REFREASHING DRAMA IN 2025
Storyline: A simple yet heartwarming tale of young adults navigating their first romance. It blends awkward crushes, comedic misunderstandings, and tender moments into a feel-good narrative.Tone: The drama leans heavily into rom-com clichés, but instead of feeling tired, it delivers them with freshness and charm. It’s a mood booster, perfect for viewers who enjoy light entertainment.
Cast: Wang Xing Yue (Ren Chu) and Tian Xi Wei (Lu Wanwan) shine with natural chemistry. Their performances make the romance believable and engaging.
Overall, if you’re looking for a sweet, funny, and nostalgic drama that captures the essence of first romance, First Love is worth your time. It’s not about originality—it’s about charm, and this series has plenty of it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not often I hate the ending as much as I did in this drama.
This story had as a main theme the emotional development of the main character. They learn to overcome being timid as they gained confidence, experience and knowledge. They learned to stand up for themself. We watch Wanwan grow up and to stand up for herself. Meanwhile, Ren Chu learns how to be a thoughtful, caring person instead of an analytical, heartless robot.But at the end, all that character development is thrown away. Ren Chu makes a heartless, hurtful decision. He does it while we are shown zero emotional struggle, zero difficulty, zero thought or concern for how much it will hurt Wanwan. And he does it behind her back, and hides it from her.
And how does she react when she eventually finds out without him telling her about it? All her character development is thrown away. She smiles a fake smile and pretends everything is fine to show support for Ren Chu. HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
Why was both of their character development thrown away for the sake a plot twist that was not needed. The only purposes it seems to serve is to tell us that:
1) Wanwan learned nothing and has not changed.
2) Ren Chu learned nothing and has not changed.
3) Every caring thing Ren Chu said, every confession of love, was all a lie. His decision at the end, him choosing to do it behind her back, to hide it after the decision was made tells the true story of how he feels. Someone who loves Wanwan could have never behaved the way he did. How can she see all that he has said to her as anything other than lies. Her memories with him should have been turned to poison.
All they needed to do was to have Ren Chu show emotions when he found out about the upcoming situation. They should have shown him being angry at the unfairness, worried about how it would hurt Wanwan. He should have gone to her immediately and lamented being forced into this situation. He should have pleaded with her for help overcoming this impossible decision. Ultimately, things could have gone on from there exactly as they did and it would have been fine. It would have been fine because having him address the situation with her, as partners, would have remained consistent with their character development. Instead their behavior is thrown back to the way it was at the start of the show.
Wanwan should have blown up at him. She should have told him that she will never believe his words again because his actions have shown them to be nothing but lies. She should have turned and walked away from him. And if he reached out to stop her, she should have screamed, "Don't Touch Me!" Then after he recoils in fear and horror as he realized the magnitude of his mistake, she should have said, "You gave up that right. Forever. You chose this. You chose to make your decision without me, without any concern for me. You chose to hide it and lie to me. You chose for us to be apart. Now you can go ahead and live your life without me getting in your way. You've made it perfectly clear that that is what matters to you."
And for a time skip final scene, lets have Ren Chu see Wanwan in a cafe over a year later. As he walks over she is getting up, turns and sees him. There's some awkward hellos exchanged. This we see someone suddenly move into frame, beside Wanwan. Ren Chu sees the man take her hand and that's when Ren Chu sees the engagement ring on her hand. The man asks who her friend is. Wanwan turns to her fiance and replies, "He's just a classmate. Lets go pick out my wedding dress."
That's the ending Ren Chu deserves after treating her so heartlessly.
This drama ranks right up there as having the worst ending I've ever seen.
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The Fist 5 Episode and after Episode 19 was good but In Between Was Terrible.
This drama had it's cuteness but also had many annoying and frustrated episode with some episodes had so much stupid scenes that it was actually funny. The first 5 episodes hook me into the drama but then it went down hill. The push and pull game that both leads were playing became more annoying as the episodes went on. Th question whether he like me or not or I am to afraid to ask him, seem to me like JR. High or High school age question. These characters were in college could had more maturity. You can be naïve about love but the stupid nonsense and over acting was terrible. the lead actress is a very good actress but this character made me mad and annoyed by her cold, stupid, and silliness that she played this character. I kept wondering what kind of direction she was being given. The male lead was so cold and with no chemistry that I kept wondering if he really liked her or was she just an experiment to him. Between both of them there was no chemistry. Not even as colleagues in school. He seem more of a teacher then a student himself. I could not believe her as a medical student. She liked to bake so I thought of her as a chef. It was not until the 19th episode that they started to show some Maturity as college kids and some chemistry for each other and and stop all the misunderstanding and be honest with themselves. I really did not like the ending but it was ok. I think the writer needed a better flow on the episode and understand college age level is much different then High School. The director also should have seen it better so he could have given better directions to the actors.Was this review helpful to you?
