This review may contain spoilers
Our Secret is a type of youth drama that would bring you down memory lane. It emits a nostalgic feeling if you have left school because of the realistic portrayal of a student’s life. High school and campus romances tend to be a bore because of the repetitive storylines. But this one is a rare exception because the way the story is told will draw you in to follow the couple’s progress and growing up pains. There is no exaggeration to take away the seemingly ordinary life of the protagonists. This is what gives the drama a healthy dose of realism.In short, if you like youth dramas, this should be one of the better ones to watch. There are no cheesy cliches like those found in My Unicorn Girl. Neither does it weigh you down with plenty of melodrama like in Go Ahead. There are sad moments but nothing so dramatic that an ordinary high school student is unable to overcome. The couple is cute and this is what most viewers would be looking for in a youth drama like this one.
Simple But Realistic Plot
I think many people would be able to relate to the main characters in Our Secret. They are teenagers and hence, you will find issues like quarrels with parents, bickering with sibling, making friends, exam pressures, course choices, and of course, first love being part and parcel of the drama. Except for the relationship between the leads, the rest of the issues are not explored in depth but naturally weaved into the story to provide viewers with a more comprehensive understanding of their lives. They also help to build the characters’ development as the story progresses.
With only 24 episodes, the drama doesn’t get bogged down with unnecessary details and long-winded subplots of all the issues mentioned above. Hence, the story is easy to follow. It is akin to the daily life of a high school student who develops feelings for the boy sitting next to her and vice-versa.
Great Acting
I think both the leads did a great job in portraying their characters. Chen Zhe Yuan seems like a natural fit as Si Yue with his smirks and air of indifference. Si Yue’s character is not cold and arrogant but neither is he friendly and warm. He is somewhere in between. Chen Zhe Yuan manages to give Si Yue this balance so that he appears just like the typical boy next door.
Rainbow Xu is not an experienced actress but she is still able to make Ding Xian looks timid and introverted as required. She captures the essence of the character with the way she speaks and her mannerisms. Thus, both of them provide viewers with very realistic characters with the way they depict their roles. Their chemistry as a high school couple is evident in the drama. There is no skinship given that they are students then but their interactions are sweet and cute to give off a feeling of an innocent romance.
Well-Written Characters
Our Secret is different from some other idol dramas like Love 020 which has unrealistically perfect characters. Ding Xian is like your typical teenager who is anxious in a new school and has to learn how to make friends. She is weak in Maths and doesn’t know how to refuse others. Si Yue is brainy and confident of his abilities but still has his moments of self-doubt.
The characters are written in a way that matches real life with their flaws. Yet, they do not end up being annoying. Instead, they easily entice viewers to root for them. There is also room for growth as they mature to become adults. In short, the main characters are not one-dimensional but have depth to their personalities.
My Verdict – Engaging For The Young
I think it is clear that Our Secret will easily resonate with the younger viewers especially those who are still studying or have just left school. This is simply because the story is very typical of what a teenager would face in real life. However, for the older viewers, this might be a tad draggy. Their high school life spans 15 episodes which means if you don’t enjoy high school romances, this would not be as engaging. It is different from Forever Love which has a much shorter school life arc and a more matured couple.
On top of that, I find a few episodes in the later part of the drama to be unnecessary. The obsession of the female lead to be with the male lead and his hesitance towards a relationship with her are unnecessary. This is where it falters to me when it has been going rather well for the most part. The second arc doesn’t have the same depth as the first and has a quicker pace. The screenwriter tries to incorporate more issues in their university life which I just don’t think add much value to the plot.
I would give a score of 7.5/10 for this Our Secret review. The start will immediately make you curious about the couple’s story. The girl expresses her feelings right at the beginning but got rejected. The story is then told as a flashback for 15 episodes. So, watch it if you don’t mind stepping into a teenage girl’s world and the experience of developing feelings for the boy next door. But skip it if you are looking for a more matured romance because the slow-moving school life will bore you.
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to be young and in love ??
i never knew that i'll love high school story like i used to, but this drama bring back those feeling and i looooove it. it remind me to K-drama : playfull kiss (?) but in a very different way. while in playfull kiss the ml is kinda jerk at the beginning, in here the ml is kind and caring and just Playfull. never knew this kind of simple highschool romance were perfectly portrayed in such beautiful way without losing its purpose to tell that in high school we just felt love at the first time, those awkward and fluttering moments, the friendships and the trouble we went through as a teenager the confusion abt the future. so so beautiful, kudos to the actors and the staff i really hard a good time watching this 💛🥰Was this review helpful to you?
