This review may contain spoilers
Liked it more than I expected to. It is exciting watching her skills build
9/10 is my rating. Worth watching? I think so. Especially if you are looking for something a little different. It has a strong focus on this fictitious form of martial arts. A slice of martial arts life. There are some romantic moments, but it really isn't a romance per se. So, if you are looking for romance you might be disappointed because there is not a happily ever after. It's more like the typical romantic moments that occur in a coming of age. There is a love square (not a triangle as there are three that like main girl) but the girl is more focused on becoming a force to reckon with than spending her time chasing boys. She does a little of it, but not a lot. For me I appreciated those little sprinkles of romance, it kept it interesting.
If you don't do sad but are okay if you are prepared you might want to look at my spoiler section. Just to be prepared. For me I am okay sometimes with sad if I know what to expect. This season is not on balance sad but there is some sad in it.
I found her a little annoying at times in the beginning. She was completely stuck on an idea to the exclusion of all else. Loyal to an actual fault. But, she grew beyond that so if you can stick with it she does mature and undergo character growth.
The martial arts is loosely based on taekwondo but it states, up front, it is fictitious. I saw where there was some criticism of the martial arts that it was over the top and they did some things that weren't entirely possible. If you have watched "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" or any of the other numerous Chinese martial arts media, you won't be super surprised by the moments when an aerial is exaggerated, or the action is comedically paused or drawn out. I actually enjoyed that. But, martial arts purest may not like that. Again, knowing what to expect is the key.
I have seen quite a few sites that recommend The Whirlwind Girl 2 as if 1 does not even exist. And I didn't get that focus. I thought maybe they stood completely independently and 2 was recommended in Korean Drama circles because Ji Chang Wook is in the second season but not the first. And I do think that is the case because there is a story that starts in the first and runs through the second and I think you will get a deeper dive and more insight on the story if you watch both in order. A little more than that even though, you would likely be confused in the beginning of the 2nd season if you hadn't watched the first.
Overall, I enjoyed this. But I think that was mainly knowing what to expect with the romance, martial arts, and knowing what the sad consisted of. I like seeing men or women go from not being very strong to a force to be reconned with. I would recommend it to anyone that likes martial arts elements with the caveat that they do exaggerate elements. I may watch it again at some time in the distant future and wouldn't turn it off or change channels if someone else was watching it.
Spoilers
This is like a martial arts campus/world. They live together as a team in these whole houses and you battle for your team. It reminded me of Harry Potter houses in a weird way. But it is a rather unique set up the way the teams are organized and how, if you are in that particular "house" you live and breathe with that team.
Don't get too attached to Ru Bai as it ends with a lot of uncertainty if he is alive or dead. So, you might grow to really like him because he becomes such great support for main girl. He tells her all the right things at the right moments and does so much behind the scenes to help her succeed. But, in the end, he collapses when she is competing, and she never effectively sees him again. Even in the 2nd season. So, if you are impacted by sad but are okay with preparation, don't get attached to him. That is one of the things I didn't like. They were so nebulous as to what happened to him. And it seemed totally unnecessary to have him possibly die. I think they wanted the whole "he would die for her" to the extreme.
If you don't want to get frustrated with the main girl realize she is absolutely loyal to a fault and that will become a strength later. You will have to put up with her whining about "her master" in the early episodes. And be like okay enough already just get over it and move on. He even wants you to. But, loyalty is an important trait in martial arts team type sports.
Three of the men/boys like her. I have to say, of the three I liked the rich/bad boy the most, Fang Ting Hao. When he gave her the phone and then called a car for her when she was lost...that was the sweetest thing. I mean it is hard to compare to some of the things Rui Bai did but one of the most frustrating things with Rui Bai to me is how he acted indifferent and never told her anything. Ting Hao was all in. The only drawback with him to me was he coddled his little sister, and she was a spoiled, wicked brat.
If the 2nd season would not have already been out, I would have really been frustrated with the ending. It just ends. She is about to go into a match with her biggest rival and Rui Bai collapses then it just ends. Abruptly. I even had to go back and make sure there weren't more episodes I didn't know about. And when the 2nd season first picks up there isn't a smooth transition from 1 to 2. They don't talk about the ending of 1 and what happened until some 10s of minutes have passed in the first episode. It was a bit odd.
Scroll down for a unique synopsis
Synopsis
This is a 2015 Chinese martial arts romance with 32, 45-minute episodes. Alternatively known under the title Tornado Girl. Series is based on a novel.
Qi Baicao (Hu Bingqing) became an orphan after losing both of her parents in a fire. She was adopted by Qu Xiangnan (Vincent Jiao) who was a former world champion who quit the sport after being accused of doping. Baico, who always had a love of Yuanwudao, starts as a white belt but with passion and discipline becomes a competitive athlete with the nickname "whirlwind girl." In order to take back the pride for her town (the origin place of the fictitious martial art Yuanwudao which most closely resembles the real art taekwondo), and clear her mentor's name, she is determined to excel at the sport. Her main trainer, Ruo Bai (Yang Yang) is secretly in love with her and she has Yu Chuyuan (Bai Jingting) a medic, and Fan Tinghao (Chen Xiang) who are also admirers. And the three boys/men interested in her are very different in character. But she has rich interactions with each that are a part of her journey in martial arts. There is a heavier focus on martial arts than romance in this one, but it has a lot of exciting matches like a face-off with rival Fang Tingyi (Zhao Yuannuan), Tinghao’s sister. As Baicao rises in the ranks she begins to learn more about her mentor's fall from grace. This is a coming of age feel good drama with an emphasis on the athletic aspect of the main character.
