Drama Review: Love O2O

A Smile is Beautiful drama review

 

Love O2O 微微一笑很倾城 is the sweetest feel good romance that fades angsty school drama into oblivion. It starts with a first meeting, a first date, a first kiss and a first love between two people that fit each other like a glove.


For once, the alpha male is neither jaded nor troubled because he is perfect inside and out, deserving the best boyfriend award if there was one. I honestly couldn’t stop smiling, squealing even and if all of Gu Man’s works are like this, then sign me up for Boss and Me, like right now.

Plot Summary: Bei Wei Wei and Xiao Nai are college students who meet through online gaming in a 21st century romance that continues on to real life.

Rating: Must Watch (5/5)

A Smile is Beautiful drama review
Love O2O evades the most standard cliches as though written by a fan for the fans, thanks to a video clip that never sees the light and instances where all hell could have broken loose but didn’t, much to my relief.
When Xiao Nai walks up to Wei Wei in front of the entire school and the crowd goes nuts, I expected her to take the heat for snagging the man of every girl’s dreams but she escapes relatively unscathed except for snide glances from campus queen Meng Yi Ran.

The show is so full of niceties that it’s left with no major villains when all is said and done, only redeeming arcs for those who need it. I could really care less about the lack of conflict because there’s something infinitely satisfying about the good guys winning, every single time.

A Smile is Beautiful drama review

 

Xiao Nai (Yang Yang) is a god, not literally but he may as well be. Wei Wei (Zheng Shuang) is a woman with beauty and brains. One gets so many love letters that he treats it like flyers and one grows up receiving confessions from a multitude of admirers.
A Smile is Beautiful drama review
Even though Wei Wei is out of everyone’s league, she brings normalcy through her thoughts that we hear from a first person narrative. Her voice echoes your average girl, grounded and relatable as she studies for straight As, games as a hobby, hangs out with friends and fangirls over Xiao Nai who exists on an entirely different plane.

Even so, they are still two characters that are too good to be true that it treads into fairytale territory. I love it because who doesn’t like a happy ending. When Xiao Nai gives Cao Guang the verbal smackdown and reaffirms that he trusts Wei Wei 100%, it’s obvious that nothing would ever come between them. 

A Smile is Beautiful drama review

 

No wonder the biggest emotional conflict wasn’t between the main couple but between Wei Wei and her best gal pal Er Xi (Mao Xiao Tong). I teared up when their friendship was on the brink of collapse because it felt real. I understand both parties and  I empathize with their helplessness amidst the awkward situation.
A Smile is Beautiful drama review
A Smile is Beautiful drama review A Smile is Beautiful drama review
That said, it’s really the character interactions that won me over because I live for their witty banter that’s funny to no end. Yes, there were parts that were boring, parts than had too much computer jargon and parts that had only fluff (ahem I’m talking about the last two episodes where practically nothing happens) but the cute moments more than makes up for it and the smooches too.


Overall, Love O2O has a lovable cast, a lovable story and given that it’s thematically about the world of martial arts gaming, I appreciate it even more.

Now, to drink some yakult coz as you may know, it’s the show’s choice of drink. Check out more c-netz reactions that ring so true.

10 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    September 9, 2016 4:39 AM
  2. Anne J

    September 9, 2016 5:27 AM
  3. Anonymous

    September 18, 2016 11:19 AM
  4. Anne J

    September 18, 2016 11:26 AM
  5. Anonymous

    September 20, 2016 12:15 AM
  6. Unknown

    September 23, 2016 2:25 PM
  7. Anne J

    September 28, 2016 9:00 AM
  8. Unknown

    October 2, 2016 12:02 AM
  9. Anonymous

    February 8, 2017 11:36 PM
  10. JiaNing34

    February 11, 2017 12:51 AM

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