Enjoyable, but Overextended
I enjoyed this drama, but I honestly think I would have liked it more if it had been trimmed down. While I had a lot of fun with the storyline and characters, the subplots began to feel repetitive by episode 24. That said, I found it to be an engaging and unique drama for the time it was released. It had the feel of a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of war or national conflict. In some ways, it reminded me of Toy Soldiers (an American movie), with students taking on heavy military responsibilities that threatened both their lives and mental health.I thought the characters and their stories were where this drama truly shined. I really appreciated the relationships between the characters — how they grew together despite their different personalities and family backgrounds. The cast did a wonderful job bringing their roles to life, and the backstories of the older minor characters added a thoughtful layer to the main plot. I also loved the comedic moments woven throughout the drama — they gave the story a much-needed balance. Still, as much as I could rave about certain elements, the overall experience would have benefitted from tighter plotting. A more concise episode count could have made the narrative stronger and more focused.
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This review may contain spoilers
How gender benders should be done
First off, I'm not a fan of male/female crossdressing, but I made an exception for this drama as I liked the cast. The FL actually looks like a pretty boy, and actually looked strange when dressed as a woman. I loved the character Gu, Yanzhen played brilliantly by Xu Kai (the cheeky chappy who has never grown up), and the chemistry between him and Bai Lu as Xie Xiang is superb. The comraderie between all the students at the Arsenal Military Academy is great, there's no character that you couldn't like and all play a part in the overall story. There's everything in this drama: romance, bromance, action and political intrigue. I thoroughly recommend it!Was this review helpful to you?
PLOT:
Initially it was challenging for me to get invested in the drama. I have no prior knowledge of Chinese history nor had any interest in it before I watched this drama. The set-up was a huge bore for me but with good storytelling and a compelling cast, it managed to lure me in and I am glad I stuck with it. The premise is a little basic and in some ways - senseless. However, being a weakling for cross-dressing plots, I wanted to watch it. I usually forgo of my intelligence when it comes watching such dramas. With this drama I found myself relating to these characters who were fighting for the independence / against an enemy ruler as it was very similar to some incidents from my home country's struggle in the past. I also appreciated that the drama was really funny and didn't bore me of with independence/revolt talks all the time. The action / violence was well-balanced and only towards the end did it become a little bloody and messy.
CHARACTERS:
The characters are all their own individuals and very well-rounded. What also stands out in this drama is the friendship and bond between our main characters. Gu Yanzhen, Liancheng, Huang Song, Qu Man Ting, Xiaojun and Shen Junshuan will always remain memorable to me. They were excellent characters and their friendship was very deep. It was really nice to see strong females who stood up for themselves and the free-spirited attitude of Qu Man Ting really stole the show for me. Apart from this Gu Yanzhen was unbelievably funny and cute - he was mostly playful but displayed a badass side when it came to protecting his loved ones in the need of the hour. Plus,Xu Kai is pure eye candy which helps. Junshuan was the typical uptight guy but I loved his portrayal by Toby Lee. He was very handsome. I had a hard time connecting with Liang Chen because there were times her actions made sense and at times she frustrated me. In fact the weakest part of the story was her. There's also a few villains who were okay but Xianrong was nicely done on her part.
ROMANCE + ACTING:
Now let me get to the ranting. Xu Kai and Toby Lee steal the show. I can't decide who was better because they were both that good and convincing. However as I am a Xu Kai fangirl, I'll just praise him some more. I couldn't get enough of his cute moments. He was the typical playful yet jealous boyfriend who is ready to do anything to get the attention of the girl. There was moments which had me laughing like crazy and some where I was sad when his heart was breaking. What frustrated me here was the lack of reciprocation from our female lead. The love triangle/quadrangle is long drawn and I am not sure if I am fully in agreement with it. Liang Chen seemed more invested in the 2nd ML and frankly, they were better suited. I also felt super bad for Qu Man Ting as I believe that she sincerely loved our ML and they also good chemistry with each other. It's just my heart kept breaking for Yanzhen (thanks to Xu Kai) repeatedly and I honestly would have written a hate review if the FL handn't woken up. Thankfully I knew of its happy ending, else my patience would have run out. She doesn't show much emotion towards him till the last few episodes which was frankly a long wait (although she did show some feelings in the middle). I wonder if it was the script or Bai Lu's weak sides of acting showing through as she was outperformed by her other cast members. I was sad to know that most of the romance was edited out and the slight LGBTQ+ tones were also smoothed out.
