. Both are youth dramas that cover teen up to adult years. Both have a fl that has a massive crush on the ml. Both can be considered slice of life and have a group of 5 friends with two being females and 3 being males. This is where the similarities end though. In WIFTY the Female lead Su Zai Zai (ZaiZai) falls in love at first sight with the male lead Zhang Lu Rang (RangRang). However, unlike in A love so Beautiful and many other youth dramas, the ml falls for the fl from their first encounter as well. So instead of the typical scenario of the fl pining over a ml that shows little or no interest in her, Lu Rang shows how much he cares for Zai Zai from the beginning. Their crushes and feelings for each other are mutual, developing as a healthy friendship that turns into more as time goes by. They also each have their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to academics and help one another get better at their subjects by tutoring each other. I thought this was sweet and very rare in dramaland. Usually the ml is a genius and the fl is considered dumb, failing all her subjects etc. Often ml is calling her an idiot and the fl agrees. You get none of that in WIFTY. Zai Zai is outgoing, has her own interests outside of her crush (She keeps a film diary throughout series), gets good grades, and is exceptional in English/language. And Lu Rang isn't a 2D genius that knows everything. He is at first very shy, negative with low self esteem (before meeting his friends) due to being constantly compared to his younger prodigy brother. He is exceptional in science but weak with English. In other words the two leads are realistic.

I will now list what I loved most about this drama and what made it unique:
*Shows great friendship with a group that grows up together on screen.
*Felt attached to 2nd leads as well
*No unnecessary drama
* A feel good cutesy drama that never borders on annoying
*Cool alternative dreamy soundtrack that fit the scenes of the series (I never tired of listening to it)
*I really liked the slow mo scenes and cinematography
*THERE ARE NO LOVE TRIANGLES (HALLELUJAH)
*We as the audience get to see not only the fl fall for the ml, but the ml fall for the fl more and more with each episode.
*There are so many cute romantic scenes in this drama that I was smiling like a school girl, which is I guess the point of a drama like this. It brought me back to innocent first crushes I had in highschool.
*Well developed characters and their family life etc. You could get a good idea of each character's motivations and why they might feel a certain way. For example, we find out why Lu Rang is so quiet and doesn't think highly of himself.
*Such good pacing that this drama even at 24 episodes is bingeworthy
*And lastly, Zai Zai and Lu Rang are the most compatible cutest couple I've seen on screen in a long time.

Rating: 10/10

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The best Chinese youth drama I have ever watched!!

This drama has a lot of beautiful lines. I love how the FL and ML aren't so blindly in love that they forget to pursue their dreams/goals/studies. As much as they want to be in the same uni together, still, their paths are just as important. The friendship part is so adorable, too. It reminds me not to forget to be happy and enjoy life.
Life can be busy and stressful at times, and it’s easy to get caught up in our daily routines and responsibilities. But it’s important to take a step back and remember to enjoy the little things in life. Zhang Lu Rang is really setting the standard. He's so patient, understanding, and loyal. I am a sucker for one-woman men in dramas since real-life men are tr*sh;) anyway if any of you guys are tired of unhealthy dramas, watch this one!! This drama deserves 10 out of 10. It's really hard for me to say goodbye to the Feiben squad. If you guys think that watching this is worth it or not, so, please don't hesitate. Just watch. I swear that you won't regret it.

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The Most Heartwarming Youth Drama

9.5!!!!!!!

Rating by episode:
01-05: 7.50
06-11: 8.00
11-15: 8.25
15-18: 8.00
18-20: 9.25
20-24: 9.75

SHE FELL FIRST, BUT HE FELL HARDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note 4/4/2025: thinking back, the plot itself was fine, but what really made this special is the directing (so scenes they chose) and the acting of all five leads.

Story:
-character development brilliantly done
-very healthy and not toxic
-extremely sweet
-both main CP and second CP were adorable and funny
-I like how the drama was able to be funny but not a joke
-I love how they documented their youth using videos
-happiest ending, brought many to tears
-lovely friendship
-really good communication between main CP
-a little slow burn

FL:
-love her personality
-shameless in the cutest way
-has teenage rizz for days
-knows how to stand up for herself and her friends

ML
-also love him
-got the best character development
-see this especially when he started flirting back to our fl
-he might've been cold in the beginning, but gets the "best boyfriend ever" reward

Jiang Jia (2fl) and Gu Ran (2ml) are so crazy, I love them.

I like how they showed the friend croup, especially the mcp and 2cp. When the mcp got a little slow, the 2cp was fun to watch, and when the 2cp got a little slow, the mcp was fun to watch!

