A Little Thing Called First Love
A Little Thing Called First Love (Available on Netflix and Viki) {TV-G}
Content Warning: Minor Language used once
My Rating: A
Character Glossary:
Xia Miaomiao: Main Girl
Liang Younian: Main Guy
Lin Kaituo: Second Male Lead
He Xin: Main Girl's Best Friend/ Second Female Lead
A Little Thing Called First Love follows a girl named Xia Miaomiao who meets the ace student Liang Younian who goes to her high school. It is love at first sight for her and she does everything she can to get close to him. But the show is not just about first love but the changes that come with growing up.
Despite its slow start this show is absolutely adorable. It is cute in the romance aspect but, more importantly, it is about how people change as life goes on. It is about becoming the best version of yourself and finding confidence. I really liked this show and would definitely look into rewatching and maybe even purchasing it! Give it a shot if you are in the mood for a light, cute romance.
SPOILERS AHEAD READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
OVERALL STORY: I was originally going to drop this drama. The beginning was slow and I felt like the characters were subpar at best. But, after watching a ship video about the secondary couple I decided to give it another shot. And I am so glad I did. This drama was absolutely fantastic. It had the same kind of plot as A Love so Beautiful and Wait My Youth. The main girl falls in love with the most popular, smart guy in school. (Although Wait My Youth does differ in its ending which I adore.) I was really impressed with the actors and actresses in this show because they are all newer...so don't go into this expecting a masterpiece. But they did really well and I will definitely be watching more of their stuff when it comes out. I loved the plot of this show, the timing was great and the different points were good too. I felt like the high school plot was a little short and it could have been a bit longer to better enhance the college experience but most of the story took place in college so it wasn't that big of a deal. Another plot point that bothered me a little bit was the breakup right at the end of the show. The main guy was such an idiot and wouldn't TALK TO HIS GIRLFRIEND. Like come on. That is the first rule of Relationships 101. However, at finishing this show I realized the benefit of it happening when and how it did. It forced the main girl to push herself and really gain that confidence. Ultimately although it was annoying it was the best thing for the story. I think what I liked the most was all of the different character growth. It is amazing to see how much changed from beginning to end. There was so much character growth (which I will go into individually below) and I think the overall message was important. YOU are amazing. YOU have the ability to follow your dreams. No matter what obstacles stand in your way, you can overcome them. It touched close to home because I, too, am in college. I remember how much I changed when I first started. I was incredibly shy in highschool and had little to no confidence in myself. College changed that. So this was the perfect show for me to watch--because I have experienced that too. I almost forgot! There is a love triangle in this show but it is not a big deal. The main girl doesn't ever go through the whole "I like both" she actually only ever likes one. It had to be there for certain things to happen but I really wish they could have made it more realistic. I didn't feel like there was enough scenes to back how Kaituo felt but it still needed to happen so that wasn't too annoying.
MAIN ROMANCE: At first I wasn't all that excited for them. They seemed "eh" as characters and so their romance, to me, was also "eh." But that quickly changed (around episode 5 and 6 ish) because of some developments. It was cute, the way they interacted. I began to notice the little things they did and appreciated their moments more. They grew a lot as a couple and I was impressed with the way it was written. I liked the way they worked together and supported each other. I really liked the way the main guy supported the girl switching majors. It would have been easy to want to be selfish and encourage her to stay in the same major as him but he wanted her to be happy and so he told her to go to the major she really wanted to be in. That was a big deal to me because at the time we were in the midst of the love triangle and Kaituo was all "don't change majors" because he wanted to be around her. It was just a striking difference. Overall, they were a very unique and cute main couple that I support all the way. This was an incredibly slow building romance--they don't get together until closer to the end. (36 episodes)
SECONDARY ROMANCE: I was all for these two getting together from the start. This is between Lin Kaituo and He Xin. He Xin had liked Kaituo forever but after being rejected (and him saying he likes her best friend) she starts to put some distance between them. That is when Kaituo does a little soul searching and starts to realize that he actually cares for her in a romantic sense. There is a lot more development so this didn't feel rushed to me. Although I liked them from the beginning I felt like the height of their romance was after the whole love triangle ended. They had both grown as characters and become better. It made me laugh so hard. They were one of the best parts of this show and if you are feeling uncertain about the main couple at least stick around to support our secondary couple because they are amazing!Their interactions were so adorable and I only wish we could have had more of them. My favorite moment was hands down right at the end. They had started dating but the news hadn't gotten spread yet so this guy didn't know that. He started flirting and Kaituo was not pleased.
