I Know I Love You Reviews

Just finished watching the Korean version. Han and Ding's acting skills surpass expectations. Han embodies the professionalism and vitality of a working person, while Sun appears weary, and Ding's expressive eyes and hand movements far exceed Zhang's.
Additionally, the character settings for the pharmacist and the head librarian are more realistic. During their first encounter, the male lead's astonishment and the female lead casually glancing up while tying her hair, the second encounter's flirtation, the phone call test, and the natural progression of inviting each other for a meal—all these aspects are more natural.
Furthermore, the plot elements involving the child and the elder sister, which could have highlighted different perspectives on love and marriage experiences, were changed in the domestic version to a stereotypical portrayal of a struggling family.
It's truly disappointing. Apart from the main couple, the Korean drama also explores clashes of different views on love, making it a true urban romantic drama. In contrast, the domestic production, aside from focusing on the romantic relationship between the main characters and the supporting characters urging them to fall in love, can only be described as a current idol drama.
Indeed, without comparison, there is no disappointment...

I give it 3.5 stars for now. I have a general idea of what the drama wants to portray, but I'm concerned about the ending. I might bail at any time. The drama's insert songs, color palette, and cinematography are decent, earning it an additional star.
This might be the biggest winner in the idol drama genre this year. Sun's charm is disappearing, and Zhang's acting is wooden. There is no chemistry between the two leads, and their eye contact feels off.

I can understand why they adapted the IP of "Spring Night." The male supporting character's daring exploration and the female lead's desperate struggle on the path of emotional infidelity are relatively rare themes in domestic dramas.
However, localization inevitably has its drawbacks. The sexual tension and intensity of the actors in domestic dramas tend to be restrained, so it's difficult to fully portray the madness and anticipation within that suppressed state.
Therefore, compared to the Korean version, the domestic adaptation always falls short of achieving that explosive chemistry between the main couple.

After watching eight episodes, to be honest, I didn't feel any sense of ambiguity or atmosphere. How did these two people inexplicably fall in love at first sight and suddenly change their entire lives for each other?
One is a divorced man with unresolved issues, and the other is a woman in a ten-year relationship who wants to get married. Neither of them seems like impulsive lovers, so what's the reason for them to be so attracted to each other?

Let's start with the actors. The dialogue and acting of the main leads frequently take me out of the story. Sun Yi's lines and Zhang Wanyi's glaring eyes are very distracting. The storylines of the other characters are also lacking depth, especially the second male lead and the female lead's parents.
They are too one-dimensional, and their actions feel forced and lacking authenticity.

Next, let's criticize the director. The pacing of the drama is far from smooth. What's the point of creating an atmosphere and playing background music if it doesn't serve a purpose?
Even editing on a video-sharing platform like Bilibili would result in a more coherent storyline.

I'm giving up on this one.

I really enjoy the addition of family and friends' storylines in the Chinese version. They are not overly exaggerated and bring a down-to-earth yet humorous touch. I love watching them.

The background music is so catchy, and I really like it!
Sun Yi, the female lead, has great acting skills, a good figure, and a beautiful appearance. She portrays the weariness of a decade-long struggle, the intellectual charm of a 30-year-old, and the shy charm that only emerges when facing the male lead.

It's my first time watching the male lead's drama, and my expectations were quite high since I heard he's a skilled actor. After watching 10 episodes, I noticed that his eye expressions are sometimes exceptionally good, while other times he appears expressionless.
His dialogue delivery is excellent, but he could work on his eye expressions a bit more. Overall, it's good.

Overall, this drama is enjoyable. After finishing it, I feel like falling in love.
I hope the following episodes maintain this level of quality!

This drama managed to pass censorship solely by promoting marriage and childbirth? Divorced women in your dialogues are portrayed as leading unhappy lives, lacking companionship. It seems like the fantasies of the screenwriters and directors. I bet you just want to arrange a cozy bed for the alcoholic old man.
Why don't you take the lead?