Acting:
Zhang Miao Yi
-succeeded in being cute, but not cringey
-the character was already great, but this actor brought life to her
Zhou Yi Ran
-has the cutest smile, which you get to see when he is with the fl or his friends

-I like how they were able to keep an 8 year story in 24 episodes. They used time skips in a very eloquent way.
-beautiful cast
-couples had surprisingly good chemistry for a youth drama, which I really enjoyed. Many of the youth dramas I've seen before all have had lacking chemistry. Here, there is no lack.

Music:
-matched the scenes so well
-even though they used some english songs (which I usually don't like) they made me like it

Rewatch
-you can watch this over and over
-I wanna rewatch rn, but I find it more rewarding to wait at least a few months before rewatching
-nothing is toxic, only character development
-EDIT: 1/28/2025: Rewatched the last 6 episodes a few nights ago. That's like 2 weeks after I first watched it. I still laughed and happy cried the same way 😍. Couldn't stop myself from rewatching

Con:
I wish Gu Ran and Jiang Jia got together earlier.
First bits of the show had a bit 2nd hand embarrassment (but it's forgiven)

I usually don't like youth dramas. I also usually don't like female lead pursuing first. Actually, I watched the first episode of this last year and dropped it. Multiple months later, I tried again, after hearing many good reviews. This is the kind of drama that gets better as you keep watching. I soon realized that this drama is really worth watching. After watching this drama, I've started opening my heart to other youth dramas and haven't been disappointed!

So, I know that there are soooo many good reviews for this drama. It's actually good, y'all. The only way you could not love this is if you don't like great character development, sweet, cute, funny, and beautiful youth romances! Highly recommend!

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Adorable !!

C'était adorable adorable adorable. J'ai passé rapidement les trois premiers épisodes en me disant que c'était bien trop niais pour moi, mais j'ai quand même persévéré, car de nombreuses personnes avec les mêmes goûts que moi n'en disaient que du bien et je ne regrette pas du tout ! J'ai commencé à tomber amoureuse dès l'épisode 4, jusqu'au final.

Les personnages sont bien écrits, vrais, réalistes, touchants et je me suis attachée à toute la petite bande. Zai, que je pensais détester, est un véritable rayon de soleil et vent de fraîcheur, qui m'a séduite sans mal et fait ravaler mes préjugés. Elle est adorable, elle peut sembler naïve et ne penser qu'à lu Rang, mais on réalise rapidement qu'elle a la tête sur les épaules, sait ce qu'elle veut et fait ce qu'il faut pour l'obtenir, ne se laisse pas marcher sur les pieds et n'est absolument pas stupide, en plus d'avoir un excellent quotient émotionnel. Vraiment, c'est comme si les scénaristes avaient pris l'héroïne clichée de pas mal de school c-drama pour y ajouter un twist qui prend tout le monde de court.

Lu Rang aussi est génial. À la base, on pense également que ça sera le garçon super froid, doué en tout, qui va se montrer horrible 90 % du temps avec sa future copine, mais lui aussi nous surprend très agréablement. Il est doux, timide, n'a pas confiance en lui, ne sait pas exprimer ses sentiments, mais a un cœur énorme et ne demande qu'à être aimé et soutenu. Ce qui fait que le rayon de soleil très persistant qu'est Zai, est la meilleure chose qui lui soit arrivée. Vraiment voir ses premiers sourires puis ensuite ses véritables éclats de rire, ça fait quelque chose à mon petit cœur.

La relation prend son temps. On les voit du lycée jusqu'à la vie adulte et c'est génial d'assister à tous ces merveilleux moments. Les personnages secondaires ne sont absolument pas laissés de côté et le second couple est aussi attachant que le principal.

Bref, je suis moi-même surprise d'avoir autant adoré un drama chinois romantique sur des adolescents, avec une héroïne si ""enfantine"", mais c'est le cas. J'ai tout regardé en deux nuits et j'ai souri stupidement bien trop souvent pour pouvoir compter. Pas de drame inutile, de souffrances atroces ou d'événements sortant de l'ordinaire, mais beaucoup d'émotions, de douceur, de guimauve, d'amour et d'amitié. Parfait pour mon moral.

Maintenant, je vais commencer le nouveau drama du lead masculin que j'ai beaucoup apprécié et que je ne connaissais pas. Encore une histoire d'ados ! Mais cette fois-ci, je fonce au lieu d'y aller à reculons.

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