OST:
The opening theme is quite cool.
REWATCH VALUE:
Maybe one day I'll watch it again. The funny Xu Kai scenes are 100% rewatchable lol.
OVERALL:
In its essence, this drama is about people- friendship and love really does endure all. It also has some great messages about appreciating the sacrifices of our older generation and being loyal to one's own country. The cast did a solid job and this drama is one of the best C-dramas I have watched till date. It was well made with the only lacking things being the editing of some romance scenes and Bai Lu's acting not being at par with the others, which was forgivable. At least we get a female lead who can fight and hold her own. She didn't need to be rescued at every step. The cast is quite nice and the story fits in as well. The ending was a bit average but I was glad to see most of my favourites make it through.
I recommend watching this drama if you can get past the era it is set in. The cast will compel you to stay and the moments of frienship and humour won't make you regret picking it up.
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liking gender bender- the girl kicked the role- this was the best ever gender bender ever swamping.
me, as a person who is scared of every drama with more than 24 episodes, I was avoiding it for a long time. Especially when I was looking for gender bender type and some light romance but the number of episodes always pushed me away.I accidentally forgot the number and started watching it and it was too late when I released and I am so thankful for that!
the drama is fantastic, Bai LU (main girl) was marvelous, the cast amazing, it is true -not much of a typical romance thing, but who cares about romance when everything else was just amazing. in C-dramas it stands alogside with Love 020 and love me if you dare and my amazing boufriend (season1) for me <3
it is about a girl getting into men military academy and like a men kicking ass of other bandits and protecting country better than some men. side stories are so good as well.
I would like to applaud to the director and every person who made this drama happen.
as for Bai Lu (lead girl)- it is impossible to not fall in love with her. she is so strong, amazing and her smile <3 I can't even imagine somebody else in this role. lets not for get our lovely Xu Kai (off to watch this pair in Legends ^_^) and Toby Lee with his captivating smile that catches your hear.
the story is realistic, it gets better and better. especially last 10 episodes its a whole new world.
the ending is just what you would wish for- fantastic. OST is perfect- downloaded. cast amazing.
it is in my top 10 recommendations for life. you never notice how fast time flies (i took me 3 days though to finish it).
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Retro classic timeline.. Highly recommended drama..
Enjoy the story timeline, really love Bai Lu in this cast as Xie Xiang/Xie Liang Chen..its makes me remember my wife with shortcut hair, really love her..😂😍.. She really give strong effort into her character as main female lead..for Xu Kai never forget his naughty face, my kids really love his naughty face act.. LolYou can see and enjoyed classic autocars from this drama..
Enjoy the story timeline, really love Bai Lu in this cast as Xie Xiang/Xie Liang Chen..its makes me remember my wife with shortcut hair, really love her..😂😍.. She really give strong effort into her character as main female lead..for Xu Kai never forget his naughty face, my kids really love his naughty face act.. Lol
You can see and enjoyed classic autocars from this drama..
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This review may contain spoilers
Despite obvious short-comings, it is one of my favorite C-Dramas!
Usually, I am not a fan of republican era dramas because of their propaganda message and the evil portrait of the Japanese. Still, I started this drama because of my love for Xu Kai and Bai Lu (I adored both of them in Legends.). And I am delighted that I watched it. Both actors have impressed me so much that both became my favorite Chinese actors. But besides the leads' excellent performance, this drama brought me countless positive surprises.First what I adore about the drama:
♡ The main leads' romance (not a surprise): The love between Gu Yan Zheng and Xie Xiang/Xie Liang Chen is very precious. It started hilariously, sometimes eye-rollingly embarrassing but advanced to bitter-sweet and heart racing at the end.
In the middle, I became slightly impatient about XX's ignorance towards GYZ's pursuance but later on understood that she deliberately tried to suppress her feeling to him to stay in school. And the wait intensifies the longing they have towards each other later in the show (I was really touched by the arc of the two in Beijing around episode 40 - beautifully written!).
♡ The lead actors: Xu Kai absolutely blew my mind with his performance as Gu Yan Zheng: He is funny, arrogant, silly, goofy, childish, flirty, and an absolute show-off. It is his straightforward and pure personality that goes after what he wants that makes him extremely likable. These positive traits developed into determination, righteousness, and bravery when GYZ grew up to a soldier and man protecting the people and the country he loves. Despite portraying countless dramatic and ridiculous scenes, none of the actings felt over the top or unnatural. Through this character, Xu Kai indeed proved himself to be an actor of far-reaching talents. He really made GYZ his own.