XIA MIAOMIAO: At the beginning I described her as "a soggy chip of a main character." And she was. She didn't seem to have a whole lot about herself that really defined her as "the main girl." BUT this did change. Once she got into college her character became way more defined and her personality shined through. That had to have been one of the most satisfying parts of the show for me because I was not particularly fond of her at the beginning. She reminded me a bit of the main girl from A Love so Beautiful in the sense of the whole "Eager and desperate" feel. (But she never openly admits it straight off like the girl in A Love so Beautiful does.) One thing that did bother me and still continues to is the whole 2 episodes of braces thing. They put a whole lot of effort into making her ugly at the beginning and then she went through her whole transformation. I thought it was a little extreme but it doesn't hinder the show or character so I guess in the end it is just a minor thing.
LIANG YOUNIAN: It took me a while to really "get" his character. He was quieter and less likely to directly show how he feels. But after a while I could start to understand his humor and how he saw the world. And then I began to really like him as the male lead. I liked him because he was quiet and just overall a great person. (Although there were times I missed Daoming Si's directness.) It was nice that over the course of the show we got to know him better. Although at the end he annoyed me a little with his NOT TALKING TO HIS FREAKING GIRLFRIEND I still liked him as a character. He didn't have, in my opinion, as obvious a character change as everyone else his changes were still important. I just liked him being more open about how he feels.
LIN KAITUO: The hilarious thing about him is the actor that plays him was in Meteor Garden. He was this annoying chef dude who was all like (to the main girl in the show) "you can't win this cooking competition. you're not good enough! Quit!" and a whole lot of other bullcrap. But I was pretty excited to see him play a character that wasn't just a jerk the whole time. Kaituo was definitely a huge step up from that character. He was absolutely one of my favorites in the show. I am looking forward to seeing more from this actor because I could definitely see him as a male lead. (Fingers Crossed)
HE XIN: I've always liked her character. She has just so much to her character that I couldn't help but enjoy her scenes. (The actress was really impressive and I hope I will get to see more dramas with her in it.) She changes a whole lot from the clingy girl she was in the beginning. She starts to own her life and stop making anyone but herself the priority. Not in a self centered way but in a "I'm getting on with my life and my dreams" kind of a way. And I liked seeing that in her. I think that is ultimately why she ended up getting together with Kaituo, because of her personal growth.
SECONDARY CHARACTERS: There was a lot of secondary characters that were important to the plot so I'm going to talk briefly about them.
Xiaoyue was originally a competition for the main guys affections but she was such a nice person I could never hate her. She moved on once she realized he didn't like her and she was always kind to him and Miaomiao even with her feelings. She is a wonderful example of how people should react. Bless her. And in the end she even ended up with someone who really cared for her.
Lin Xia was my spirit animal at times. She was the friend that completed the triad between Miaomiao and He Xin. She was also the top relationship advice giver, and she did really well. Her character was hilarious and I wish she could have had a love interest.
Yichao had to have been one of the most hilarious characters in the show. I liked him from the start because he was such a defined character. He could be an idiot at times but I felt like that really fit his character. I was so happy for how things ended up for his character.
There were other characters too but these are the couple I really wanted to mention briefly.
FAVORITE QUOTE: "I've liked you for a long time. You said you feel like you have no influence over me. But that's not true. After the high school exam...when I was about to compromise and give up on architecture, you suddenly showed up at the lighthouse. It made me more determined about my choice. When I couldn't come up with a design for the competition, you were the one who gave me new inspiration. When I had a nervous breakdown at the construction site, you were the one who helped me overcome my fear. I like you. I like you a lot."
