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Never-Ending Summer

炽夏 ‧ Drama ‧ 2026
Completed
jiashiyan
16 people found this review helpful
Jun 30, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10

DONT PROCRASTINATE AND JUST WATCH THIS

It is a slow burn, but when it burns, OH DAMN, IT'S EVERYTHING I don't even have words to describe how this series made me feel. It got me out of the Cdrama Slump after The First Frost. I never thought I would enjoy the chemistry between these two so much. Of course, there are plot holes, ofc some things don't make proper sense, but just let it go, especially if you have read the book, which I did halfway through the airing. I missed Lu Xi Xiao so much. At the end of the day, it's supposed to be about how love heals everything, so just let their childhood love heal something for you. I have to say, Zhou Wan in the last episode took my heart. I do swing for BAOBAO now, and I'm also falling deep down the rabbit hole for Zhou Keyu. This was a pleasure watching, ALSO HOW ARE BOTH ML AND FL SO FKING GORGEOUS AND CUTIES AND I LOVE THEIR SMILES <3 I have very rarely seen beautiful smiles on sculpted Chinese actors. These two can just win me over with their smiles tbh.

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Completed
Ifa Flower Award1
46 people found this review helpful
Jun 30, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 7.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 4.5

The Long Way to Love

I have a love hate relationship with Never Ending Summer. At first glance, it looks like another sunshine girl meets midnight rain bad boy romance, a trope I will happily sign up for every single time. Instead, the drama takes a different route. Zhou Wan is an eighteen year old girl carrying responsibilities far beyond her age. Faced with her grandmother's mounting medical bills and abandoned by her estranged mother, she resorts to getting close to Lu Xi Xiao, the rebellious son of the man her mother is about to marry, hoping to pressure her mother into helping. What begins as a desperate plan slowly turns into genuine love, setting the stage for a story overflowing with longing, sacrifice, and heartbreak.

The problem is that this heartbreak often feels self inflicted. I understand why Zhou Wan makes many of her decisions. She grew up learning to rely only on herself, afraid of burdening others and terrified of being abandoned again. Her entire world revolves around saving her grandmother, so it makes sense that she loses sight of everything else. But there were so many moments where honesty could have solved half the problems. Xi Xiao despises his future stepmother just as much as Zhou Wan does, and he clearly cares deeply about her, yet she keeps choosing the most complicated path possible. It almost feels like the drama follows the philosophy of "why take the easy road when the scenic route has more suffering?" The result is misunderstanding after misunderstanding, with Zhou Wan fighting battles alone while Xi Xiao spends most of his time trying to piece together what she refuses to tell him.

That is what makes the angst so exhausting. The drama stacks angst on top of angst until it starts feeling less like emotional storytelling and more like a factory assembly line. In theory, repetitive misunderstandings can still work if each one raises the emotional stakes, but here many of them feel entirely preventable. Even stranger, the emotional consequences rarely linger. Xi Xiao is remarkably forgiving, Zhou Wan softens rather quickly, and the relationship often recovers faster than the drama itself suggests it should. It creates this odd disconnect where the journey feels painfully drawn out, but the aftermath barely leaves a mark.

Just when I thought the story had finally found its footing after Zhou Wan's biggest burden was lifted, the drama pulled out another classic card: a ten year separation. Honestly, that part was fine. Xi Xiao gets hurt because of her, his family wants her gone, she leaves out of guilt. It is textbook melodrama, and I had already accepted it. What completely caught me off guard was their reunion. After ten years apart, I expected plenty of emotional push and pull before any reconciliation. Instead, they practically skipped to the kissing. I genuinely had to pause and ask myself, "Wait... what just happened?" Oddly enough, it also felt believable. These were two people who had never truly stopped loving each other, so perhaps the years never mattered to them. Even so, something about the transition into their adult relationship left me feeling strangely uncomfortable, though I still cannot fully explain why.