Bai Lu: Bai Lu impressed me already in Legends as the overbearing demon queen, but in AMA, she outperforms herself even further by switching convincingly between the tomboyish girl Xie Xiang and the pretty boy soldier. Two thumbs up for the stylist who created her cute and handsome styles. Bai Lu also did a fantastic job in all her fighting and action scenes. Compared to Legends, where a lot was done using CG, these are real combat and acrobatic scenes, which certainly required a lot of practices and reshoots to make them as good-looking as they are.
♡ The second leads, supporting characters and their emotional storyline:
For AMA, if the chemistry of the main leads would not have been this good, I would have shipped the leads with the secondary ones instead. I am most impressed with Wu Jia Yi's performance as Xu Man Ting. Her personality is similar to that of GYZ and extremely fun to watch. Plus, I love her voice (is her own voice) that puts the right emphasis on the low tones. It positively adds to her excellent acting.
This drama is probably the second-best drama (after Joy of Life) I have watched, which has a fabulous team of supporting characters. Each of them has his/her unique personality, who is loveable. They remind me of the characters from Shonen Jump animes, which focus on friendship, effort, and victory. Liu Si Bo, who played Huang Song, was outstanding. His friendship with both XX and GYZ was precious and beautiful to watch. A shout out to the excellent cinematography and performance for his underground fight club arc. The character development of Li Wen Zhong, played by Liu Run Nan, also caught me by positive surprise. I did not expect that the makers will give a douchebag character like him such a great turn towards the end - that's what I would call good storytelling.
♡ The cinematography: Hui Kai Dong is the same director as Yanxing Palace, and he is known for his beautiful and high-quality shots. The team built the school campus entirely from scratch to shoot the drama. Also, the bar from Hu Xiao Yu is charmingly designed - who can copy this bar in the real world would for sure money. Most sets and action scenes are real, and even if they use CGs, they are not very obvious. Another lookout point is the action scenes. Most scenes are firmed directly with the cast themselves. You can see the makers have spent a lot of time crafting and correcting the movements for all the action scenes, whether that is a shooting, a fistfight, a sword fight or a car chase. And then there are the beautiful costumes. Oh my god, is GYZ good looking in his various types of trench coats... The dresses from Xu Man Ting also look gorgeous on her.
Last but not least, there is a great OST. I have been listening to the songs of AMA up and down. My favorite is the duet sung by the main leads themselves. Though slightly cheesy pitch, I find it just right for this drama. I wished they would have played it more often as BGM.
Now what I think the drama could have done better:
⭐︎ Unrealistic story and plot holes, esp. for the military plots: While the writer is talented with emotional storylining, she is not as skillful with military and battle storylines. I was trying to ignore those plot holes, but there are some that I could not ignore. The first real battle, there is not even one student who died or injured. If it comes to the enemy, there is no hesitance in shooting them. But when it comes to our own people, the enemy would always first catch them and then only attempt to kill them, leaving the heroes time to escape. The writing of the auction scene was also a mess; it was anti-climax, not knowing which party is involved and what they were up to. There are also a lot of random shootings on the streets, as there are no rules of laws, at which the villain would get punished and our protagonists saved at the end. And then there are typical unrealistic happenings such as all characters ended up in the same city at the same time.
⭐︎ Too many love lines: Despite my love for the emotional storylines, there are too many. Not only do we have many love triangles between the main leads, but we also have a few love lines between supporting characters and the main leads and vice versa. This got me confused sometimes. The makers also spent too much time describing the love triangle between the leads. Instead they could have used the time to grow team spirit of the student group, or spend time telling the stories of Ji Jin and Zhu Yan Lin. I would have loved to see more arcs, such as the mission to take out the drug dealers in episode 34.
⭐︎ Character development of Shen Jun Shan and Jin Xian Rong: Both actors playing SJS and JXR have performed well. Unfortunately, I wish the makers could have spent a bit more rationalizing the characters' emotional response based on proper human motivation. SJS is a strong 2nd male lead, perfect for opposing GYZ's funky personality. However, his prince-like behavior to XLC in the whole first half of the drama is totally questionable. There is no whatsoever explanation why he would behave this way at first and then later fall in love with XLC. The same goes for JXR, a villain with complicated past, feelings for SJS, and thus possessing a lot of potential for character depth. Why would she try to hide her famous identity naively believing that SJS, the son of such a renowned business family, would not find out? After the reveal, what did she do to save the relationship? Her past of being a Japanese but born and raised in China only came out from her somewhat commemoration towards her adopting family but was not used anywhere else. Just because she is Japanese by origin, does this make her a slave to the Japanese and a killer machine? Don't forget that she killed her own father, trying to protect SJS. A big lost opportunity here!