SHIP VIDEOS (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS):
Main Couple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpgLb8bflkA&t=205s
Secondary Couple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0vlYblCby4
Content Warning: Minor Language used once
My Rating: A
Character Glossary:
Xia Miaomiao: Main Girl
Liang Younian: Main Guy
He Xin: Main Girl's Best Friend/ Second Female Lead
A Little Thing Called First Love follows a girl named Xia Miaomiao who meets the ace student Liang Younian who goes to her high school. It is love at first sight for her and she does everything she can to get close to him. But the show is not just about first love but the changes that come with growing up.
Despite its slow start this show is absolutely adorable. It is cute in the romance aspect but, more importantly, it is about how people change as life goes on. It is about becoming the best version of yourself and finding confidence. I really liked this show and would definitely look into rewatching and maybe even purchasing it! Give it a shot if you are in the mood for a light, cute romance.
SPOILERS AHEAD READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
OVERALL STORY: I was originally going to drop this drama. The beginning was slow and I felt like the characters were subpar at best. But, after watching a ship video about the secondary couple I decided to give it another shot. And I am so glad I did. This drama was absolutely fantastic. It had the same kind of plot as A Love so Beautiful and Wait My Youth. The main girl falls in love with the most popular, smart guy in school. (Although Wait My Youth does differ in its ending which I adore.) I was really impressed with the actors and actresses in this show because they are all newer...so don't go into this expecting a masterpiece. But they did really well and I will definitely be watching more of their stuff when it comes out. I loved the plot of this show, the timing was great and the different points were good too. I felt like the high school plot was a little short and it could have been a bit longer to better enhance the college experience but most of the story took place in college so it wasn't that big of a deal. Another plot point that bothered me a little bit was the breakup right at the end of the show. The main guy was such an idiot and wouldn't TALK TO HIS GIRLFRIEND. Like come on. That is the first rule of Relationships 101. However, at finishing this show I realized the benefit of it happening when and how it did. It forced the main girl to push herself and really gain that confidence. Ultimately although it was annoying it was the best thing for the story. I think what I liked the most was all of the different character growth. It is amazing to see how much changed from beginning to end. There was so much character growth (which I will go into individually below) and I think the overall message was important. YOU are amazing. YOU have the ability to follow your dreams. No matter what obstacles stand in your way, you can overcome them. It touched close to home because I, too, am in college. I remember how much I changed when I first started. I was incredibly shy in highschool and had little to no confidence in myself. College changed that. So this was the perfect show for me to watch--because I have experienced that too. I almost forgot! There is a love triangle in this show but it is not a big deal. The main girl doesn't ever go through the whole "I like both" she actually only ever likes one. It had to be there for certain things to happen but I really wish they could have made it more realistic. I didn't feel like there was enough scenes to back how Kaituo felt but it still needed to happen so that wasn't too annoying.
MAIN ROMANCE: At first I wasn't all that excited for them. They seemed "eh" as characters and so their romance, to me, was also "eh." But that quickly changed (around episode 5 and 6 ish) because of some developments. It was cute, the way they interacted. I began to notice the little things they did and appreciated their moments more. They grew a lot as a couple and I was impressed with the way it was written. I liked the way they worked together and supported each other. I really liked the way the main guy supported the girl switching majors. It would have been easy to want to be selfish and encourage her to stay in the same major as him but he wanted her to be happy and so he told her to go to the major she really wanted to be in. That was a big deal to me because at the time we were in the midst of the love triangle and Kaituo was all "don't change majors" because he wanted to be around her. It was just a striking difference. Overall, they were a very unique and cute main couple that I support all the way. This was an incredibly slow building romance--they don't get together until closer to the end. (36 episodes)
SECONDARY ROMANCE: I was all for these two getting together from the start. This is between Lin Kaituo and He Xin. He Xin had liked Kaituo forever but after being rejected (and him saying he likes her best friend) she starts to put some distance between them. That is when Kaituo does a little soul searching and starts to realize that he actually cares for her in a romantic sense. There is a lot more development so this didn't feel rushed to me. Although I liked them from the beginning I felt like the height of their romance was after the whole love triangle ended. They had both grown as characters and become better. It made me laugh so hard. They were one of the best parts of this show and if you are feeling uncertain about the main couple at least stick around to support our secondary couple because they are amazing!Their interactions were so adorable and I only wish we could have had more of them. My favorite moment was hands down right at the end. They had started dating but the news hadn't gotten spread yet so this guy didn't know that. He started flirting and Kaituo was not pleased.XIA MIAOMIAO: At the beginning I described her as "a soggy chip of a main character." And she was. She didn't seem to have a whole lot about herself that really defined her as "the main girl." BUT this did change. Once she got into college her character became way more defined and her personality shined through. That had to have been one of the most satisfying parts of the show for me because I was not particularly fond of her at the beginning. She reminded me a bit of the main girl from A Love so Beautiful in the sense of the whole "Eager and desperate" feel. (But she never openly admits it straight off like the girl in A Love so Beautiful does.) One thing that did bother me and still continues to is the whole 2 episodes of braces thing. They put a whole lot of effort into making her ugly at the beginning and then she went through her whole transformation. I thought it was a little extreme but it doesn't hinder the show or character so I guess in the end it is just a minor thing.