Secret love/Hidden Love troupe
I have great appreciation for the ML in this series. He capturesd the emotions so well and played his character with precision. Fortunately I watched him on "Hidden love" which was also an excellent portrayal. Acting as a high schooler and adult with maturity and character development can be challenging and he was able to do so, effortlessly. Looking forward to more series from him. The story was on par, the ost was pleasant, the FL has a beautiful voice and the supporting actors didnt have me cringing on their jokes. Im new to Chinese series Im glad they are enjoyable.Was this review helpful to you?
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What an Amazing Cast!
Growing up is a Journey. A journey of happiness, sadness, struggle, insecurity. But its memorable. I think Youth is the Most memorable era of human's life. That urge to outshine but then be depressed & ask myself what the hell am i doin, being angry at parents to nag at us all time because im grown enough, the urge to be independent & the urge to be close to that lil crush we possess for "that" person. Sometimes the feelings turns out to be just an infatuation or sometimes the feelings becomes deeper & deeper as we grows up more.This drama just perfectly depicts the whole feeling of the youth. The flavour of youth. It made me feel so many things. The love the friendship the journey the issues we deal as teen everything was perfectly showed in this drama. & yes obviously one thing this drama has The Male lead. The eye candy hardworking humble understanding handsome very rare to find in real life. But of course he is a person with flaws as well because nobody is perfect in this life. I would like to add the Male lead's Acting is damn good. His eyes are very expressive. He knows how to give expression not just put a stone face. I cant imagine anyone else as "Zhou siyue" except him. Now here comes to female lead. One of the best literally. Not cringe, no over acting. So natural. The side characters are very very interesting as well. Perfect Cast in a word. The OSTs are so freakinh amazing as well. Many scenes are rewatchable as well. Overall one of the best youth dramas This year.
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Last episode background music
Hi guys, Is there anyone know what is the background music was playing in the last episode (episode 24, not the extra episode)? On the last minute when Zhou Si Yue takes Ding Xian's hand, then she looks back to her younger self back to high school and smile. I was moved by that scene, it seems to me like Ding Xian finally got what she deserved and happiness at last. Now that music keeps playing on my head. I really appreciate if you have any idea, I have tried to search by many ways like in Chinese but no hope. Thank you!Was this review helpful to you?
I love that Ding Xian and Zhou Si Yue are deskmates who, after getting off to a slightly prickly start, soon become close friends who care about each other. Although Zhou Si Yue is a genius, he is not the cold type, and Ding Xian isn't hopeless at school. She's actually smart, studies hard, and very determined to prove herself. Thankfully, this isn't the kind of drama where the girl pines after the guy for 95% of the drama! During their high school years, this drama does a great job of balancing the stress of school and the impending gaokao and the growing friendship between Ding Xian and Zhou Si Yue. There are some frustrating moments, but it's due to relatable insecurities and especially Ding Xian's personality. She herself admits to these weaknesses at one point, and it's definitely difficult to change a habit. There is a brief angsty period in their college years but they both needed to grow. I saw some comments about how nice it was to see Zhou Si Yue crying on screen and showing vulnerability, and I totally agree! It felt realistic to see these moments shown.
Ding Xian and Zhou Si Yue's friends were lovely characters, especially Song Zi Qi and Kong Sha Di from their high school years. Their tight-knit group was so cute. This drama doesn't have any annoying villains - there are a few characters that are somewhat villains but they only have a few scenes so it's not stressful! I initially really liked Su Bo Cong's character but was disappointed with the direction the writers took later on.
Overall, I enjoyed this a lot. 24 episodes was perfect. I'll especially be keeping an eye out for more of Chen Zhe Yuan's dramas.
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এত্ত সুন্দর একটা ড্রামা!
(সাবধান! আপনার যদি সামনে এইচএসসি, এসএসসি বা এডমিশনপরীক্ষাথাকে তবে এই ড্রামা এখনই দেখতে বসে যাবেন না!)একটা চাইনিজ লাভার্স গ্রুপে রিভিউ পড়ে দেখতে গিয়েছিলাম।
দেখার পর ড্রামার প্রেমে পড়ে গেছি!
এত্ত সুন্দর!
এত্ত সুন্দর!!
এত্ত সুন্দর!!!
ভাই না দেখলে পুরাই মিস!