Despite the shortcomings I mentioned above, I truly love this drama. I think the more I was disappointed about specific areas, the more it shows that I really wanted this drama to do well. (I have never spent this long to write such a comprehensive review...). I am even surprised myself how much I am thinking about the characters, the scenes of the drama, days after I finished it. I would definitely go back and rewatch some episodes. All in all, I would recommend anyone watching it - the characters and the emotional plots are what make it really enjoyable.
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This review may contain spoilers
Proceed with caution! Some Spoilers may spoil your mood!I found a few (3 to count) similarities between this and Legends. 1) Xu Kai's undeterred, devoted, undistracted, first one-sided then returned love for Bai Lu. 2) Bai Lu's disguise as someone else when meeting him. Here she pretends to be her brother from beginning to end and in Legends when she came back from nether-land, she possessed someone's body and pretended to be her. Both the times Xu Kai sees through her guise though. 3) Bai Lu's drunk assault on Xu Kai. Here she falls asleep on him and in Legends, ahem... the mouth assault which they totally edited in the final cut.
I liked it very much. The politics and war part were a little hectic for me so I skipped some. The dorm story was the best. it was great to see most of the boys entering as selfish, nonchalant, self-invested prats and leaving (the dorm or life) as emotionally, socially , patriotically developed men of the country. The friendship and growth were well-defined and maintained till the end. Even the guy I hated the most, you know the one, I forgot the name who started as a douche, redeemed himself at the end. It was sad. They made it so by introducing love in his life. They gave his story, which until that point was just about creating problem for Liang Chen and being a brute, another facet — just when he was gonna martyr himself. Haha, how clever!
I was bawling when Huan Song died. He was the most innocent soul in the whole show. He never retaliated or even resented anybody for anything. The supporting characters in the academy existed just inside it except for Huann Song, Guo Shuo Ting, and the last appendage to whatshisname’s story.
The way GYZ’s character started, the stark opposite of Legends which I liked, I wondered how long he was gonna continue being a disrespectful bully. I hoped for him to fall for XX first so karma could kick his butt. Even when he started having feelings for her, he acted like an entitled prick. If it were anyone else I would have given him a big thumbs down as a prospective lover. But you just can’t keep being pissed at Xu Kai with those eyes. They have some real potent sorcery in them. But when he started to get serious shedding his mischievous whattnottery and clung to XX like a hopeless man in hopeless love, I couldn’t help but get annoyed at XX for not accepting his heart. Total irrationality. But what can you say, love is irrational. The moment he threw the button necklace away upsettingly, I was praying for him to get out of her life and let her chase him for a while. Even though I knew that it was not gonna happen. Still. Actually, at some point the romantic chase and complications were giving me real stress. Xu Kai’s expressions are above and beyond everything. He can draw attention and hold it with his eyes. His acting is hilarious in the first part. But when he gets serious, intense and full-blown emotional, even God can’t save me!
I once again loved Bail Lu’s character like I did in Legends (except for some time when i was wanting her to accept GYZ but that was a fleeting emotion). Glad she is getting this kind of roles. Firstly, she is an absolute talent. I love how she doesn’t act like an eight year old when she’s not. No baby talks no cutesy stuff, nothing. When she was sitting with her brother and talking, in the flashback, she had the chance to act like those annoying babbling heroines but she didn’t. Her character was determined and dedicated from start to end. She got into the academy for fulfilling her brother’s dream and gradually it became her own dream. She realised her brother’s passion behind his dream. She never got distracted from her goal. That is the reason why she, even after knowing about GYZ’s feelings, didn’t jump into a relationship right away. When she was lowkey crushing on Jun Shan, even though she was taking care of him (he did so too) she never hone in on it.
Jun Shan’s character was interesting too. Though he didn’t have much scope for development except for his theory of love, he came completely developed, his character was not a monotonal shade. He didn’t hesitate to take lives when the self-righteous law-abiding puppet government officials acceded to the foreign government. He was a man of few words, usually shirking socialising barriered behind a book in the cafeteria. Pretending indifference when someone is getting bullied or kidnapped but helping them from behind the curtains indirectly. I would have, too, fallen for him over GyZ, of course if GYZ weren’t Xu Kai like someone.
