First Love (2022)

Simple and Sweet With Just The Right Dose of Comedy

This is a super cute rom-com about first romance, highlighting the awkward journey of inexperienced young adults as they try to develop their crushes into relationships.

A show with lots of heart and on-point comedy, it was all the clichés rolled into one, but also a mood booster. The show was such a pleasure to watch that it made me want to go back to my first relationship in college and enact all the drama tropes.

The leads, Wang Xing Yue as Ren Chu and Tian Xi Wei as Lu Wanwan were endearing together and very entertaining to watch. Both leads have engaging visuals suitable for their characters. Ren Chu was classic good looks, whereas Wanwan was doll-like lovable. There was some cringey overacting from TXW and robotic under-acting from WXY, but nothing bad enough to distract me from enjoying the fluff.

Our FL was often misunderstood by the audience as too dumb to be in medical school, but after a few episodes, many, including myself, realized that she was actually intelligent and resourceful. However, Wanwan suffered from anxiety, especially during stressful moments like exams or performing in front of others. Anyone suffering from fear of public speaking, for example, can relate to her freezing up during stressful moments. Wanwan was generally cheerful, optimistic, and had a good EQ.

Unfortunately, Wanwan was burnt by her first crush experience and was slow to acknowledge her feelings for the ML. Hence the slow-burn romance…

Ren Chu was the brilliant and handsome campus king, a star swimmer, and talented in many ways. Despite being popular, his EQ was very low, and he was not inclined to be sociable to most. Of course, him being all cool and detached increased his popularity. Even though it was not clear how Wanwan caught Ren Chu's interest, I did enjoy watching his attempts to get closer to her, trying to confess his feelings and deepen their relationship. I shared the poor guy's frustration.

I found it charmingly funny that when one could not expect to squeeze an ounce of romance out of the most scientific moments, Ren Chu could still be romantic. He was also steadfastly committed to Wanwan, and I love how he completely shut down an annoying admirer who was clearly out of touch with reality.

The sincere and straightforward romance between the leads was adorably nerdy. Despite being new to love and still trying to work through their feelings, they did not shy away from sharing their thoughts. Both were emotionally immature in their own ways, creating plenty of opportunities for funny scenes. I smiled and laughed so much throughout the show. Even their "love tokens" were hilarious!

The development of skinship appeared natural, including the kissing scenes, starting with awkward pecks to more comfortable kisses.

I love how the drama used the supporting characters as devices to voice out or prompt the growing feelings of the leads. Little comments and setups here and there helped the romance along for our fumbling main couple.

The supporting cast was fine, doing what they needed to do. It is a mostly young cast, and while they did ok, there was room for improvement. There was some over-acting but nothing much to complain about and nothing much to praise. A second and third couple provided extra entertainment, but I was not particularly interested in their development. Wanwan's parents were awesome and provided some great comic relief.

Another high point for me was the OST. The opening song was catchy and reflected the happy, bright tone throughout the show. My favorite, though, was the ending credit song, 不知不觉 (Unconsciously). For me, it heightened the romantic feels of the drama.

Overall, I recommend this light, sweet rom-com, especially if you are looking for one with little angst and the main CP are so darlingly adorable in their unadulterated, innocent love.

Full OST list on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9aFD7zCaP0

Full OST list on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/album/1ybsFTzVK5SZaLc1PWzCe8?si=TZ9guaKtR6GAtwNwN3MW2w

不知不觉 (Unconsciously) - 康子奇 (Kang Ziqi)
不知不觉 (Unconsciously) - 徐秉龙 (Xu Binglong)
遇光 (Yu Guang) - 嘉羿 (Jia Yi)
奇妙物语 (Wonderful Story) - Joysaaaa
初次爱你 (First Love) - 彭雅琦 (Peng Yaqi)

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Warm and Fluffy

I usually lose my patience with C-Dramas as they tend to lose focus mid series. I usually find a story can be wrapped up in under 20 episodes. However, with series I found myself enjoying it and not fast forwarding through scenes. The leading couple are likeable and you root for them throughout. It has a well balanced support crew as well.

I would have liked to see a bit more of the ML relationship with his parents. It was almost skirted over.

I look forward to seeing the ML in more dramas. The FL is adorable and not too naive as is the standard in C-Dramas .

I will definitely be rewatching this one again.

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