I chose to watch this recently despite the few reviews because it has the same writer as my favourite series Put your Head on my shoulder which in my opinion is the best Asian series I have watched. ALTCFL started slowly but with lots of promise. The chemistry between the two leads was amazing but the lack of physical affection they showed to each other let it down. I love Asian dramas because of their innocence but perhaps this one was a bit young for me. I'm thinking maybe it's because Jin Mai is under 18, but not sure. Despite that the series had such beautiful, emotional story lines and wonderful relationship development. Not just romantic, but friendship and family relationships too. The acting was superb and in my option the series got better and more exciting in the middle. The only let down was the ending. It's what we all wait for and we don't just want it to to be resolved in the last episode. Overall thoroughly enjoyed this series and highly recommend it.
13 Reviews
Addicting!
ronamari-8436230 November 2020
I personally enjoyed watching this. It had Kuanlin first of all, but besides that, this is one of those romcom dramas that leave you feeling positive nonetheless. A few times I felt that the acting was a bit cringe but other than that, I'd definitely recommend!
Breath of fresh air; Funny; Engaging; Younian is unrealistic
parnildh14 September 2022
My 1st Chinese series. I can't gush more about how much I liked this series😭 Such a well-written show with such fleshed out characters (except for Younian who is unrealistically perfect). If you see the story looks cliche' on the face of it (I mean, a geeky girl falling for a popular guy and then becomes beautiful), BUT the story's been told in such a fresh manner with subtle nuances that you fall in love with the characters. Thank God, no overnight fashion makeovers! The transformation happens at a slower pace, much like real life (I didn't like the equivalence of beauty with fair complexion though. Colourism is unacceptable)
Personally, I found the student life more relatable than what is shown in the Western teen shows.
Love
rahimhossainriyadrahimhossain27 December 2019
Awesome
aryan-6591827 August 2021
Great story
grezwal25 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This story was cute and simplistic. If I had to describe it in on sentence I would say this. "A coming of age story that shows the intricacies of first loves." I thoroughly enjoyed this story. We got to see our main heroine go through a bunch of different emotions and situations that turned her into a wonderful young lady and a truly respectable person. While still keeping us interested in the side stories of her friends. Overall the show was amazing and I'd recommend it to anyone to watch with their Significant other. Very cute and emotional.
However the ending lacks punctuation for what happens with our main heroine and her friends. While I sometimes enjoy an open ending that doesn't tell everything and leave it open for interpretation I don't think this story merited that. While the story was great and it took me across a roller coaster of emotions I truly wanted to see if our favorite couples made would stay together forever. Since the story incorporated a great use of time skips and the aftermath of those time skips I have to say that I was truly disappointing that we didn't get to see our favorite couples years later married and/or with children. The story left me wanting more.
However the ending lacks punctuation for what happens with our main heroine and her friends. While I sometimes enjoy an open ending that doesn't tell everything and leave it open for interpretation I don't think this story merited that. While the story was great and it took me across a roller coaster of emotions I truly wanted to see if our favorite couples made would stay together forever. Since the story incorporated a great use of time skips and the aftermath of those time skips I have to say that I was truly disappointing that we didn't get to see our favorite couples years later married and/or with children. The story left me wanting more.
Super sweet, romantic and endearing
magnoliacream27 December 2022
A Little Thing Called First Love stars Lai Kuan Lin as Liang Younian, a handsome high-achieving most popular guy in school, and Zhao Jin Mai as Xia MiaoMiao, a sensible, plain new girl in town who falls for Younian at first sight. The drama follows the development of their relationship from high school through their university days and beyond. The metamorphosis of MiaoMiao from a timid plain girl with eyeglasses and bad teeth to a beautiful and confident young lady is fascinating to watch, underlining the power of love to transform a person to be the best he/she can be.
This story about first love is so heartwarming it feels like hot chocolate on a wintry night. Wang Bowen's mesmerizing song Can You Feel My Heart makes me feel like hugging those romantic scenes wherever it is played.
This story about first love is so heartwarming it feels like hot chocolate on a wintry night. Wang Bowen's mesmerizing song Can You Feel My Heart makes me feel like hugging those romantic scenes wherever it is played.
Good Enough
PennyReviews26 March 2020
" A little thing called first love " was a nice drama, but, towards the ending, they messed it up.
The story was pretty cute, with a nice paced romance. The love triangle was interesting too, with enough intensity to keep things fresh for a while. Although, her friend was a bit clingy and overdoing it with her obsession for her love interest, which was obvious that wouldn't lead her anywhere. Nevertheless, the main character was pretty likable, with a nice, smooth character development that was well handled. However, the final episodes were disappointing. Especially the last one, was a bit open, as they didn't conclude everything nicely.
So, overall, six and a half out of ten.
The story was pretty cute, with a nice paced romance. The love triangle was interesting too, with enough intensity to keep things fresh for a while. Although, her friend was a bit clingy and overdoing it with her obsession for her love interest, which was obvious that wouldn't lead her anywhere. Nevertheless, the main character was pretty likable, with a nice, smooth character development that was well handled. However, the final episodes were disappointing. Especially the last one, was a bit open, as they didn't conclude everything nicely.
