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noona

A small town where nobody knows what a kdrama is
City of Romance chinese drama review
Completed
City of Romance
0 people found this review helpful
by noona
Feb 26, 2025
22 of 22 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.5

Cliche but with complex characters that add nuance (with some interesting psychological aspects)

This feels like your average college romance, but then the FL ends up being a complex character that adds a lot of dimension to the story. The FL deals with trauma (bullying), anxiety, panic attacks, there are hints of an ED, and she deals with compulsive lying.

The plot plays out like a coming of life romance with one dimensional characters until suddenly it's so much more. The story revolves around the FL's psychological issues and how her past reflects on how she acts in her relationships, whether it's friendship or romantic. You learn that she was bullied for her appearance and for her habit of lying. I would've enjoyed seeing more of her past and how she managed to become a cheerful girl. I also think it would've been interesting for them to explore the fact that she dropped an extreme amount of weight. There are hints of an eating disorder and that would've been an interesting aspect to dive into since her appearance was part of her bullying and that kind of internalized hate could cause her to be anxious about her current body/may still about body dysmorphia.

The ML was raised by neglectful parents which caused him to internalize his emotions to the point that he doesn't show affection, sadness, or anger clearly. But he's always able to see when other people are struggling, react empathically, and never pushes away affection. The ML's best friend is often hanging on his shoulders, sitting in the ML's space, or just placing his hand on the ML when he's talking to him. The ML never initiates, but always welcomes when his friend does this; he is afriad or simply not used to showing affection because he was never taught how or felt safe enough to do so. Through the show and seeing the FL's struggles and her reasoning with lying, he learns to widen his perspective on his life. He begins to grow after getting to know the FL, he begins to act like a warm child; he begins to show more warmth for others, holds love in his eyes, acts clingy/cuddly, and is open about his sadness and loneliness. He even begins to open up more to his best friend emotionally/communicative.

The plot is straightforward and cliche, but the characters come with trauma and past's that have shaped them. They feel like "real" people that face their struggles and learn how to be better versions of themselves as they learn about each other. They learn to view themselves differently and in turn it helps them to care more for themselves, their friends, and for each other.
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