LIANG YOUNIAN: It took me a while to really "get" his character. He was quieter and less likely to directly show how he feels. But after a while I could start to understand his humor and how he saw the world. And then I began to really like him as the male lead. I liked him because he was quiet and just overall a great person. (Although there were times I missed Daoming Si's directness.) It was nice that over the course of the show we got to know him better. Although at the end he annoyed me a little with his NOT TALKING TO HIS FREAKING GIRLFRIEND I still liked him as a character. He didn't have, in my opinion, as obvious a character change as everyone else his changes were still important. I just liked him being more open about how he feels.
LIN KAITUO: The hilarious thing about him is the actor that plays him was in Meteor Garden. He was this annoying chef dude who was all like (to the main girl in the show) "you can't win this cooking competition. you're not good enough! Quit!" and a whole lot of other bullcrap. But I was pretty excited to see him play a character that wasn't just a jerk the whole time. Kaituo was definitely a huge step up from that character. He was absolutely one of my favorites in the show. I am looking forward to seeing more from this actor because I could definitely see him as a male lead. (Fingers Crossed)
HE XIN: I've always liked her character. She has just so much to her character that I couldn't help but enjoy her scenes. (The actress was really impressive and I hope I will get to see more dramas with her in it.) She changes a whole lot from the clingy girl she was in the beginning. She starts to own her life and stop making anyone but herself the priority. Not in a self centered way but in a "I'm getting on with my life and my dreams" kind of a way. And I liked seeing that in her. I think that is ultimately why she ended up getting together with Kaituo, because of her personal growth.
SECONDARY CHARACTERS: There was a lot of secondary characters that were important to the plot so I'm going to talk briefly about them.
Xiaoyue was originally a competition for the main guys affections but she was such a nice person I could never hate her. She moved on once she realized he didn't like her and she was always kind to him and Miaomiao even with her feelings. She is a wonderful example of how people should react. Bless her. And in the end she even ended up with someone who really cared for her.
Lin Xia was my spirit animal at times. She was the friend that completed the triad between Miaomiao and He Xin. She was also the top relationship advice giver, and she did really well. Her character was hilarious and I wish she could have had a love interest.
Yichao had to have been one of the most hilarious characters in the show. I liked him from the start because he was such a defined character. He could be an idiot at times but I felt like that really fit his character. I was so happy for how things ended up for his character.
There were other characters too but these are the couple I really wanted to mention briefly.
FAVORITE QUOTE: "I've liked you for a long time. You said you feel like you have no influence over me. But that's not true. After the high school exam...when I was about to compromise and give up on architecture, you suddenly showed up at the lighthouse. It made me more determined about my choice. When I couldn't come up with a design for the competition, you were the one who gave me new inspiration. When I had a nervous breakdown at the construction site, you were the one who helped me overcome my fear. I like you. I like you a lot."
SHIP VIDEOS (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS):
Main Couple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpgLb8bflkA&t=205s
Secondary Couple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0vlYblCby4
Comments
Post a Comment