Also, is Zhang Wanyi's acting so... mediocre? Most of the time, she just delivers lines with a stiff face, lacking any charm. Who's praising her? Did it come from a Siberian cold front?

Both the female and male leads have makeup as thick as a snow-capped mountain.
What's up with that? The lack of chemistry is compensated by forcefully adding background music, right? How much did you pay for those product placements, Bronnie?

The plot is so cringeworthy, really, it's just cringeworthy. Even the tagline is ridiculous.
Since when did being a third party become noble in the context of China? Just because he's a man?

The original male lead initially liked the female lead's temperament or appearance, basically just superficial qualities. However, viewers can see similarities in how they handle emotions, which makes them seem compatible.
But the female lead portrayed by Sun Yi lacks any soul. The male lead is just a dialogue machine. It's hard to believe that they could develop genuine love.

The drama completely fails to show the female lead's pain after leaving her ex-boyfriend.
Hurting someone you once loved should cause heartache, including for her family and her traditional, dominant father. She ends up relying on attaching herself to a family with status, unable to let go of suffocating yet inseparable family ties.

The class consciousness of Koreans truly saddens and makes one feel inferior. They exert great restraint because they identify with this concept.

The atmosphere cannot be replicated. The so-called iconic scenes and dialogues are awkward when directly translated. No amount of color grading and background music can salvage it.
The various emotional dilemmas faced by the female characters on a spring night are all lost. And why does the boyfriend always have to have an ambiguous object of affection for the protagonist's emotional shift to seem logical?
Does it fundamentally reflect a lack of belief in love itself? Why does the single father have to be changed to a sick sister? Do the screenwriters believe that such a character setting is impossible in our country?
The overall portrayal is strange, including the handling of the actors, who appear stiff and lacking naturalness. Even the casual use of background music feels out of place.

Having finished watching the first three episodes, the most prominent feeling I have is that I rarely, if ever, experienced "subtlety" in mainland dramas, especially in recent years, and I mean true subtlety.

It is particularly evident in this drama because it attempts to emphasize subtlety, making its clumsiness even more apparent.

What exactly is true subtlety? One must really think about it. It's not just about using evasive and self-righteous dialogue that pretends to be some "top-level adult banter," nor is it achieved by repetitively relying on dimly lit, warm-toned snow scenes as the main driving force of the plot, and piling up jazz-infused English songs in a haphazard manner.

I can't believe it. How did the director and actors manage to turn a down-to-earth yet ambiguous story into a completely unexciting and melodramatic mess? They shouldn't have blindly copied the lines and camera shots from "Spring Night." The sister of the female lead, who was supposed to challenge traditional love and marriage, was completely neglected.
Sun Yi is quite beautiful, but whenever she acts, it feels like watching a variety show. Zhang Wanyi is so unattractive that it's hard to be captivated by her. The only redeeming quality is the decent soundtrack and the fact that they managed to get Han Hong involved.

Remaking "Spring Night" is not entirely impossible, but did they capture the sexual attraction and pulsating vitality between age-appropriate men and women in this film?
What kind of nonsense is it with a wooden male and female lead? They're like two lifeless puppets! And that highly praised BGM that everyone talks about.
The original "Spring Night" had beautifully fitting English songs that enhanced the atmosphere and deepened the connection between the male and female leads.
This film is already poorly made, and they insist on forcibly adding BGM. Can't the creators put their hearts into making a good film?!

Mediocre. The concept of a male third party is quite rare, and there is some tension, but the early plot wasn't well set up, and the actors' expressions didn't reveal a crazy sense of love.
It's hard to understand why they would become a third party for love. The overall pace is dragging, and the slow-motion scenes, one by one, are just slow-motion without the actors conveying the flow of emotions.
It feels incredibly long and boring. So, I couldn't help but fast forward. The male lead appears wooden in some scenes, lacking charisma and appearing more like a party member.