#WhirlwindGirl #TornadoGirl #ZhaoYuannuan #ChenXiang #VincentJia #Hu Bingqing
If you don't do sad but are okay if you are prepared you might want to look at my spoiler section. Just to be prepared. For me I am okay sometimes with sad if I know what to expect. This season is not on balance sad but there is some sad in it.
I found her a little annoying at times in the beginning. She was completely stuck on an idea to the exclusion of all else. Loyal to an actual fault. But, she grew beyond that so if you can stick with it she does mature and undergo character growth.
The martial arts is loosely based on taekwondo but it states, up front, it is fictitious. I saw where there was some criticism of the martial arts that it was over the top and they did some things that weren't entirely possible. If you have watched "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" or any of the other numerous Chinese martial arts media, you won't be super surprised by the moments when an aerial is exaggerated, or the action is comedically paused or drawn out. I actually enjoyed that. But, martial arts purest may not like that. Again, knowing what to expect is the key.
I have seen quite a few sites that recommend The Whirlwind Girl 2 as if 1 does not even exist. And I didn't get that focus. I thought maybe they stood completely independently and 2 was recommended in Korean Drama circles because Ji Chang Wook is in the second season but not the first. And I do think that is the case because there is a story that starts in the first and runs through the second and I think you will get a deeper dive and more insight on the story if you watch both in order. A little more than that even though, you would likely be confused in the beginning of the 2nd season if you hadn't watched the first.
Overall, I enjoyed this. But I think that was mainly knowing what to expect with the romance, martial arts, and knowing what the sad consisted of. I like seeing men or women go from not being very strong to a force to be reconned with. I would recommend it to anyone that likes martial arts elements with the caveat that they do exaggerate elements. I may watch it again at some time in the distant future and wouldn't turn it off or change channels if someone else was watching it.
Spoilers
This is like a martial arts campus/world. They live together as a team in these whole houses and you battle for your team. It reminded me of Harry Potter houses in a weird way. But it is a rather unique set up the way the teams are organized and how, if you are in that particular "house" you live and breathe with that team.
Don't get too attached to Ru Bai as it ends with a lot of uncertainty if he is alive or dead. So, you might grow to really like him because he becomes such great support for main girl. He tells her all the right things at the right moments and does so much behind the scenes to help her succeed. But, in the end, he collapses when she is competing, and she never effectively sees him again. Even in the 2nd season. So, if you are impacted by sad but are okay with preparation, don't get attached to him. That is one of the things I didn't like. They were so nebulous as to what happened to him. And it seemed totally unnecessary to have him possibly die. I think they wanted the whole "he would die for her" to the extreme.
If you don't want to get frustrated with the main girl realize she is absolutely loyal to a fault and that will become a strength later. You will have to put up with her whining about "her master" in the early episodes. And be like okay enough already just get over it and move on. He even wants you to. But, loyalty is an important trait in martial arts team type sports.
Three of the men/boys like her. I have to say, of the three I liked the rich/bad boy the most, Fang Ting Hao. When he gave her the phone and then called a car for her when she was lost...that was the sweetest thing. I mean it is hard to compare to some of the things Rui Bai did but one of the most frustrating things with Rui Bai to me is how he acted indifferent and never told her anything. Ting Hao was all in. The only drawback with him to me was he coddled his little sister, and she was a spoiled, wicked brat.
If the 2nd season would not have already been out, I would have really been frustrated with the ending. It just ends. She is about to go into a match with her biggest rival and Rui Bai collapses then it just ends. Abruptly. I even had to go back and make sure there weren't more episodes I didn't know about. And when the 2nd season first picks up there isn't a smooth transition from 1 to 2. They don't talk about the ending of 1 and what happened until some 10s of minutes have passed in the first episode. It was a bit odd.
Scroll down for a unique synopsis
Synopsis
This is a 2015 Chinese martial arts romance with 32, 45-minute episodes. Alternatively known under the title Tornado Girl. Series is based on a novel.
Qi Baicao (Hu Bingqing) became an orphan after losing both of her parents in a fire. She was adopted by Qu Xiangnan (Vincent Jiao) who was a former world champion who quit the sport after being accused of doping. Baico, who always had a love of Yuanwudao, starts as a white belt but with passion and discipline becomes a competitive athlete with the nickname "whirlwind girl." In order to take back the pride for her town (the origin place of the fictitious martial art Yuanwudao which most closely resembles the real art taekwondo), and clear her mentor's name, she is determined to excel at the sport. Her main trainer, Ruo Bai (Yang Yang) is secretly in love with her and she has Yu Chuyuan (Bai Jingting) a medic, and Fan Tinghao (Chen Xiang) who are also admirers. And the three boys/men interested in her are very different in character. But she has rich interactions with each that are a part of her journey in martial arts. There is a heavier focus on martial arts than romance in this one, but it has a lot of exciting matches like a face-off with rival Fang Tingyi (Zhao Yuannuan), Tinghao’s sister. As Baicao rises in the ranks she begins to learn more about her mentor's fall from grace. This is a coming of age feel good drama with an emphasis on the athletic aspect of the main character.
#WhirlwindGirl #TornadoGirl #ZhaoYuannuan #ChenXiang #VincentJia #Hu Bingqing
Was this review helpful to you?
