This review may contain spoilers
It was okay I guess
This drama is nothing new to be honest. The plot-wise, it's like anything else you could have seen before. The only twist in this drama is that Sang Tian is a boy for most of the drama only revealing her identity in the last 2 episodes. So the story overall wasn't even that good. It could have been better since the idea of waht they were going for as a whole was actually fresh and kinda un-used, but they didn't make it and it was kind of a flop for me. (I AM NOT A CRITIC!! THIS IS A PERSONAL OPINION BASED ON MY TASTE.)The romance part is there and it's cute and all but it honestly didn't do it for me for some reason.First, I hate it when the male lead acts mean for no freaking reason, because that is pretty much how Wen Bing acts, plus the rudeness and always ordering the female lead around, and still the female lead falls for him for the "little things he does for her". To me, that is such a bs story (again TO ME, emphasis on ME). If I could put "zero" for re-watch value that would be great.
The second male lead can't even be called the second lead to be honest since he never did anything. Honestly, this drama just started irritating me sometime between episode 10 to 15. After that, I finished the drama for the sake if just watching something but I didn't enjoy it at all to be honest, I should have just dropped it to be honest. And this review is not really to try and persuade anyone to not watch it, I am writing it more like out of habit at this point since I review everything I watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Mediocre - Great actors, Average story.
First off, this is just my opinion - the facts as I see and interpret them. Secondly, I didn’t find everything terrible. There were really good parts too (especially later in the series). Thirdly, you may like this if you bear past the cliché. If you’ve watched many dramas before, you’ll likely find this one unexciting and shamelessly lacking in creativity(which some reviewers here seem to praise a lot - beats me how). I am driven to write this review because I found most of the reviews here too robotic and untrue (I recognize and appreciate they are personal opinions of people - of which they are entitled to - but I found them mostly dishonest and misleading at best.) But, for the very same reason that everyone is entitled to their opinion, please spare me some space in this review tab to type out my runt(which it really isn’t, but is instead an honest, level-headed opinion).
At first, when I began to watch(~1st-3rd episode), I thought, 'alright, I can cast a blind eye to the uninteresting old storyline because the actors are cute and I like the guy from Meteor Garden - Darren Chen. I mean how much of the glory and depth of how you adored Darren Chen in Meteor shower can rub off into a poor show until the weaknesses of the film get grossly conspicuous that no matter how incredible the actor(s) acts, the storyline and plot falls too short to ignore so that slowly the good actors begin receding into the background and the flaws of the story and screenplay start becoming obvious and soon disturbing? So it is that as the story progressed, I found it impossible to overlook the unoriginal, unrealistic, and infuriatingly redundant cliches. Some dialogues, expressions, and/or scenes were simply too average… I can't for the life of me, figure out why jealousy, for instance, needs to be communicated so stupidly (it's unreal at best - and not in a good way).
Lemmi highlight a few things I found troubling - to avoid spoiling too much. I’ll avoid specifics.
1) Accidental kisses. If you are going to do an accidental kiss, please - there's no way people that have serious height difference and standing on level ground can bump into each other and wind up in a kiss. And to see this ten times(metaphorically speaking) is simply...
2) Typical cross-dressing drama(girl feigning to be a boy). Really?! They should really figure out how to make a convincing act here - because I simply just can't buy it, besides the fact that this is getting pretty old. Logic and reason kick in where gender (perceived) is so obvious that the storyline loses any interest for me (and it has nothing to do with poor acting: the actress, after all, was incredible). Anyway, I’ll not even try to explain this…
3) College scholarship and admission to a girl(misidentified as a boy). What college? What world? And this is not a gender-identity or orientation issue. In a normal world, a typical college application involves personal identification documents to verify your identity or at least something to show you are who you claim to be. Right? No? OK, I won't make a big deal out of this.
4)Realism. Case in point, Jealousy portrayals for example the scene in ep. 9 where they're in practice. I find this simple(I mean foolish). The portrayal of jealousy is at best boring.
