Review of Love O2O

Love O2O (2016– )
9/10
Better than average
21 November 2018
As is my wont, I'm reviewing this against other Asian dramas.

It is a nice story about a young nerdy couple in college and their romance. It ties in computer gaming relationships with real-life relationships and that did make it more interesting until that drops by the wayside later in the series. Later in the series the programming company started by the main male character becomes more central to the story.

The male protagonist, Xiao Nai (Yang Yang), is an almost perfect character with few flaws. The top-rated character in a game, the best programmer, the top intramural basketball player, the top intramural swimmer and the most handsome guy on campus. It is a lot, especially when I realized he is autistic. I'm kidding a little bit here, but not much. Xiao Nai walks past other people without looking at them, even when they clearly want to talk to him. He often then stops and talks to them without looking at them. In Asian dramas this is somewhat common in the cold, arrogant, rich male and I think I'm going to have to start labeling them all, autistic. Xaio Nai is so perfect that female students treat him as a rock star.

He and Bei Wei Wei (Shuang Zheng) do get along well for an Asian drama, with few misunderstandings that are easily corrected with direct communication. Wei Wei is among the top ten players in the game, a good programmer, tallish, thin and attractive.

It is a little too stereotypical in that Xiao Nai takes control of the relationship and while Wei Wei may balk at times, she doesn't resist very long. There is more kissy face than I expect in Asian dramas, but my wife liked it. Wei Wei's contributions to work are limited to traditional female inputs such as ordering meals, and suggesting/arranging sleeping cots (but, she is only an intern as she is two years behind Xiao Nai in school).

Er Xi (Xiaotong Mao) is a fun character and provides some comic relief, as does Xiao Nai's college roommates and programming buddies.

Several of the characters that initially present themselves as bad, for conflict's sake, are allowed to grow and change, which was nice.

Overall better than average and fun to watch. Just put aside disbelief at how good Xiao Nai is at so many things (I didn't even mention them all). The main thing I liked about this drama is the two main characters actually trust each other rather than assuming the worst, which is a common conflict in Asian dramas.
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