Ironically, I found the adult conflicts more reasonable than the high school ones. Unfortunately, their buildup felt incomplete. It almost seemed as though the drama simply needed an excuse to make Zhou Wan live with Xi Xiao without making either of them look like walking red flags. Xi Xiao initially forces her to stay with him as a condition for joining his team, only to later tell her she can leave because he does not want her staying out of guilt or pity. I understand the emotional reasoning behind it, but the execution made me scratch my head more than once. After being apart for a decade, they settle into domestic life almost immediately, acting like a young married couple who simply forgot to renew their marriage certificate. The adult romance is undeniably sizzling. Those kiss scenes deserve all the applause, and yes, I never expected to see a Spider Man style kiss in a Chinese drama. But as enjoyable as those moments are, the surrounding context never fully convinced me.

The final conspiracy surrounding Xi Xiao's father also felt random and unnecessary. Zhou Wan's pursuit of justice lacked the emotional impact I expected, making the climax feel more like another obstacle than a satisfying payoff. However, I did appreciate the revelation that Zhou Wan had loved Xi Xiao long before he ever fell for her. It completely reframed her decision to use him in the beginning. It was never manipulation born from malice. It was desperation from someone forced to sacrifice the person she loved most in order to save the person who raised her. That revelation added a layer of tragedy that I wish had been emphasized earlier.

Jiang Yan is another character who feels like wasted potential. He is Zhou Wan's childhood friend who quietly loves her, yet the drama barely explores those feelings. Most of what we see is him getting jealous whenever Xi Xiao is around, but because Xi Xiao is also his half brother, it becomes difficult to tell whether his frustration comes from romantic feelings, sibling rivalry, or both. He ultimately feels less like a fully realized character and more like a convenient plot device. Even the moment where he accidentally reveals Zhou Wan's location while drunk exists mainly to move the story forward and earn him hate from viewers.

Despite all my frustrations, credit where credit is due. The romance itself delivers. The runaway arc captures that exhilarating feeling of first love beautifully. Those scenes are filled with youthful energy that made me smile from ear to ear. The adult romance is equally memorable, just in a very different way. The chemistry between Zhou Wan and Xi Xiao never disappeared, no matter how questionable the surrounding circumstances became.

The performances also helped keep me invested. Bao Shang En was excellent as Zhou Wan. Despite her soft and beautiful appearance, she carried herself with remarkable maturity, independence, and quiet resilience. Her slightly deeper voice suited the character perfectly, and both her emotional breakdowns and crying scenes landed with genuine impact. She also looked fantastic throughout the drama, with hairstyles and outfits that complemented every stage of Zhou Wan's journey. Zhou Ke Yu was more of a mixed bag. He excelled in the playful, aloof, and romantic moments, and his height certainly worked in his favor whenever he stood opposite Zhou Wan. However, during the more intense scenes, particularly when Zhou Wan's life was in danger, his expressions occasionally looked as though he was trying not to smile. It unintentionally weakened the tension in moments that should have felt far more desperate. The rest of the cast performed their roles well enough.

Visually, the drama is gorgeous. The cinematography is crisp, the production quality is polished, and several sets stand out, especially the hide and seek sequence, which remains one of my favorites. Above everything else, though, the soundtrack is the true MVP. The OSTs are memorable, emotional, and the kind of songs that easily find a permanent place on your daily playlist.

In the end, Never Ending Summer is a drama I enjoyed more for its romance than its storytelling. The cute moments, heartfelt chemistry, beautiful visuals, and outstanding soundtrack kept me watching long after the plot started testing my patience. Unfortunately, when it came to the actual writing, many of the conflicts felt unnecessarily complicated, making it difficult for me to fully sympathize with the characters. Like its title, this summer certainly felt never ending. Whether that is a compliment or a warning depends entirely on your tolerance for preventable angst.