5. There was a little hope that the film might address sexism (A girl who excels more than his male counterparts in a predominantly male sport: and also coached by a woman). Was that too much to expect. I am not requiring that they should have addressed this issue, but I getting frustrated with how most films promote gender inequality in the quest for entertainment and revenue. Seriously though, writers, directors, and actors should begin to seriously consider, to the fullest extent, the stereotypes in films that promote a culture of gender discrimination. Should women be made to look subservient and mostly dump or at best one step below a man?
At episode 9 is when I began to write this review and I hoped to dear life that I find the will and strength not to drop the show. It would be a shame if I did. Much as I recognize the effort in production and acting, I must be true in this review.
I finished the show and while it got A LOT BETTER TOWARDS THE END(about last half), what I’ve written above is a true record and my honest opinion.
Was this review helpful to you?
A must watch cdrama!
2020's cutest drama! this drama is perfect! it's so cute, and so beautiful. they don't overdo it, the plot is light and were arranged beautifully, no messy plot, and they don't unnecessarily put side characters story too much that you would get boring, they focus a lot on both leads and the hockey team and everyone in the drama have great chemistry. the amount of funny scenes, sweet moments is just enough, not too much nor too little. just perfect! it is cliché, yes, but if you are a fan of light-hearted drama, fluffy romance comedy, this is a must watch! not to mention, you would get adrenaline rush during ice hockey matches! it is as if you are there in the audience, LOL (just like Skate Into Love, they had ice hockey games). I love how they don't have hateful character inside here, everyone is just so nice. Darren really got his best drama here as a lead. Sabrina too. 10/10 loving this!! <3Was this review helpful to you?
You can even consider it a modified BL as Tian Tian is acting as a guy. I really loved the story, acting and production. There is a perfect balance of fun, romance and drama. I laughed alot, I was smitten by the sweet moments and smile of darren chen(Wen Bing). I might as well watch it again couple of times which i rarely do. If you want to watch sth interesting, different then typical strong rich guy falling in love and protecting weak poor girl type drama; you should definitely go for it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Fluttering cliché with bits of questionable elements ;)
I started watching this show with no expectation, only watching it because it is Darren Chen. From the first few episodes , I knew it would be slightly cheesy rom-com. The starting of how this show is pretty much like all the rest of the cross-dressing show. However, if you could overlook that, there is much more to see.It is packed with fluttering cuteness from both characters. Both casts acted quite well done, there was not much awkward scene that I could see. Casts list contains some rising actresses and actors which makes me wonder why they even took up those roles when they were leads in others.
Drama is full of cliché, but it somehow makes me not too upset or angry when the cliché actually happens because it all works quite harmoniously.
Definitely a light-hearted show, Darren Chen stole my heart because he wasn't that bad of a character like those usual cross-dressing/ cliché dramas. He wasn't demanding and I felt that he respected the FL as who she is with slight playfulness.
The side characters defo made me cringe sometimes because of their romance however it was a pretty light one so I could overlook it.
Music wise, didn't really pay attention because I skipped the intros.
Ending was quite questionable as of how they managed to let a girl in when she was not denied entry. I gave it a benefit of doubt when the grandma came back after mysteriously disappearing.
Overall, this drama left with a sweet aftertaste.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Saccharine-filled cliche that hits all the spots for a mindless feel-good pleasure
Couple of things:1. Don't watch it after you watched Skate into Love and are expecting a similar exciting drama.
2. Don't ask questions, use logic or think. Just imagine that your brain is hibernating. Otherwise, you won't enjoy the drama.
Okay, so it's kind of a cliche drama with a ludicrous plot that is improbable. However, if you accept the fact that it's kind of like a fantasy fairytale, you can enjoy the cliches, the sugary sweetness and the cheesy goodness that this drama offers.
The acting is really good!
The ML is absolutely adorable and very cute when he's naughty/plotting things. The FL lead is equally adorable and entertaining.
The story is just so-so. The actual sports scenes aren't shot that well. The hockey outfit is very unflattering on the ML. The premise is silly and hard to digest (even if you consider it fantasy).
There's no theme or concept worthy of mention.
Like I said, it's a guilty pleasure drama that you see once and deny you know it. ??
