sulkytofu

No problem, thank you for your kind words! And also I understand switching to another type of drama in the meantime as well. Hopefully your next drama watch is a good one ~

If you're okay with watching Korean dramas, I'd highly recommend you watch Sungkyunkwan Scandal. The conflict of women going to school is very well handled in the Korean one, and there are actual material steps taken in the drama to address this issue. Not to mention that these problems are not only undertaken by the main cast, but also by the rest of the students at the academy. The Korean drama wrapped up a lot of ends while maintaining the FL's commitment to her studies and her own goals, and I would really give that one a chance if this one left you feeling unsatisfied.

The Kdrama was also an "idol drama" at the time, since the rest of the side cast were relatively unknown during that period. But they did a lot of great things with the script that added nuance and depth to the plot, and it's something I missed a lot when I was watching this adaptation.

I'm soooo excited about Kiki, loved her so much after watching Youth With You and had no idea that she was also in Legend of Yunxi as well. Can't wait to see her performance and I hope she has her own love line in this drama.

I'm pretty surprised because last I heard Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms/Eternal Love was also plagiarized from Peach Blossom Debt? I wouldn't be surprised if they had plagiarized it again, because the recycling of storylines is not uncommon, but the author must be feeling quite terrible if this is truly the case.

The first lead role Merxat received was in For Married Doctress, and without spoiling too much, it's not exactly an ending that I was satisfied with. Merxat is so great and has so much range, and I'm disappointed that he doesn't get placed into more lead roles - especially since he's demonstrated again and again just how versatile he is as an actor.

The only other Ju Jingyi drama I've seen is Legend of Yunxi (but I remember dropping that so I never made it to the ending). Arsenal Military Academy doesn't have a kiss scene either, but the chemistry was so well done that I still felt satisfied. I'm disappointed overall, but if this is the case that's quite sad, especially since I think taking on more projects is evidence of Ju Jingyi's abilities as an actress. And not having romantic scenes in a romance drama is quite ironic, which is why I think I was quite disappointed with how the lovelines were handled in this drama.

It's pretty disappointing, to be honest, and I think your comments are pretty much spot on. One of the things I loved about the original Korean drama was how it took the time to delve into the issues that it brought up. The character for Lei Ao experienced serious consequences for his vigilante justice, while the FL in the Korean drama had to face the fact that she had disguised herself as a male with serious ramifications. I remember being very bored sometimes watching this one, which I never experienced in the Korean drama (I remember skipping the archery scenes in this drama, while in the Korean version I couldn't stop watching.) I'm pretty disappointed to be honest, and all in all the drama has left me with a rather upsetting aftertaste.

Oh my god, what happened to the ending (more like the last 8 episodes of this series?)

I think the main issue with this adaptation is that despite the great production value, and some awesome performances (especially by Wang Ruichang and Bi Wenjun) ironically the fact that Wen Xi is actually a girl doesn't really seem to matter. I remember this being a huge point of tension in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, where you constantly felt worried about her disguise being uncovered. And while this drama plays with that idea, and there are instances in which gender is important to the broader story, the anticlimatic resolution regarding this point in the last stretch is baffling. I'm pretty disappointed to be honest about the handling of the last section of the drama, which suddenly went into the political scheming territory and seemed to almost not even relate to the academy aspect. All I remember is skipping all of the latter parts of the show and being unsatisfied with the ending, even though this version had a longer episode length for the story.

Ironically, I guess even the writers felt that the chemistry between Song Weilong and Ju Jingyi wasn't all that great, so they didn't bother with a kiss scene. I may be sounding off as harsh, but considering how well-paced Sungkyunkwan Scandal was, and how this drama had all of the elements to be really great, I have to say that the last parts of the drama left a bitter aftertaste that overpowers the beginning.

I just read your comments! They were SUPER helpful, and I think it's helped me a lot to manage my expectations when getting into this one. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it, and I have a feeling that if I go in with no/low expectations, I may really like this one!

And thank you for reading my reviews ^^ I'm glad to have read yours for this drama, and have put it on my watchlist for when it's subbed!

I watch A LOT of cdramas instead of kdramas, because they are a lot lighter, but the tradeoff is that sometimes the fluffier romantic ones can also be less introspective. For good youth campus dramas with a "friends to lovers" relationship, I'd probably recommend The Best of You In My Mind (2020), Skate Into Love (2018), or Le Coup the Foudre (2020).

For a doting and nice ML, the historical drama The Romance of Tiger and Rose (2020), and the modern-day drama Intense Love (2020) both have quite popular followings. I couldn't finish these because I didn't like the ML that much, but for a kinder male lead who is very wholesome and unproblematic, these would probably suit your tastes.

The one drama which is a lot older and a bit more melodrama is definitely Shining Inheritance/Brilliant Legacy (2010) starring Han Hyojoo and Lee Seung Gi. Both the ML and FL work together as enemies to lovers, and start from the being at the bottom, to working hard and achieving their goals.

Something I think that really works about this drama is that it has a nice ML, except my issue is that sometimes this can be boring, especially when we see the ML continuously (and unrealistically) dote on the FL as if he is a perfect person. In this drama, this isn't the case, which is what I really appreciate. Honestly I really love how both the ML & FL call each other out when they think the other is doing something wrong, support each other during times of hardship, and empathize with each other's struggles.