Okay, Guo Shu Ting, that man was sooo hawt. His character seemed a little alike to Ju Shan. Like him, he was showing apathy to everything going around. But then a strong emotional bond with XX and QMT developed overtime, unlike the other officer who remained just as a sergeant.
Qu Man Ting, who is she and why don’t I know this absolute package of entertainment. Like in one scene she proclaimed, she is “charming”, hilarious and an absolute scene-stealer. Actually, in spite of my dedicated ship to Bai Lu and Xu Kai, I wished for him to be with Man Ting. Every scene of them together were so amusing to watch. They were two peas in a pod. Man Ting to GYZ was GYZ to XX. The scene at the museum stairs where she was hugging GYZ, both their expressions were priceless.
And last but not the least, Tan Xiao Jun, Xie Xiann’s friend, was as adorable as she was in The Legends. I Loved her in both the dramas. Here as a dependable friend and their a faithful follower. Her slip of-tongue accidents were hilarious.
I liked the ending. It was a clean wrap. But I would’ve liked it more if one of the main characters were shown to have sacrificed their life. A story so intense like this needs, for me, to shatter a piece of my heart to remain in it forever maintaining its intensity. Instead they just sacrificed the side characters. The ones whom we built an emotional connect with though. They who existed outside the academy. Again, very smart.
The soundtrack is so perfect. The opening theme groovy and the ending, botha them, beautiful.
I am not gonna rewatch it just because most of it has war and political theme which I am not a fan of. And even if I watch by skipping i won’t find the romance i am looking for. However it was a good one-time-watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
Who'd have thought it?
I am the last person you will find watching a drama about the army, notable exception being DotS. However, I also love the 1920s aesthetic so I thought I'd give this a go. I'd also recently The World Owes Me a First Love so knew that I liked Bai Lu's acting.Everyone has mad chemistry in this drama and I'm living for it. Seeing people on screen with chemistry is the difference between a drama I can believe and one that's just okay. Although I did ultimately route for Xiang and Yanzhen, I could easily see why people route for Xiang and Junshan.
I loved the comedic aspects of this drama. Part of the issue I usually have with military dramas or political dramas is the lack of humour; so this drama was refreshing. The scenes with Yanzhen trying to distract Liangchen were cute and humorous without detracting from the more serious side of the drama.
You can't help but love all the secondary characters! They're all so well developed that you understand their motives, their stories and their goals. I loved not being tied to just one story, and found myself really caring about the side characters. I was so happy when Qu Manting return. I even found myself crying when Li Wenzhong died, even more than I cried when Huang Song did. Why did they have to kill almost everyone?! I cried more than once.
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Strong female characters:
Obviously the main lead, Xie Xiang is a force of her own, training alongside and competing against men in the academy. She gets a lot of support and help from the leading male characters but is never a damsel in distress. Qu Manting, despite being spoiled and demanding, is a woman who also defies patriarchal norms and is determined to make her own living. Huo Xiaoyu’s story as a single, older woman that commanded so much power and respect made her really impressive.
Acting:
Xu Kai does well as the narcissistic and goofy Gu Yanzhen. There are a few serious scenes where he is furious, and his anger was so palpable on screen it was frightening. Toby Lee as Shen Junshan was fantastic. The way he displays the character’s emotions behind his refined and somewhat restrained character where spot on. His facial expressions so perfectly displayed those mixed emotions. The main villain displays this juxtaposing girlish charm with chilling murderous intent and it was perfect.
Costumes:
I am no fashion expert but the costume design was beautiful. Especially the elaborate dresses that Qu Manting and Huo Xiaoyu wore, but also the suits that the men wore were all pretty dapper.
Huang Song:
He’s just the most loveable, wholesome character.
A few minor grievances:
In the first episode, Gu Yan Zhen displays pretty awful behaviour. While drunk, he harasses Qu Man Ting, grabs her and attempts to kidnap her. My initial reaction to this was that it was pretty violent and disrespectful behaviour to a woman, even though to him it all seemed to be a joke. This initial impression made it really difficult for me to appreciate his character as someone who could respect women for the first half of the show. I realise the character was introduced as a delinquent to give him room to develop later on, but I wish the writers chose a different way to introduce their main male lead.
