Slice of life of the late 20th century of Shanghai, China
This is a slice of life drama that brings back the nostalgic late 90s of Chinese high school students set in Shanghai.Personally, this isn't amazing or nor is it bad. It just shows a day to day life of the main characters.
There are a lot of teenager issues that happens universally within the main characters circle. For example, one-sided love, secret crush, and forbidden love because China forbids young love in high school it seems. There's also characters who had to deal with weight issues, mother-daughter relationship problems that were quite relatable. Other topics this drama touched upon is remarriage, adult friendship and jealousy, etc. There's basically a plethora of topics this drama touches upon, but there's barely any romance if anyone is here to watch romance.
Personally, I think this was filmed very well cinamatography wise. I also love the use of Shanghainese to make this drama more authentic.
Acting wise - everyone did their part quite well, there's nothing phenomenal per say. It feels like the adults were more unserious and humorous compared to the kids.
Unfortunately, mid-way through the drama was when I was beginning to wonder if I should have dropped it because of how boring it became. I usually like watching 90s-inspired Chinese dramas, but I think there are way better 90s inspired cdramas than this one.
Was this review helpful to you?
a comforting watch
Watching this drama i saw myself growing more fond of the characters every episode which gave me the motivation to complete it. The family portion of the drama was very warm and at point even made me cry, it's not the best family drama out there but it's definitely not the worst. The story at some point gets really slow. For me it's the characters that you grow to love and the setting that made it worthWas this review helpful to you?
Reopen My Journals started off super fun, totally gave me that high school nostalgia.
It’s got everything—laughs, drama, friendship, and that warm, family-like vibe. Classic Chinese school drama feels! But after ep 25, it started dragging. Like, we’re stuck in high school forever? I was waiting for them to grow up, but nope—then boom, last episode jumps straight to their late 20s with zero transition. Kinda disappointing :(((But, with a title like To Myself in 1999, guess it makes sense that it’s all about their school days. So if you love high school dramas, this one’s still a fun ride!
Was this review helpful to you?
Stayed for Qian Jia Yue and Mao Tou — A Slice-of-Life Drama with Heart
It’s a heartfelt slice-of-life drama that nicely shows youth and family relationships, with just a hint of romance. My favorite part is the pairing of Huang Yang Tian Tian (Qian Jia Yue) and Chen Heyi (Mao Tou). Even though their romantic scenes are few, they still stood out to me. The story mainly focuses on real-life struggles and everyday moments, which are very relatable. Honestly, I found some parts a bit boring, but I kept watching for Qian Jue Yue and Mao Tou’s scenes—only to find out they had an open ending. Still, I enjoyed the show overall and would give it a 7.5 out of 10.Was this review helpful to you?
This drama illustrated those teenage years, coming of age and slice of life.
It's extremely touching.. Definitely recommend watching this!! The drama is overall a heart-warming, nostalgic vibe, personally it is healing. I didn't really watch this for any of the cast, I was just interested, no regrets whatsoever!The family life was so warm, it legit made me tear up. The issues the characters faced were realistic and I feel it may relate to certain people, I also did find myself relating to some of the issues. What stood out to me was how they show affection, how I genuinely feel how heartwarming it is. No kiss scenes needed, I really liked the pairings as well despite Qian Jia Yue and Mao Tou having an open ending I must say.
Overall definitely giving this drama a try!
Was this review helpful to you?
Good story, good cast
It's a coming of age drama. I started the series because of Li Yun rui ( who did a good job in this show). But the rest of the cast are good too. It's reminiscent of the kdrama reply 1988 but not the humour. It's heart warming but some issues the characters faced may be hard to watch because it's pretty real and will resonate with certain age groups because of similar experiences growing up. The concept maybe lost on younger age viewers. I like it!Was this review helpful to you?