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Completed
awesomeedramaa
11 people found this review helpful
Jul 1, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

story about people who had everything despite having nothing

The best thing about this drama is the natural acting. It is hard to describe just how perfectly the roles were played- the naturalness in their expressions, eyes, and voices. You can't simply fake that kind of chemistry between actors; they truly felt it. Another element was the music; it perfectly mirrored the emotions driving the characters at any given moment, and the score itself was beautifully composed. The visuals, scenes, landscapes, and overall aesthetic were a feast for the eyes. The story itself is far from shallow; it’s about two people with traumatic pasts whose love for each other became their salvation. While I would rate the story overall 8, I want to distinguish between two aspects: I rate the romance a 10 and the work-related storyline an 8. I’ll admit there were work scenes I skipped and scenes of the second couple also, which is why the overall rating isn't perfect.
This is a drama for those who, like me, love the kind of romance that reaches you right through the screen at home. It is a deep, sensitive, and passionate story about people who had everything despite having nothing.

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Completed
Martina
8 people found this review helpful
Jul 1, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

The summer they never truly left behind

At its heart, Never-Ending Summer is not just a romance. It's a story about trauma, grief, guilt, family, and the impossible choices people make when they believe they are protecting the ones they love.
But I think there's a lof of misunderstanding, so let's analyse it all:

Zhou Wan is, without question, one of the strongest aspects of the drama. She's not strong because she's fearless or because she always makes the right decisions. She's strong because life forces her to grow up far too early. After losing her father, being abandoned by her mother, and watching her grandmother become the only family she has left, Zhou Wan never really gets the chance to experience a normal childhood. By the time she's a teenager, she's already carrying responsibilities that no sixteen-year-old should ever have to face. When her grandmother becomes seriously ill, desperation replaces innocence.
This is exactly why I never saw her as manipulative.
Yes, approaching Lu Xixiao because of the connection between their families was morally questionable. The drama never pretends otherwise. But it also makes it painfully clear that Zhou Wan hated herself for even considering it. She wasn't driven by greed or revenge—she was driven by fear. Fear of losing the only person who had never abandoned her.
That doesn't excuse her decisions. But it makes them completely understandable.

Lu Xixiao is another character I found incredibly well written. I think many viewers reduce him to "the guy who got his heart broken," but his emotional wounds began long before Zhou Wan entered his life. Watching his mother die by suicide as a child is a trauma that shaped every part of who he became. Add to that an emotionally distant father and a family that valued reputation over love, and it's easy to understand why he struggled to trust people.
Then Zhou Wan appeared. She didn't magically heal him, but she gave him something he hadn't experienced in years: peace.
For the first time since his mother's death, he smiled again. He allowed himself to imagine a future that wasn't defined by loneliness.
That's why their relationship feels so meaningful.

The turning point of the story—the stabbing incident—is where I think many viewers misunderstand Zhou Wan the most. By that point, she was already drowning in guilt. She blamed herself for entering Lu Xixiao's life under false pretenses, even if her intentions had changed long before. From Zhou Wan's perspective, leaving wasn't an act of selfishness.
It was an act of sacrifice. She genuinely believed Lu Xixiao would have a happier, easier life without her. That's what makes her decision so heartbreaking. She wasn't right.
But she truly believed she was.

The chemistry between the two leads also deserves a lot of praise. Their relationship never feels overly dramatic or exaggerated. Instead, it's carried by quiet emotions, lingering glances, and conversations that say far more than dramatic declarations ever could. Their performances make it easy to believe that these two people spent ten years loving each other even while living separate lives.
Visually, the drama is equally beautiful. The cinematography captures both the warmth of youth and the melancholy of adulthood with remarkable sensitivity. The soundtrack fits the emotional tone perfectly, enhancing rather than overwhelming the quieter moments. Everything about the production feels soft, intimate, and nostalgic, which perfectly complements the story being told.

What I appreciated most about Never-Ending Summer is that it refuses to offer easy answers.
Love doesn't erase trauma.
Apologies don't undo years of pain.
And sometimes, people make terrible decisions because they genuinely believe they're doing the right thing.

The reunion after ten years isn't satisfying because it magically fixes everything. It's satisfying because, for the first time, both characters finally understand each other. Lu Xixiao understands why Zhou Wan left, while Zhou Wan finally realizes that she was never the burden she believed herself to be.