Sun Yi is a stunning beauty, but Zhang Wanyi's old-fashioned bangs at the beginning of the show completely killed the urban drama vibe. Who on earth gave her that bang style? It looks dowdy from the front and silly from the side.
When she stood sideways at the entrance of the pet store, those bangs were way too eye-catching. The scene where the male and female leads held hands while washing off a scratch from a cat should have been filled with romantic tension and emotional fluctuations.
However, it was filmed without any feeling. It felt like Zhang Wanyi was holding her breath and arguing with Sun Yi. Also, did the beer not have any sponsorship? When Sun Yi and her friends were drinking together, they blurred out the beer so obviously that it made me focus more on identifying the brand of beer rather than paying attention to anything else.

Love without the intention of marriage is just playing around. Xu Nuo's emotions have been continuously drained by Yu An over the course of ten years. When her emotions were almost depleted, Zhao Jin appeared.
He accelerated Xu Nuo's desire to separate, but he's definitely not the main reason. Xu Nuo is truly tired of waiting, and hopefully her ex-boyfriend won't continue to pester her after the breakup.
Cong Shan is actually a good choice, very independent. Dragging him along would probably leave her with nothing. I hope Xu Nuo and Zhao Jin can have a sweet ending.

Many people say the plot is morally questionable, but it's not.
Xu Nuo and Peng are just lovers, not married, not cohabiting, and not in a factual marriage, so there's no moral issue. However, the scenes of them chasing each other in a bridal shop, or talking on the phone on opposite sides of the street, do give a bit of excitement.
It's a unique feeling, perhaps because they're teetering on the edge of an affair?

I've watched 8 episodes so far, and the costumes, cinematography, dialogue, and acting are all very good.
It's truly a pleasant surprise. Keep up the good work!

The original promotional videos and edited clips created an enticing and ambiguous atmosphere, but when I actually watched the drama, that feeling was nowhere to be found. It seems like most of the enjoyment I felt was just my own imagination running wild.
The plot had potential, but the acting fell short. The male lead's gaze lacked chemistry, and I couldn't feel his irresistible attraction towards the female lead. According to the development of the story, the male and female leads should have had love at first sight for the subsequent events to make sense.
However, their gazes lacked that stirring and hormonal presence, and the motivations behind the development of their relationship and other characters felt forced by the script.

The lack of proper setup made certain parts of the later episodes feel strange.
Personally, I feel that the most captivating aspect of the entire drama was the sense of moral ambiguity. People tend to feel the happiest when they are on the verge of happiness, and love is often strongest when it's unrequited.

Compared to the Korean version, the domestic version has a more straightforward script and actor performances, lacking the atmospheric and ambiguous tension of the original.
Sun Yi's acting feels wooden and lacks emotion. The eye contact and chemistry between the male and female leads, which should have been the highlight of this drama, is lacking in the first four episodes of the domestic version.
The director copied many shots and scenes, made some changes to the setting, but failed to adjust the character logic according to the modified setting, resulting in some odd-looking plot points.
Moreover, after the changes in the female lead's characterization, we can't see her struggle in the original emotional dilemma. It becomes a simple case of suspected cheating, and we can't wait for them to break up in the second episode.
The music selection is pretty good, but it's used too frequently and becomes noisy. Overall, it's just an average domestic urban romance drama, far from being an artistic film.

Having a male third party in the storyline is quite exciting! I like the male lead's dark and cunning character, and his restrained and subtle expressions are quite captivating. The dialogues that involve pulling and pushing each other are also intriguing.
The screenwriter has some skills! The sweet and obedient nature of the female lead is also endearing.

The only downside is that the height difference between the male and female leads is not significant enough, which affects the chemistry between them.
Secondly, according to the male lead's ruthless character, his ex-wife should also be an outstanding person, but from the previews, she seems quite ordinary. If the reason for his marriage with his ex-wife is not convincing enough, then the male lead's strong self-confidence and the commanding presence when pursuing the female lead will lose credibility.