দুদিন পর আমার ফাইনাল এক্সাম, কিন্তু পড়া বাদ দিয়ে সারা রাত ড্রামা দেখে কাটালাম।
হিরো টা এত্ত কিউট! পুরাই কিউটের ডিব্বা!
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There's only one message to this show: young love has its benefits! It can motivate and mature and keep you safe and on track. Sure, this young love is wholesome, but it was also disappointingly standard: a driven, bit cold, good at everything male paired with an intelligent, lively, but in need of mentoring female.
On top of that, no progress has been made on the opening episode mystery. It really seemed the show was waiting until the last episodes to even address it. Sure, there is some underlying tension in how did we get from there to here? But, without any themes or conflicts or originality, the drive to finish this series waned. Time to drop.
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This review may contain spoilers
This show was so cute! Not a typical cliche of high school drama
To be honest the all the characters were played so well. Both the female lead and the male lead were so beautiful. The drama has a great start, from the beginning it will tie all the watchers to it. It was really difficult for me to wait for new episodes because they took like a week to release new episodes and one more week to generate subs. For the people who are going to watch this after all the episodes are released I bet u can finish this show within 12hrs.I really like how male lead and female lead were always fond of each other especially female lead. Both of them are so adorable.
This is a must watch show.
please do watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
It’s ight…
I haven’t finished the whole thing yet but I thought I would knock this review out the way since I’m almost done. They are seriously starting to drag the show now. As soon as the FL hits university (literally the same day) is when all boring hell breaks loose. Like I get they wanted the show to have a certain number of episodes, but did they have to do it this way? The high school part of this drama was so cute and airy feeling, like they executed it very well and everyone was always happy go lucky and doing relatively fine together! Now it’s just endless drama after drama and unnecessary battles that could have all been avoided! The worst being these two could have been together 5 episodes ago yet they wanted to play all these games to make it longer when it just made me want to stop watching all together. Like the whole ML completely ignoring and being mean to the FL because his family was in an unpredictable, unavoidable situation really pissed me off for real! All they had to do was talk it out!! I’ve come this far so I have to finish it, but I’m a little disappointed with their university years, not gonna lie! It’s a good watch if you need a filler drama to find something else tho cause the first like 15 episodes were phenomenal EXCEPT FOR HER DUMBASS MOM!!! I hated that woman, but I’m not even gonna comment about her cause I WILL go on and on about how terrible of a mother she was!!!Was this review helpful to you?
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A MUST WATCH!!
I started this drama since it was one of the latest dramas and high school romance. I like this kind of troop but I generally don't have many expectations from such dramas. However, this one really blew my mind. It's a kind of drama that will make you laugh, cry and feel all the emotions that you have left behind. It will remind your crush in college and the non-existent love life.The sweet scenes will make you feel butterflies in your stomach. They're not too sweet but enough to make you swoon over the characters. If I have to relate it to other dramas, it's like a mix of with you and loves so beautiful. The twist is, the FL is intelligent, hardworking, and introvert here, whereas ML is a genius as always but an outgoing one. Their contrasting personalities were the main reason why this drama felt, even more, real and interesting.
Acting: For me, it's very rare to find actors who are not overly dramatic in Chinese dramas. However, the actors in this drama were just amazing, their acting and expressions were befitting the character and even the supporting characters were doing good. Considering how a rainbow is relatively new in the acting field and only has a few works before this, she really did well. She played a quiet, introverted girl character, whose smart and shows her growth. And for the ML, he made me cry many times. His expressions are just gold. His eyes are so expressive that even when he isn't saying anything, you can feel what's going on in his head.
Story: It started as any normal high school drama for me. It was just like With you, it has the same kind of theme as well. High school romance with the value of friendship and love. However, the actors made a great impact on me here. Also, the situations they have shown were rather relatable to me. The way they changed and how different circumstances made them separate from each other. However, in this case, Ding Xian's persistence really did impact their relationship, if not for her, I think it will be ZS to go back to her.
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Supporting cast Song Zi Qi was the only reason to watch this
HS drama trope overload but 2nd and 3rd pairing were entertaining to watch.FL was the typical acting like a 12 yr old without a clue & needs ML's constant support.
ML somehow liked that. This pairing has zero chemistry.
I only watch this drama for Wang Ze Xuan's supporting role as Song Zi Qi.
His character is exceptionally funny and Wang Ze Xuan is such an underrated actor. He pulls off every supporting role wonderfully. Hands down he's the only reason to watch this.
Series seriously slow down after they graduate HS and Wang Ze Xuan's scenes were limited.....leading to the expected ending.
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