A cute series on birth, hesitations, the progression of the 1st romantic relationship.
Plot: meeting at university between a shy/withdrawn and insecure medical student (FL), and 1 little math genius (ML) with an EQ (emotional quotient) = 0.The story follows their university life, the friendships, the loves, the rivalries, the growing-up of this band of young people.
Very well played (I really like the ML whom I'm waiting to see again on screen) but, in the 2nd part, the rhythm becomes slow. That's a shame !
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Série mignonne sur la naissance, les hésitations, la progression de la 1ere relation amoureuse.
Plot : rencontre à l'université entre 1 étudiante en médecine timide/effacée et en manque de confiance, et 1 petit génie des maths avec un EQ = 0.
La story retrace la vie universitaire, les amitiés, les amours, les rivalités, le growing-up de cette bande de jeunes.
Très bien joué (j'aime beaucoup le ML que j'attends de revoir) mais , en 2e partie, le rythme devient lent. Dommage !
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A good college romance
I watched this show because of Wang Xing Yue. I absolutely loved him in The Double, which I think is his best role to date. In First Love, his portrayal of a stoic, logical genius who finds himself falling in love was great. Because he's so aloof and expressionless most of the time, when he first smiles -- just barely a twitch of his lips -- it has a big impact. I found the FL quite annoying at first, but she seemed to grow up a lot by the end of the series.Was this review helpful to you?
A cute romance to keep you entertained
I enjoyed it. I did feel that some episodes dragged on a bit but it was overall enjoyable, and I find I find I wasn't fast forwarding as often as I do with other dramas. I like the main leads, they were cute and worked well. I liked that the female lead was ditzy sure, but she also did stand up for herself where needed. Similarly, the male lead portrayed a rich smart dude but he was not completely arrogant and he spent a lot of the show learning about what the female lead needs and wants, not assuming. The whole soy milk thing was adorable. I didn't really love Xibai and the cousin's romance, it was bland and uninteresting. The friend couple were cute, but that's about it. I also didn't find the other couple interesting much, Wan Wan's high school friends - that couple. I did like though that this didn't become a drama where that dude suddenly decided that oh, I do like Wan Wan and all that crap. I also loved that the pick me girl was given no attention from Ren Chu, the way most dramas should be.Overall, it's a fun watch for something light-hearted.
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This review may contain spoilers
Cute.. but skipped A LOT! ;)
First thing you shld know- the ML Ren Chu is very good looking ;) Lol..The storyline starts off cute and quirky. Lu Wanwan is cute and bubbly, but lacks self confidence. She has liked her boy best friend for 5 years, who has secretly been dating her girl best friend for the past two years!! She obviously gets hurt and angry after learning this, and meets our ML. He’s the uni’s Straight As student who is the smartest and the most popular, but not the most sociable nor kindest. He’s cold and good looking! Haha, typical.
So they start off with rumours that they’re dating, they form an agreement to dispel those rumours, he then starts falling for her and we have a kiss in Epi 5! I then had hopes that this could be a good drama, but unfortunately .. the remaining episodes became a beat around the bush, repetitive and just dragging it out. She was unsure about his feelings, and didn’t want history to repeat itself.
Finally around Epi 18, there is a somewhat confession and after some (unnecessary) misunderstandings they get together as a couple. Love rivals yes, misunderstandings lots of it, side couples yes- but I honestly skipped most of it. The romance is rather innocent and cute- so don’t expect anything steamy lol.
To summarise- started off cute but became draggy and dull. Some episodes were interesting but most were just bearable.
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This review may contain spoilers
When your first love leads to a forever love
From the start, I loved the leads of this series. Though I can admit the male lead was a bit stiff at some points but it can be justified with him being awkward and inexperienced. Still the way he treats Wan Wan is just adorably sweet, which hooks the viewer from the start since he truly goes out of his way to help her as she is hurting with the loss of her first love.They have good chemistry so its believable to watch as their love grows through the show. Also Ren Chu does start showing a less stiff side about half way through as he really works to woo Wan Wan.
The comedy in this show is top notch, but it doesn't take away from the glimpse of the pain that comes with losing the innocence of your first love. Also you get a great arch for Wan Wan who really gains confidence in herself and a new drive for following her dreams.