For now, I would give it a four-star rating, pending further development of the plot.

In the first five minutes, about 80% of the dialogue was lifted directly from the Chinese subtitles of "Spring Night." But come on, remaking doesn't mean just reading off translated lines, and the remaining 20% of the dialogue completely distorts the characters' personalities.
Seriously, would someone like Jingren, who believes "I am the most important," say something like, "I want to get married, and I'm the one who brought it up"?
They didn't change what needed to be adapted and made unnecessary changes to what shouldn't be changed. (The above rant is not targeted at the actors, and although I wanted to separate this work from being a remake of "Spring Night," it's hard not to continue grumbling when they faithfully replicate the scenes, plot, framing, and OST.)

The BGM in this drama is amazing! It sets the atmosphere perfectly. Whenever the music starts playing, my adrenaline rushes! The actors' performances are flawless, but the most important thing is the compelling storyline.
The moral ambiguity of the main couple is intense. They constantly test the boundaries of morality, and it's thrilling! The male lead's straightforward pursuit and the female lead's willingness to cheat on her boyfriend add to the excitement.
They have no guilt about their actions, but personally, I think it would be even more thrilling if they didn't break up and continued their secret affair.
It's so ambiguous and full of tension. In the current drama landscape, it's considered quite impressive.

Deception is definitely Zhang Wanyi's comfort zone. Who understands? Sporting a righteous face while engaging in deception is so cool.

For serious dramas, watch "Awakening Era" for the glory of the older generation, "Qiao's Children" for a pure family drama, and "Extraordinary Doctor" for a medical tribute.
For inspirational dramas, watch "Brave Wings.

For historical dramas, watch "Longing" for ancient aesthetics. For modern emotional dramas, watch "I Know I Love You." Oh yeah, Zhang Wanyi can meet all your genre preferences.

The tension and ambiguity were taken to the extreme.
The BGM is amazing. It's the best modern drama of the year.

The OST is very pleasant to listen to (+1 star). The set design and costumes are visually appealing (+1 star). The lead actors are great (+1 star). However, why did they all go for localization?

They still eat fried chicken and barbecue, and they drink beer when making a call at home. Does China not have its own food? Or have Chinese people become alcoholics just like Koreans?

The female lead's boyfriend is already blatantly cheating, and his father keeps interfering. Despite their relationship being drained and exhausted, they still haven't broken up.
I just don't understand.

The atmosphere is good, but the storyline is simply unacceptable.

The script adaptation is worse than the original version, and the director doesn't have any remarkable aspects. The dialogues suffer from the awkward small talk commonly found in domestic modern dramas, and most of the highlight scenes are borrowed from the original.
Zhang Wanyi's acting is also somewhat regrettable. I quite like him and consider him one of the outstanding actors among the new generation. However, when it comes to portraying emotional scenes, his approach becomes too repetitive.
Reliant on innocent gazes towards the distance and similar expressions, this type of portrayal has become somewhat excessive. I can sense his emotional connection with the master in "The Qiao Family's Children," but in this drama, it seems like he lacks a connection with the female lead.
It's a step backward, and I hope he can enhance his acting skills in the future. Don't compare yourself to popular stars; it's only natural to excel in portraying the stoic style of ancient dramas.
But you have great potential and can go even further.

Sometimes, the background music suddenly playing throws me off, and I wonder if the male lead lacks experience in portraying romantic scenes. His gaze doesn't convey as much affection as Sun Yi's.
Actually, ever since "The Awakening Era," I quite liked Zhang Wanyi.

I've also watched "Spring Night," but I didn't particularly enjoy it. However, when doing a remake, one should consider language and cultural habits of expression.

Sometimes, the female lead's dialogues sound too translated and have a strong Korean flavor. It doesn't feel romantic; it just feels inexplicable. Additionally, I think the emotional dilemma between the female lead and the male second lead, which keeps dragging on for 24 episodes, only makes it feel more drawn-out.