When questioning the sexuality of the male characters, they were asked “are you ill/sick?.” This is probably a reflection of how same-sex relationships were viewed in the context and is no fault of the writers, however it was something I disdained.
The main villain had a complex and sad backstory which were only superficially discussed. I feel that looking into this backstory in detail would have been worthwhile to provide more depth into the character's vengeful motivations.
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Chinese Steampunk
Watching Arsenal Military Academy is a feast for your eyes. The cinematography, action scenes, film sets and costumes are on point. I wasn't eager to watch this drama, because I thought it would be too nationalistic, but fortunately, that wasn't the case.Story
True to its title this series tells the adventures of young cadets who are training, bonding, finding their life purpose. Some interesting characters are introduced in several subplots. There's this girl (Bai Lu) who's grieving about her deceased brother. She decides to impersonate him at the academy. There are two young celebs, a rich heir (Xu Kai) and an actress (Wu Jia Yi) who both take too many risks just to escape their pampered life. The rich boy enlists himself for the academy. Among their high society friends are two brothers, who are leading a business imperium together, but also get more involved in the resistance against Japanese aggression. The younger brother (Toby Lee) goes to the Academy to sharpen his war skills. There he gets a surprise visit from a Sino-Japanese girl he knew from high school. She went to live abroad, but somehow she has returned for mysterious reasons.
Their story is set at the time of the Sino-Japanese aggression, but it all seems more like a fantasy tale, full of glamour, action and music. Characters get away with cross dressing, stunt riding on motor cycles, single handed shoot outs with complete combat armies, escapes from Japanese police cells in just a few minutes. It's all very entertaining.
Cast
This time, the second leads steal the show in stead of the leading couple that made me watch this drama in the first place. Bai Lu and Xu Kai are legendary together in The Legends (2019) but don't expect a rerun of their chemistry here. However, as stand-alone character they are both attractive. Xu Kai is tall, sexy and cute as ever. Bai Lu is even better as a male cadet than as a girl. The best romance scene goes to Hong Yao as the eldest Shen brother who deeply loves Qu Man Ting ( Wu Jia Yi) He's able to recognize this seemingly superficial actress as a strong and capable partner in life, long before she knows it herself. Toby Lee has the role of the younger Shen brother, a lone wolf full of dark brooding energy. It fits him like a glove.
Production
The fight scenes and special effects are well done. The soundtrack is nice and pays tribute to the story except for the modern intro-theme. Also there are a lot of details that can't be seen in one glance, so I will rewatch this series.
Overall
This drama has tags for friendship, teamwork, and romance but these aren't the main themes. Arsenal Military Academy is Chinese steampunk at its best, with action, intelligent characters, and glamour, all-in-one.
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THE SETTING THOUGH! I adore the outfits, the bars, the party scenes...it really makes me feel nostalgic for a time that I wasn't born in. I liked the songs too which help to paint the classic 1910s vibe. There are quite a lot of political discussions though so for me I skipped over/sped up those parts but was still able to understand what was going on mostly. If you know about/are into that period of chinese history then great!
The main character, Xie Xiang, is smart and a very strong girl, and not a damsel in distress character at all. In fact the rest of the female cast is pretty badass too, which I really appreciate.
Gu Yanzhen first comes off as the playboy troublemaker type and I liked how this trait didn't entirely go away but you see his character develop as he goes through different experiences. Xu Kai's acting was great, he really fit the role of Gu Yanzhen (the eyebrow thing and wink he does though! <3 ) He is definitely eye candy in this drama, but with spot on acting as well.
But boy it started off light-hearted and the last 10-15 episodes got more intense. I ended up crying in the later episodes as things got more sad... I thought the dubbing was pretty well done too, and I still can't tell who is dubbed and who isn't lol. I watched the episodes on dailymotion, the subs aren't entirely accurate probably, like one caption literally said "hoes before bros". If the political/military part makes you not want to watch it I say do it!! I'm not a big fan of the genre either but the relationships between characters and the romance were enough to make me binge watch this show and give it a solid 9.5 rating!!
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The storyline is very interesting and has a bit of everything. I was never bored watching this drama even though it has 48 episodes , I guarantee you it is worth watching them .
I loved the cast , you could see they were very comfortable with each other and they all had good chemistry . Their emotions were also on point and you could see they were very sincere .
I really have nothing bad to say about this drama .
I’m going to definitely rewatch this drama !
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