In the end, Never-Ending Summer isn't a story about perfect people making perfect choices. It's about two broken individuals trying to survive the weight of their past while slowly finding the courage to forgive—not only each other, but also themselves.
This drama never asked me to agree with every decision its characters made.
It simply asked me to see the world through their eyes.
And that's exactly why it stayed with me long after the final episode.

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Completed
SaharChan
9 people found this review helpful
Jun 28, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
This drama is one of the best dramas I watched ever !!!! the chemistry is insane between the actors and they act so so well their eyes speak alone , the male lead is king of yearning !!!!! the height difference is so hot , the drama will warm your heart then make you cry so badly especially in ep 20 I experienced all the feelings in this drama
my favorite scenes are : the slow dance in ep7, the snow bridge, in the adulthood era when he was drunk and kissed her OMG
I highly recommend you all to watch it !!!!!
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Completed
Deja vu
12 people found this review helpful
Jul 1, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.5
⭐ Never Ending Summer — Review

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ 9/10

I started Never Ending Summer purely because of Daniel. I first noticed him in Only for Love and immediately thought, this guy is going to do numbers—he’s tall, handsome, and has so much screen presence. The female lead also caught my attention after Youthful Glory, so I already had high expectations going in.

I’m happy to say this drama completely won me over.

This is such a heartwarming, touching love story. I absolutely love dramas where the male lead is completely down bad for the female lead, and this one delivered. Watching their relationship grow from their high school years into adulthood was beautiful, and I loved seeing how they supported and protected each other through every stage of life.

The high school storyline was one of my favorite parts. It built their relationship naturally and made every emotional moment later on hit even harder. The grandmother’s storyline was also incredibly touching, and I loved how everything tied together by the end.

The chemistry between the leads was excellent. Their romance felt genuine, the emotional moments landed, the kiss scenes were great, and I found myself rooting for them from beginning to end. The side characters also added a lot to the story, even if the second male lead was as annoying as ever.

Overall, this drama is warm, emotional, and full of heart. It isn’t as life-changing for me as dramas like Speed and Love, so I can’t quite give it a perfect score, but that’s more about my personal favorites than any major flaw in the drama itself.

Final Verdict:
A sweet, heartfelt romance with wonderful chemistry, lovable characters, and a beautifully developed relationship. If you’re looking for a comforting love story with a devoted male lead, I’d definitely recommend it.

⭐ 9/10 ❤️

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Completed
mhs_09
13 people found this review helpful
Jul 1, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Summer that ended early

I enjoyed this drama alot but there were alot of plot inconsistencies and then the cuts and unedited scenes made it harder to understand. I really enjoyed the teen arc especially when they ran away. That was very cute and It felt like teenagers were running away leaving behind no worries in the world. But in the adult arc, the only complain I have other than the plot was the reconciliation episode. The intimate scenes were just censored anyway and we all know China's Censorship System so I wish considering that they would've given us a proper scene of them reconciling and they both broke eachother's heart so badly so how come the hate didn't even last an episode? I really wanted to see a hate era and then a reconciling scene where they tell eachother about what really happened 10 years back and why Zhou Wan broke up with him. But suddenly he knew that his grandpa was involved? They could've given us 12-13 episodes of the adult arc and I really wish we could've had a proper wedding. But other than that, everything was perfect. I enjoyed their teen arc and when Zhou Wan proposed and the breakup arc was so sad 😭 I genuinely felt bad seeing lu xixiao cry. The ending was perfect 💞

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Completed
batatatamusic
19 people found this review helpful
Jul 1, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Welcome to the New Era of C-Dramas 2026: Heroines Who Can Cook

This drama already deserves an "8/10

A) Finally.

Finally, a heroine who actually knows how to cook.

Together with *Love Has Fireworks*, currently airing, that makes... "two"

Two.

Let me repeat that for the television historians in the back: "two modern C-drama heroines who can cook something other than instant noodles." Future scholars will probably identify this era as a major milestone in television history.

I've also noticed another trend recently, and this one is even more interesting: male leads are finally becoming... human beings.

