So the first time I heard of When I Fly Towards You were from viewers commenting here about how it’s so much better than Hidden Love and the two are being compared because (1) it’s from the same writer Zhu Yi, and (2) both C-dramas aired at the same time this June 2023. Hidden Love was the “bigger” drama because it had bigger name leads in Chen Zhe Yuan and Zhao Lu Si whereas it was just a bunch of young rising stars led by leads Zhou Yi Ran and Zhang Miao Yi in Fly Towards You. The Douban ratings are out and Fly Towards You has a 7.6 and Hidden Love an unexpectedly low 6.7. I thought Hidden Love got solid reviews (with some criticism early on) but later on the only negative was nothing much happened in the story so I thought it’s Douban ratings would at least cross 7.

Turns out the early criticisms did linger including the age gap in the story being uncomfortable with Chen Zhe Yuan playing against an actual 13 year old in the early scenes, Zhao Lu Si doing an aegyo (cutesy) voice that some viewers found annoying, that Chen Zhe Yuan’s character was too slick and flirty at times (Chinese called it too oily), and that the second male lead was nothing like the character in the novel. Conversely the reviews for Fly Towards You are genuinely glowing centered on how the male lead is not too arrogant and perfect, the female lead not too dim and doormat, that the teen friends group has great chemistry, and the story lines are not overly manufactured for conflict and delivers a true coming of age story in a satisfying way. I know what drama I’m binging next lol.