So, overall, six and a half out of ten.
A cute lovey-dovey series with so many different stories, but mf can't act
aluqis_22 October 2023
As expected, it is a cute lovey-dovey series with a kajillion different love stories, not saying that as a bad thing. I'm always down for some heartwarming and fuzzy feelings in me, and this series is able to do just that. It's true that some scenes and events are rather cliche and predictable, but so what? As long as it makes me go shakey-lakey and crazy for them, it's still an enjoyable series. If a series is able to do exactly that, then 10 stars will go to them.
What if one of the most important aspects of a great series was to be just straight up bad? That is the biggest problem this series has. The 2nd most important character, the male lead, the person we see the most (other than the protagonist of course), sucks at acting. It may sound harsh, but the male lead (the senoir guy) absolutely sucks at conveying his feelings and emotion. When the female lead is able to a great job at emotion heavy scenes, the guy just stands there and does the bare minimum? This totally ruins the whole story, and the series ends up unable to tell the story to its full extent. Also his smiles, or fake smiles in this case is absolutely horrendous.
At the end of the day, watching this series was still a blast. The warm feeling in my heart is still gained, so I can't be too mad at it. Also, the guys rather bad acting can create some funny scenes. Overall, still a very enjoyable series to watch (very obvious flaw though).
What if one of the most important aspects of a great series was to be just straight up bad? That is the biggest problem this series has. The 2nd most important character, the male lead, the person we see the most (other than the protagonist of course), sucks at acting. It may sound harsh, but the male lead (the senoir guy) absolutely sucks at conveying his feelings and emotion. When the female lead is able to a great job at emotion heavy scenes, the guy just stands there and does the bare minimum? This totally ruins the whole story, and the series ends up unable to tell the story to its full extent. Also his smiles, or fake smiles in this case is absolutely horrendous.
At the end of the day, watching this series was still a blast. The warm feeling in my heart is still gained, so I can't be too mad at it. Also, the guys rather bad acting can create some funny scenes. Overall, still a very enjoyable series to watch (very obvious flaw though).
Good
anuyadav-6431819 April 2020
I really liked the drama, the characters were good and even the story has a nice plot but i was still expecting something meaningful at the end. The end was kind of incomplete as nothing was concluded.
But still the story was good and entertaining with an element of irony.
A LITTLE THING CALLED FALLING ASLEEP
akgonen618 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
So right off the bat i gave this show a chance based on the story and the casting ... her being in her nerd form for practically the entire series up until the end was a drag ... i got the story i felt like it was prolonged too much...
after everything she felt and went thru in the end the fact that not much got expressed the ending was lackluster to be honest didnt really enjoy it or feel satisfied
if they de nerdified her just a little earlier and maybe spiced the story up a little bitand atlest nailed the ending it would have ben legit
but overall story wise i give it a 4/10 ending 3/10.
after everything she felt and went thru in the end the fact that not much got expressed the ending was lackluster to be honest didnt really enjoy it or feel satisfied
if they de nerdified her just a little earlier and maybe spiced the story up a little bitand atlest nailed the ending it would have ben legit
but overall story wise i give it a 4/10 ending 3/10.
Interminably boring
geewhiz464 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This has absolutely nothing new to say. It's a high school/university romance between a plain girl and a handsome boy. As soon as the girl made her first appearance you just know that this was a classic transformation case. She started out with uneven ugly teeth that no braces would be enough to turn into the perfect set of pearlies she ended up with. Her skin went from brilliant orange to pinky pure white in ten episodes. I am currently waiting for the hair job which hasn't occurred yet (ep14) but I know it will happen. To make matters worse the Chinese obsession with product placement reached new heights here - I felt sorry for the screenwriters agonising how to shoe an unplaceable product into the storyline. First attempt - FL is sitting at an arts class - out of the blue she pulls out a gadget - a period tracker - and looks at it. Second attempt - two girls running in the park - one is tired sits down - pulls out the gadget - we get a readout this time - third time - the girls are trying to cook some chocolate concoction - oops they did it again - no reason - and it is only ep 14 - one wonders how many more ridiculous appearances it is going to make. Apart from anything else it is distracting because you are wondering at the reason for it.
I found the original dislike of the two girls turned to gal pals far too quickly.
I am not going to watch the full saga - life is too short and there are better things to watch out there.
I found the original dislike of the two girls turned to gal pals far too quickly.
I am not going to watch the full saga - life is too short and there are better things to watch out there.
Not the best ending
shatonathomas25 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This was a cute drama however the ending was substantially lacking. The 2 main characters after breaking up get back together in the last couple episodes. We see that the male lead got to finish his deceased mother's project. With that said we didn't get to see anything that the lead actress accomplished with her fashion career. Did she go on to be a famous designer? Did she and the male lead get married? Did he ever go abroad to get better? So many questions linger. I understand this wasn't the typical romantic ending but the end kind of ruined this drama for me. All the ups and downs and would they confess their feelings about each other etc. Majority of the episodes kept you wondering if their relationship would blossom. When you take too long it gets to be annoying.
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