B) Less "Prince Charming, certified to satisfy every teenage fantasy and personally approved by every grandmother as the ideal son-in-law," and more imperfect, believable men. After years of romances where the male lead often felt like an impossibly handsome golden retriever whose life's mission was to worship a heroine who could be equally incompetent and ungrateful

C) Really? Is this actually happening?
Here, the heroine even says "thank you."** (Granted, it takes until Episode 29, but let's not be greedy.) The writers are so daring that she even proposes to the hero herself and says "I love you"!!! about,...10 times!! We've gone from one extreme to the other.

At this rate, she'll probably end up proposing on behalf of half the heroines from the 2025-2026 dramas who never got around to it—either because they ran out of episodes, or because two extra lines of dialogue would have increased the actors' salary. Apparently, kisses are considered more efficient. This drama generously gives us both.

The male lead, meanwhile, is loyal, passionate... slightly obsessed... but also vulnerable. He gets scared. He isn't afraid to be emotionally fragile

D) Now, on a more serious note

The drama works almost entirely because of the chemistry between the two leads. Their relationship develops naturally, never feeling forced by the script. I believed in their love story from beginning to end. What especially stood out to me was the way the actor looks at the actress. His gaze feels the precise emotions reflecting his character.

They're surrounded by an impressive collection of ridiculously beautiful supporting actors, probably assembled as insurance in case the main couple failed to carry the show—which, fortunately, they never do.

The writing, however, is considerably less convincing.

The series introduces numerous compelling storylines—the mother, the brothers' relationship, the father and his sons, several family conflicts—but leaves them unresolved. Everything ultimately exists to serve the central romance.

And honestly...
that's exactly what I'm choosing to judge.

The soundtrack is fairly basic, perhaps even below expectations. The cinematography is soft, romantic, almost marshmallow-like, with beautiful scenery showcasing China, but without much artistic ambition.

This is especially disappointing considering that art is supposedly at the heart of the story.

The male lead actually has the perfect casting for an artist. He has that slightly unconventional, poetic presence. But the drama never explores it. Instead, it falls into the familiar office-drama routine, reducing painting to little more than a day job.

I wanted a genuinely obsessive artist. Someone a little reckless, someone consumed by creation. The ingredients were all there: overwhelming passion, emotional intensity... but everything remains strangely restrained, almost censored. As a result, the character loses much of what could have made him truly memorable.

Likewise, the artistic world itself never comes alive. We never really feel immersed in it. The paintings that supposedly represent a lifetime of devotion mostly end up serving as an elegant prop for the final marriage proposal.

Beautiful...
but ultimately decorative.
Yes, the drama is superficial but effective

When it comes to portraying first love, youthful mistakes, the courage it gets the emotional beats exactly right.

If I judge it purely as a romance drama , it's a 10/10. If I judge it as a complete drama, considering everything it set out to explore and how much of that it actually accomplished, it's a 4.5/10 . But emotionally, it captivates you.

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Completed
Cortanaherondale
3 people found this review helpful
Jul 9, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Flawed, but I Fell in Love Anyway

I fell in love with this show so unexpectedly. I went into it thinking it would be just another rom-com, but it ended up being so much more than that. There are deeper and sadder things going on underneath all the romance and fluff, and I genuinely enjoyed it so much. It’s definitely a drama I can see myself revisiting because it isn’t just a typical lovey-dovey rom-com. It’s fluff, angst, sadness, yearning, and eventually a happy ending—and I loved it.

The show is definitely not without its flaws. The editing can feel quite choppy at times, and there were moments where I genuinely felt like something was missing. Certain parts could have been written or directed better, and some things weren’t wrapped up as nicely as I would have liked. I heard the drama was originally supposed to be 32 episodes but was cut down to 29, so maybe that explains some of it. I’ll give it that. Despite all of these issues, though, the drama is still so beautiful—and the chemistry carries it so well that I can overlook almost all of its flaws.

Now, the star of this show for me: Lu Xiaxiao. THAT MAN YEARNS. He reminded me of Sang Yan in the best way possible.

His character genuinely surprised me because I fully expected him to become a red flag. After everything that happened, especially after ten years apart, I expected a revenge arc. I expected him to hate her, punish her, or make her suffer. But he never did. He was the biggest green flag. He loved her through everything. He gave her chance after chance. He stood by her no matter what she did. Even when he said he would make her cry and make her regret leaving him, he could never actually bring himself to hurt her.