One con, I will say I am a bit sad that we didn't get any real substantial goal that was reach by either of the main leads. They both are striving for academic and career goals but we don't see a glimpse of them reaching them truly.
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A little frustrating, but held out
The premise of First Love is a pretty typical C-drama rom-com romance. I like that it sets in college, although the plot and dynamics is more high school behavior.I love Tian Xi Wei from New Life Begins. The big eyes and puffy cheeks is very trendy now with leading female actors in Chinese dramas. You can’t help but smile when you look at her. I also have to say, she did carry the show. As a lot of reviewers commented, the ML, Wang Xing Yue is good eye candy, plenty of shirt off scenes, but oh boy he’s a stiff actor. His dubbing also needs work, he delivers his lines, in a very dry monotone voice. I hope he improves over time, because his face is pretty to look at.
I liked the first half of the show because it was kind of cute banter. She pretends to go after the ML so people won’t think she still has a crush on her friend anymore. It’s totally cute and the ML doesn’t go against this which makes the show even cuter.
Of course, a simple storyline can’t carry throughout the show right? The FL is very adamant that she doesn’t want to be in a relationship and it’s the main focus of the storyline for a huge chunk of the drama. Over time you get a little frustrated and annoyed and just simply tired.
I did stuck with it because there was always that feeling… maybe in the next episode they get together finally? I did enjoy it again once the tension eased and the angst went away. I do enjoy the cute parts of the show. I didn’t really like watching everyone floundering on expressing his and her feelings because everyone did.
The second couple was cute, I enjoyed watching the out-going ballerina going after the nerdy doctor. I totally tuned out with the third couple, it wasn’t enough chemistry for me.
Overall, it’s an okay rom-com. Watch it for the actors or just background noise.
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Math and Medicine in love
Normally i don't write reviews but for this i just have to, this cdrama is everything.The Main couple has such a good and natural feeling chemistry that it made my heart flutter a few times and omg is the male lead cute. Their acting and chemistry made me forget that the two actors actually have a uncommen age difference with her being almost 5 years older than him. The support cast is also a great casting and character writing.
What i also love is that our female lead isn't a tipical cdrama lead, she's brave knows herself and is actually not that dumb. I really like her, she also has some good communication skills when it comes to their relationship, even though both are kind of blind in that manner.
A big plus for this series is also their kisses, normally it's something i hate in cdramas, those kisses are normally just the male lead pressing his lips on the female lead an her opening her eyes in surprise. But with those two there are actually good kisses.
I also like that they didn't do the whole, one parent is against them trope, i especially love her parents.
Overall i really love this show, and i recommend it for everyone needing something light hearted and cute.
I'm definitely going to rewatch soon.
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TIan Xi Wei CRUSHES this
An utterly charming teenage crush drama. Watched this as one of my first forays into Chinese rom coms. I was at first annoyed because I thought they were making another actress look like a little adorable Yue Shen. Then I quickly forgot about the similarities and enjoyed the show. After having watched a crap load of Asian rom coms since, I've realized that the actress playing the female lead is brilliant! She's HILARIOUS. Her comedic timing and physical comedy is beautiful. If she's ad libbing some of these scenes, she's a natural genius. If she was directed, she nailed it. Watching the standoffish ML melt into a puddle pretty quickly without her being aware of it is pretty cute. A couple scenes are cringeworthy cute. The reviewer who said the ML could have been replaced by a Japanese robot is fairly accurate. But he does have some cute moments, playing off the FL. Not having watched the actor in anything else, I can't tell if it's his acting or the direction. Edit: now that I think about it, some of the best lines are when he realizes he likes her but is feeling insecure. He had me busting out laughing in some parts (esp swimming pool scenes) and it's hard to make me laugh. So, maybe he's just being directed to be stiff.Yes, it has all the places you can fast forward if you don't enjoy the silly background filler plots. Watch it for the FL.
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This review may contain spoilers
Cute
Love how they have their character development in this drama. Love how Wanwan became a confident after being friends with him which was a nice change. I was kinda confused how the early episodes shows they have been fallin in love just to find out that on the later episodes, they become in relationship.It was cute when they show scenes where they were were struggling to act like couples after being together since they were friends for a long time. Where they act like brothers and they just know each other.
I was hoping for more interaction with Renchu's parents since Wanwan was so cute and love how Renchu's parents love her.
The most nicest highlight is when Wanwan just confess in the middle of the conflict. It was cute and funny hahaha.
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