Our take
Meeting a cute boy at the corner store, sneaking snacks into camp, leaving gifts at your crush’s desk… These are things that got lost for high schoolers who had to take online classes during the pandemic. Because of this, When I Fly Towards You is a timely blast from the past as schools get back on-site. This show captures the classroom experience before it went online, in such a cute and nostalgic manner. With moments that have to be ripped straight from someone’s high school diary, it’s easy to root for the sometimes cringy but mostly charming main characters in this series. The funny misunderstandings and assumptions between them feel all the more sweet as they try to make it up to each other.
The story
Set off by a sweet chance encounter, 16-year-old Su Zaizai finds herself helplessly drawn to Zhang Lurang — her smart, charming yet distant schoolmate.
After a chance encounter at the corner store, cheerful transferee Su Zaizai (Zhang Miaoyi) gets enchanted by aloof honor student Zhang Lurang (Zhou Yiran).
Dealing with school crushes is definitely a classic teen show premise, but When I Fly Towards You gets specific with the scenarios portrayed in the series. Scenes like offering to hide a video game console or convincing a fellow student to join a club are present in the series, and each time a scene like this gets shown, it feels like recalling a long-forgotten high school memory, only recalled through the lens of hazy, glowy nostalgia or of old digital cameras. But these moments aren’t placed randomly. These are the moments the five friends grow closer. The specificity makes the progression of their relationships feel all the more real.
So cute! But I can feel my bones fading to dust as I watch…
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
