A Love So Beautiful

I haven't watched very many dramas, let alone completed most of them, so I wanted to write a review on A Love So Beautiful after having finished it (and recently rewatched it since I saw it in 2018) and this show is for me still remains one of my favorites! The story follows teenager Chen Xiaoxi and her crush on classmate Jiang Chen, who lives in the same building but nonetheless acts cool and pretty much indifferent towards her. Typically, I'm not a fan of the Cold-Hearted Guy trope, but here it's done so well I found myself empathizing with Chen Xiaoxi's feelings about Jiang Chen, and his aloofness isn't ignored by the other characters, but genuinely adds a dimension to the story and poses challenges. Which is one of the strongest points of this show: the characterization. Each character has motives and flaws, but most of all, their personality and actions seem to genuinely affect the course of events or other characters, without feeling overly dramatic or soapy. This is in part due to a decent script along with some great actors, who all do a great job. The romance is sweet and cute; if you're a fan of cheesy romance dramas this show will definitely deliver, while also being surprisingly real in some of its later plot points (I won't spoil it but all I'll say is I actually really enjoyed how this show also portrayed growing up and how it affects your relationships/friendships as well). And even though a lot of its tropes or dynamics have been done in other forms of media, I think the actors and show itself really come together and make it feel actually fresh, and I was mostly just happy to see likable characters that I could empathize with. The only downside is the show does start off a little slow in that I don't think the earliest episodes compare to the strength of the later half, but once you get past the first four episodes (which mainly just build on character and tell smaller stories) I think it is definitely worth it. Especially since it's on Netflix! Don't miss out if you have the chance.