Even after ten years, he couldn’t hate her. He always loved her. He always forgave her. He always stood by her side. He did exactly what he had always said he would do: if she was willing to come back to him, he would forgive her.

I LOVED that.

He was never stubborn for the sake of creating unnecessary conflict. He was always there for her. But at the same time, my heart broke for that man SO badly, and a huge part of that is because of Daniel Zhou’s acting. I’ve watched him before, but never as the main lead, and honestly—give that man ALL the roles.

He moved so naturally between being a loving man, a yearning man, a successful and mature man, and then suddenly this childish, funny, playful character. At the same time, he was able to portray someone deeply depressed and broken. He had so many amazing scenes, but one of my absolute favorite scenes of the entire year has to be when he was dancing under the fireworks while hallucinating that he was dancing with her. That scene had SO much depth. The acting, the emotions, the visuals—everything was amazing. I loved it so much.

His pain also made complete sense to me. He had already been abandoned as a child, and that was a scar that never truly healed. Then the person he loved most chose to leave him too. It wasn’t exactly the same as what his mother did, but to him, it felt like being abandoned all over again. It completely broke him, and Daniel Zhou portrayed that brokenness so beautifully.

The phone call scene absolutely destroyed me. When he told her, “If you say you love me, I’ll forgive you,” and then later said he would make her regret it… Oh my God. His acting was incredible.

Also, his styling in this drama? Beautiful. I genuinely enjoyed seeing him on my screen so much.

As for Bao Zhuowang, I loved her character too. I know a lot of people blamed her, but I always understood where she was coming from. I kept trying to put myself in her shoes, and because of that, I could never hate her for the choices she made.

One line basically explains her entire character and everything that happened: “I’m only 18. I can’t do this anymore.”

She was SO young.

After the stabbing, everyone came at her—the grandfather, the mother, the father—and everyone told her that they shouldn’t be together. She blamed herself for him getting hurt, and she was left completely alone. In her mind, the best way to protect him was to move away from him. She had no one supporting her, and she was already so broken that I understood why she made that choice, even if it was painful and even if it wasn’t necessarily the right one.

I actually loved that, in this relationship, she was the red flag and he was the green flag. It was such an interesting dynamic, and somehow it worked so well.

Her acting was also very good, especially during her more emotional scenes. The scene where she got hurt was amazing. There were a few moments where I wanted a little more from her, but whenever she had a truly heavy scene, she delivered. Her funny scenes were also great, and she is just SO cute and beautiful.

And THE CHEMISTRY.

Oh my God.

The chemistry is genuinely what carries this show. I don’t necessarily think the drama itself is a perfect 10 because I do have issues with it, but the chemistry carries it SO well that I can overlook those issues and still give it a 10. They were electric together.

I absolutely DEVOURED the first part of the drama when they were young and still in school. I loved the high school arc so much. It was fun, sweet, emotional, and so enjoyable. More than anything, it really made me feel like I was watching these two people grow up together.

One of my favorite lines from him when he comforted her when her grandma died, he was telling her it’s OK. I will grow up with you instead.

That line perfectly captures their entire relationship. This really feels like a love story spanning more than ten years because we actually watched them grow up together. We saw their youth, their love, their separation, and then who they became as adults. Although I do think ten years apart was a little too long for the story—maybe five years would have worked better—I still loved their journey.

My biggest complaint is that I simply didn’t get enough of them. I wanted SO much more. I wish we had more scenes of them together because I genuinely could have watched another ten episodes of them just being happy and lovey-dovey. Their chemistry was that good. Also talk about a well made ending. Very beautifully done… especially when they addressed the audience directly. 

I also wish we had seen a little more of his “hate” era. Since the show teased the idea that he would make her regret leaving him, I think that part could have lasted a little longer if the drama had more episodes. But at the same time, I also love that he could never truly hate her. That was completely true to his character.

