I was browing my Netflix list and thought I should make an effort to start actually watching some of those I’d bookmarked, so I started on Love O2O as I recalled hearing favorable things about it and I was in the mood for fluffier stuff. Happily, this was charming fluff, with an attractive lead couple who clearly have eyes only for each other (no betrayal angsty moments) and have friends who are happy to support their relationship.

Yang Yang is not the most expressive of male actors, but he sure is pretty, and I’m never going to complain about a popular, well-liked guy who falls head over heels for a girl because she is a dedicated computer gamer (who also happens to be a knockout – bonus!) to the point where he gets a little bit stalker-ish gazing on her from afar in real life and drawing close to her in their gaming platform. (Sigh… stalking is wrong, I know, but getting a little swoony-eyed because you have a crush on someone and doing something intrusive about it are two different things. His character is more in the swoony-eyed category.)

Zhang Shuang’s Weiwei is a stunner (though man, she could use a sandwhich or two), and it’s gratifying to see women who exceed in school, merging study with interests (she is a computer science major like Yang Yang’s character, Xiao Nai) to become the top female gamer in a role-playing game. She’s pretty much perfect, as is he, so their coming together is clearly written in the stars.

I’ll confess: I’m not that much into gaming myself so some of the play time and getting his game business up and running were less compelling to me so I did a little judicious fast-forwarding so I could spend more of my time with the couple and their friends. Mao Xiao Tong plays a bubbly (borderline annoying but super cute) best pal to Weiwei who gets involved with poorly styled Bai Yu’s character (that hair!), who has a crush on Weiwei and has a harder time with her polite ‘no thank you.’ Zhang Bin Bin (the demon prince from 10 Miles of Peach Blossoms) has a surprising role (saying would be spoiling) that I found to be a little broody and almost predatory, even if it’s touched on obliquely. More on this after the jump.

His character, K.O., is smitten (there’s a lot of being smitten with someone in this drama) with one of Yang Yang’s gang of friends, a very baby-faced pretty boy with the telegraphing it a bit much name of Hao Mei. He gets all dark and swoony-eyed at Hao Mei, sticks to his side like a bird dog, and even moves into his apartment to look after him. Does Hao Mei see him as a romantic partner? Not overtly, which makes K.O.’s actions seem more desperate.

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