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
cute and cheesy but
Overall a cute thing to pass the time. I liked that the fl is skilled and not whiny and the dynamics between the couple are cute and funny.I think the fact he discovers right away her identity made me like it better because his reactions and schemes were interesting xD
This drama won't really dwell into sexuality: she doesn't think he could not be straight based on their attraction, not knowing he saw her. Also the other team guy crushes on her (not knowing her identity tho) but he doesn't ask himself anything. Crossdressing dramas can really be a good trampoline to introduce that kind of conflict, like it happened in kdrama Coffee prince.
But the thing I really couldn't forgive is the fact that they didn't hide her chest with clothes, the actress had eyeliner and cherry red lipstick while disguised and as I want to look over this I really can't believe no one noticed her true identity!!
I appreciate there are no tiring plots like annoying second leads (and I mean the irritating kind, there is a clingy girl but she gets paired with the brother and is pretty much comic relief), nasty parents and such
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
not much satisfied!!
i was actually expecting alot... as this drama has the rating of 8.3 with a lot of watchers..!!but i am a little disappointed..!!
the story was okay but it took alot of time for sangtian to live her life as a girl like in episode 23 ... i think it would be better if it happens earliar ... also she looks amazing when she was a figure skator but atlast she changed her profession..i was waiting till the end that may be she can perform figure skating infront of wen bing and all of her friends but nothing like this happened.
also the acting at many moments doesnt pleased me at all.. like it doesnt feel real and i was disappointed with their acting the most.. I personally doesnt like cute or girlish roles of sebrina chen actually.. because for me i think her acting in cute roles or something like that doesnt seem real at all... also i really like darren chen as i had a big crush on his role huaze lei in meteor garden but here his acting also disappointed me!! also the acting of their friends sometimes doesnt seem good especially that xiao xiao ... it seemed that they all are faking it.. in ths drama i didnt feel their emotions ...
my heart didnt flutter at any moment nor i cried or felt bad at any emotional scene...
In short, this drama was far away from my expectations!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Cheesy and Fluffy
I am not into gender benders but this one piqued my interest. I haven't seen Darren since Meteor Garden. His acting has improved from that series. It's my first time watching the FL so I'm reserving my thoughts on that one.Honestly this is way too cheesy for me but the story is cute so I am finishing this series.
I liked the actors in the series, they acted realistically as students, although the drama was not focused on the sport this is actually much more slice of life than sports related. So if you're looking for something like Skate into Love it's best to skip this.
The ML is cute in his own way trying to protect the FL secret. It kinda reminds me of Hana Kimi minus the crazy and cute dorm leaders.
If you're looking for something to pass the time while waiting for other series this one is a good watch.
I love the soundtrack of this series. The melody and the lyrics are cute for Crazy for You by Nicole Tsang and Be There for you by Deanna. It fits the story perfectly.
Was this review helpful to you?
Cheesy, Cliched yet a great watch!
Should you? Would you? Could you?You should watch this one (YES! )
You would recommend this to others. (YES!)
You could watch this again. (YES IN PARTS!)
Ending: Happy
It’s a drama packed with sweetness.
Cheesy? Yes but you can’t not like it.
It’s light and yet gives the sport the screen time it deserves. The actors are good in their roles.
The lead actress (Sebrina Chen as Sang Tian)is confident and lovable in her disguise of a boy. The hero (Darren Chen as Wen Bing) is fab in his portrayal of the star ice hockey player. He’s gentle, lovable and confident and plays the perfect boyfriend. His face is very expressive. Their chemistry is very good. The supporting cast is equally fab. The actress portraying the mother displays a perfect balance of sternness and love. And of course Vivian Sung as Coach Ma just completes the circle of good performances.
I love the fact that the team easily accepts her revelation as a girl and they treat her the same way. All in all it’s a feel good drama with no stress in it. Watch it and enjoy it.
Was this review helpful to you?
The acting was also not best but it was good. I think what I liked the most was the chemistry between everyone which kinda reflected in the drama.
I really like the music they used.
Was this review helpful to you?