"I don't want you to misunderstand," "I know that you don't want to take the easy route," and "I know that's not what you would do." While this drama is hilarious and has so much comedy, there are also so many of these scenes where you just see how wholesome the relationship is between Gong Myung and Se Ra. Both are on each other's side, but also are willing to challenge each other for the sake of their shared values and beliefs. Most importantly, issues don't get dragged. Both of them confront their feelings and their problems head on, and straightforwardly communicate with each other.

I therefore think one of my all time favourite lines in this show is when Se Ra says (paraphrased) "you protect/keep my heart in check, and I'll protect/keep your heart in check as well." Both Gong Myung and Se Ra look after each other's hearts, but also work together to make sure both are doing their best to stick to their own morals, even when it has consequences on themselves. I just love how naturally the relationship between them develops, and I think the romantic progression is excellently done in this drama. This has definitely been one of my favourite and most refreshing watches this year, and I'm going to be so sad as we near the last couple of episodes because they have slowly become one of my favourite drama couples.

Sounds good to me, I think this is great advice especially when it comes to picking up a drama. Agree that as all eps will be out, I'm really excited to be able to binge this one. Thanks so much for your comments!

Sounds good! It happens to a lot of dramas, and I think this will help me a lot to know what to expect and to lower my expectations a little bit. Thanks for your great comments, and can't wait to start watching!

I was really, really looking forward to this because of Yan Xi, but now am a little wary because of some of the comments here. Will hold off for now until I can binge-watch this one (especially as I'm waiting on other dramas to update), and am really hoping it goes up on IQiyi soon!

I've heard that while Song Weilong and Seven Tan have a love line, the line between Seven Tan and Steven Zhang is purely platonic and that of siblings. Hopefully Steven has his own separate loveline in this drama (that would make it much more fresh, and I honestly don't think I could handle having these three in a love triangle.) I have high hopes as the scriptwriters also did Find Yourself, which did a lot of refreshing things with its script.

The only reason I can't re-watch Sungkyunkwan Scandal is because of Yoochun's own personal scandals, and while this is my own preference I generally can't watch dramas where actors have faced serious allegations. This is not the same for everyone, and I can completely understand from that point, but it's also the reason why I was pretty excited when In a Class of Her Own came out.

On the other hand, I really have to agree that something about the original kdrama felt a lot more intense and difficult to drop, and the pacing was incredibly well done. I remember constantly being worried that the FL would get exposed, not knowing where the script was going to go, and always looking forward to the next episode.

With In a Class of Her Own, however, while I like the more modern milieu and the production sets a lot more, I find myself sometimes being rather bored, and the chemistry between the main cast to be lacking compared to the kdrama (even if it's still quite good). There are some changes, especially in the romantic undertones of how Le Xuan and Lei Ao treat the FL, that I didn't like as much since the original never really had these connotations. While I'm still enjoying the ride and I think it's still a solid watch, I've also commented a couple times on Song Weilong as an ML as well. I have to agree that Sungkyunkwan Scandal is for me the better story, but I think this is a fun and well-produced adaptation too that is still worth a watch.

I've been a bit scared to look through the comments section because of unmarked spoilers, but I'm wondering what are some expectations one should have when going into this drama? Any pros/cons at the moment? I've heard so many good things so far, and want to adjust my mindset so that I don't over-expect! (Been really loving how lively the comments are though, and it's definitely one of the reasons I'm thinking of picking this one up!)

Oh my god, this drama is so well-written and hilarious, and Nana and Park Sunghoon do an amazing job at bringing the FL and the ML to life!

For one, there's so many scenes where the comedy isn't from the dialogue, but rather the little actions and personality traits of our main characters. I've laughed so much, from when Sera tries to give Gongmyung an orange and he slaps it out of her hand, to when the camera zooms into Sera's mother's clothing which is a campaign outfit for her opponent. There are so many hilarious scenes like this that I could list on and on, but the important thing is that these are such naturally acted scenes that almost verge on slapstick humour, yet they are also just so well integrated. These instances all only take up a couple seconds of each episode, but the balance between this comedy element and the introspective/more serious aspects of the script is really well done.

Also, the chemistry is really cute! I love how the FL & ML subvert a lot of common drama tropes (i.e. ML is cold and distant but is cowardly in front of the FL), while also adhering to others (i.e. childhood romance) at the same time. It's really fresh and the pacing right now is perfect, and I really love how wholesome the relationship between the two main leads are. For sure I've been really surprised by just how great the drama is so far, and I really didn't expect this at all going into this!

The character posters and released stills for this drama are absolutely gorgeous. Huang Shengchi's costuming is dark and beautiful, while Zheng He Huzi looks so pretty. Can't wait for this to air!

From the current summary, it oddly enough sounds like the emperor Xu Kai Cheng is the ML, even though I'm pretty sure William Chan will be the ML for this one? Reminds me a lot of how in the first Novoland drama, it was often difficult to tell who exactly was the ML until the later stretch of the show. Will be interesting to see how the romance develops, and I'm really excited for this one based on casting alone!