Hello
안녕하세요
(Annyeonghaseyo)
こんにちは
(Konnichiwa)
你好
(Ni Hao)
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I Once Remembered That Guy which is also known as Remember My Boy is a 2021 Chinese drama series, directed by Jin Xiong Hao.
The series has 24 episodes and aired from the 22nd of February and concluded on the 8th of March 2021.
Main Cast:
Daniel Zhou as Zhang Yang
Zhu Lin Yu as Zhou Jing Mang
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Supporting Cast:
Feng Chu Xuan as Li Yu Xiang
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Feng Wan He as Shen Ying Hui
Liu Huan Yu as Zhuang Jie
Tian Jing Fan as Qin Zhen
Jiang Yi Ming as Ling Chen
Qin Tian as Teacher Ma
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Zhang Bao Long as Father Zhou
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Zhao Ze Fan as Wang Jing
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Zhao You Wei as Wang Miao
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The series is adapted from the novel 'I Remember That Boy' by Jian Ma.
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High school classmates Zhang Yang and Zhou Jing Mang are true polar opposites.
While Zhang Yang is brash, a practical joker, often selfish, and sometimes even confrontational, Zhou Jing Mang is naive and overly trusting.
As they slowly get to know one another at school, Zhang Yang first begins to play tricks on Zhou Jing Mang in his usual manner, fooling her into making an embarrassing announcement over the school tannoy system.
But little by little, they start to develop an attachment to one another - and start to develop a mutual sense of respect. But could this one day lead to love?
Meanwhile, classmates Shen Ying Hui, Ling Chen, and more are also embarking on their own journey's of discovery.
I really enjoyed this drama, but I was left feeling confused at times, especially with the last 5/10 minutes of each episode being a time skip. The more the drama progressed the more I got used to it but I did find myself wanting more time in the present day characters, especially as we got to learn more about how they were in the past.
The cast did a pretty good job, especially for a cast that a majority are pretty new on the scene, they all seemed to have great chemistry on screen and it made me want to see where their journey's within the drama would take them. I think this drama shows really well the Chinese culture between adults and kids, as well as parents and their children.
For his first starring role as well as his first drama, I thought Daniel Zhou did a really good job as Zhang Yang, he was able to show different sides to his character though his acting and made me question and understand his actions, throughout the series you could see his growth as well as how he punished himself for breaking promises.
What I loved about Zhu Lin Yu as Zhou Jing Mang, was that as she got older she became more assertive and fought for the things she loved and wanted, where as back in high school, she would run and hide, and Zhang Yang is the reason she seemed to become more confident, although she seemed to take a back step when he disappeared, but in the hope he would return one day she continued to make herself braver and stronger both mentally and physically.
I really liked Feng Chu Xuan as Li Yu Xiang, for me in K-drama terms he was the 2nd male lead, and the typical friend that falls for the female lead, even when he knows that Zhou Jing Mang only sees him as a friend, and knows the only guy in her heart is Zhang Yang, he's still always there when she needs a friend, and even becoming closer friends even after high school.
At first I thought Feng Wan He as Shen Ying Hui was going to be the friend that screwed over Zhang Jing Mang because they liked the same guy, while it was obvious she had feelings for him and seemed she still did in the present day, when she deleted a call from the missing Zhang Yang on Zhang Jing Mang, it seemed more to me that she was trying to protect her friend who had been looking for him for 5 years.
Liu Huan Yu often had me giggling as Zhuang Jie, Zhang Yang's friend, he was clearly someone that Zhang Yang trusted and could turn to at any moment for anything, but he seemed to be more secretive about his own affairs. The only thing I disliked that while he was being loyal towards Zhang Yang, he was hurting others that were close to him.
I adored Tian Jing Fan as Qin Zhen, she was a character that put up a strong front, even when she was at her most vulnerable moment, you could tell she would happily help out a friend to know their worth, even when she put herself down, also even when others put her down, she wanted the other person to know they were liked and had people they could turn to.
I felt sorry for Jiang Yi Ming's character Ling Chen as it seemed he had the mindset that a man had to act and feel a certain way, he struggled to open up to others and failed to protect the people that helped to protect him. He also seemed to struggle with accepting his faults or his mistakes, causing people to have their guards up around him, he even used people for his own personal game, something that really backfires for him when he realises her has strong feelings for one of them.
I personally cannot wait to see this cast in other dramas to see how their acting grows and changes, as well as seeing them in other types of roles, I will happily recommend this drama, it may be a little slow to start with, but I think it's all worth it. The cast did an amazing job, especially for rookies.
Have you watched I Once Remembered That Guy?
Were you a fan of the cast?
Did you enjoy the plot?
Let me know in the comments below.
See you soon!
안녕
(Annyeong)
さようなら
(Sayonara)
再见
(ZaiJian)
Bye