The side characters, unfortunately, weren’t that interesting to me. I didn’t really care about most of them, and some of the parents were genuinely annoying. I also didn’t love the brother’s character, although I do want to see more from the actor. I don’t think his acting is amazing yet, but I definitely think he has potential.

Some storylines also weren’t wrapped up properly or were resolved too quickly. There were moments where the drama seemed to just fast-forward through things, and I wish those parts had been handled better. Still, the show did such a good job of making me feel like I had genuinely witnessed their entire journey—from youth to adulthood—that I became incredibly attached to them.

There are also SO many beautiful scenes in this drama. The cinematography was gorgeous in certain moments, and some scenes had a surprising amount of emotional depth.

And the OST? OH MY GOD.

There are at least three songs that I absolutely love. The music made the emotional scenes hit so much harder and added so much to the atmosphere of the drama. I genuinely loved the OST.

I also really liked the costumes. I noticed that some outfits were repeated, which actually made the drama feel more natural and realistic. People repeat clothes in real life! It gave the characters a more believable, lived-in feeling.

The story itself is honestly nothing especially new or groundbreaking, but I would still absolutely recommend giving this drama a chance. It gave me one of my favorite couples of the year, so many memorable scenes, beautiful cinematography, an amazing OST, and a romance with genuine emotional depth.

You can also tell how natural the chemistry between the cast is. After watching some of the behind-the-scenes content and their variety show appearances, I genuinely get the feeling that they had so much fun filming this drama together, and I think that natural connection came through on screen.

This show has flaws. There are things I would change, things I wish had been explored more, and things I wish had been wrapped up better. But I loved it anyway.

The chemistry was electric. The yearning was everything. Lu Xiaxiao completely stole my heart. Their journey made me feel like I had grown up with them, and I already know I’m going to miss them.

Definitely one of my favorite couples of the year—and a drama I would absolutely recommend.

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Completed
SmileAgain
3 people found this review helpful
23 days ago
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 5.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 1.0

Overratted

I wasn't planning to watch this drama, but all the hype made me curious enough to give it a shot. Honestly? It turned out to be totally overhyped. While the plot wasn't terrible, it was definitely predictable. But here we go again with the same archetype: a selfish female lead who takes so much more than she ever gives. The show was just packed with tired clichés—definitely a one-time watch that leaves zero lasting impression.
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Completed
imen chabchoub
3 people found this review helpful
Jul 9, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5

my first cdrama, the beginning of a wonderful journey

i never thought in my life I could finish a drama in less than 1 week and be that obsessed with them
What makes me stuck is the original background of the main lead; she is strong; she is ready to lie, to act, and to even deceive us, the watchers, during the whole drama. The slow development of their relationship from strangers to friends to lovers to coworkers—their chemistry is insane; their eyes do not lie. I smell love in the air between the two actors. From the beginning till the end, nothing is sure; you just pray. I want Lu Xixiao to be happy and get what he really deserves. Lu Xixiao is one of the greenest flags ever with Wan Zhou; especially when they become so close, he is the true definition of how a man must love and sacrifice for his lover. This drama is recommended to those who have lost faith in love; this drama makes you fall in love with life again. Their voyage from teenager to adult summary: If two people are meant for each other, fate will work in their favor, and they will reunite again.

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Completed
Abrtmsy_happiness
3 people found this review helpful
Jun 30, 2026
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Watching Never Ending Summer felt like stepping into a collection of memories — the kind that are filled with laughter, emotions, quiet moments, and the bittersweet feeling of growing up. What I loved most about the series was how real and relatable the characters felt. They were not portrayed as perfect people instead, they had their own dreams, fears, struggles, and insecurities.
The cinematography, the visuals, the BGM and overall atmosphere add another layer of charm to the series. The performances by the cast bring depth to the characters and make their emotions feel genuine.
Overall, Never Ending Summer is a hearfelt and emotional watch, a beautiful story about love, friendship, change, and the unforgettable moments that shape who we become

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  • Score: 8.5 (scored by 10,530 users)
  • Ranked: #500
  • Popularity: #829
  • Watchers: 30,136

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