One word to describe this show: wholesome.
It was just an easy, fast watch. Distressed me completely, but at the same time, each and every episode got me hyped and excited. I was on the edge of my seat more often than not, even though I know nothing about esports. I'm not a gamer and yet this drama got me focused on all the scenes and I was never bored with the technical talk and in-game fighting scenes.Best part of the show? The characters. I truly cannot express how much I liked each and every one of them (except Jia Shi's Team Manager, he can go). Ye Xiu is a dream male lead: mature, kind, driven, honest, hard working. Usually, this level of perfection drives me mad, but here I was just appreciating his existence. It would be hard to comment on every character, as the cast is truly massive, but one thing I can say is: with how unique and likable they all were, I'm sure everyone would find someone to relate to, appreciate and root for. Characters that caught my attention the most were Su Mu Cheng (loyal friend, but also a professional player), Huang Shao Tian (the talkative ray of sunshine), Yu Wen Zhou (the warm, supportive and understanding captain) and Wei Chen (the trickster that stole my heart).
That said, even though I loved the cast and the characters, there were some things that bothered me. One was Chen Guo and the fact, at some point, her constant mistakes made it hard for me to like her (even though by the end of the show I could clearly see how she fits into the picture perfectly). Another was a last minute redemption arc for one of the supporting characters. There was no character development done on screen to validate that.
Some people might feel overwhelmed by the number of characters showing up. I'm not lying when I say new faces were introduced every other episode almost till the end of the show. Everyone often wearing the teams' uniforms helps to distinguish who comes from where, but it still might be a bit too much for people who struggle with large casts.
The plot is simple: a path to glory. We follow Yu Xiu rebuilding his gaming character as he creates his own team and tries to fight his way back to the top of gaming league. While there is little to no development done on the male lead (he truly does not need it), he plays a crucial role in slow changes and the development of his team members. It was amazingly pleasing to watch them learn how to be a team, work together and support each other both in and outside of the game.
What's more to love? I have to applaud the effects in the drama. The game looks amazing. Not being a gamer, I would still love to play it. Even though it was not exactly realistic (the angles shown on the monitors would actually make it harder to play the game and the range of actions the characters could do was also "over the top"), it gave an amazing fantasy cinematic feel. If you ask me, I would love to watch a whole animated show about these game characters and their adventures.
I loved it so much, why not 10/10 rating then?
I had exactly 2 problems with this show. First was the ending. I know for a fact that the majority of people loved it and for those that will watch the show: will love it. Sadly, I am not one of them. It's hard to explain my reasoning, but the twist at the end, even though it made the drama even more wholesome and feel-good, stripped the show from a bit of the additional depth that the "original" ending brought.
Another aspect that made me lower the rating were episodes 32 to 35. I have no idea what happened. I know that the show needed some kind of breaking point and shift in dynamics, but the way they went about it just felt wrong. We saw the characters and their amazing development, just to see them back to their old selves for the duration of these episodes.
Overall, the show is great. The 40 episodes felt way too short, and I would love to see 40 more. I cannot wait for season two, hoping they will keep at least the majority if not all the original cast. The pacing was perfect, as I was focused the whole time I was watching, never feeling bored. The whole gaming industry in The King's Avatar felt like squad goals that I just wished to be a part of.
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Has apeal for a wide audiance not just people who like sports dramas.
I binge-watched this all the way through and the only reason it fell just short of a ten is that one episode slowed the plot down just a hair too much and they could have done just a touch better on the game graphics. Everything else was excellent. I love this drama and will defiantly rewatch it at some piont. So far this is one out of very few sports shows I like. I usually don't like this genre.Casting - I have zero complaints about any of the actors they were al perfect for their roles.
Outfits - The outfits the picked for the different characters really set off each character's personality well.
Story - The plot was sound and the way it was executed was almost perfect.
Graphics - The game graphics could have been a little better but were still decent. Except for the skill graphics, they looked amazing.
Characters - the characters were all well written.
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Storywise, The King's Avatar is super interesting. I really like that it only centered around the game and there weren't any romantic subplots. The focus is more on character evolution and they're all super likable. It probably has to do with the acting, which is pretty good as well. I'm particularly surprised with Yang Yang. I really didn't like him in Love O2O, but he does an excellent job here. Ye Xiu is a very fun character to watch.
Another surprising thing about The King's Avatar is the animation. The game segments actually look like a game. They're also very cinematic and visually pleasing. Music is also great. There are some nice themes here and there.
Overall, I'd say The King's Avatar is worth a watch. It's a little long (although average in length by chinese drama standards), but it's also fun to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was my first Action fiction series. Since I love to watch Romance fiction, this drama was not my first choice to watch. But as I read reviews, I wanted to watch this drama as the reviews were pretty good. I thought that I wouldn't be interested in this drama but the first few episodes got me hooked. I already saw Yang yang in Love020 so I as thrilled to see his role here. It's completely different from Love020. The pace of drama was also good. It wasn't extremely slow or extremely fast.The one thing I enjoyed the most was of course the battle scenes. It was nail biting and I felt nervous everytime Yei Qui was performing. Each character had it's own growth over time. Each member of Team Happy had their own personal growth. I was happy to see the team work of Team Happy. Everyone did justice to their roles. Some characters were negative but at last they learnt something so that was the good point of this drama.
Another thing I liked about this drama is that every captain was immersed and dedicated to Glory. Everyone appreciated each other although they were rivals. I loved how Ye Qui was friends with every captain of the rival teams. Their unity was what I loved the most.
So overall I really loved this drama. And although his was not my fiction, I don't regret watching this. I hope there is a season 2 with the same cast. ❤❤
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This review may contain spoilers
The King Has Fallen
I have rarely watched a drama that put me through such emotional highs and lows. What it did well, it did very well, but where it struggled in pacing, it struggled epically to the point that I shelved this drama for several months and very nearly dropped it. It is, in my opinion, a fairly flawed drama with an interesting concept but not nearly enough background or explanation for how things work. That being said it overcomes those flaws with colorful characters and an underdog story that keeps the viewer engaged.The storyline as I mentioned before is, at its heart, your typical underdogs take on the big guns and come out victorious. It is also a comeback story for lead character, Ye Xiu, after being forced to retire from e-sports. It's overall quite heartwarming. It's fun to see this team slowly taking shape, to see the many personalities coming together and forming a cohesive unit. The first half or so of the drama focuses more on Ye Xiu and his comeback as Lord Grim, building up his new weapon and establishing his new character and the second half focuses more on the building of the team and their efforts to turn themselves into a professional team. Pacing during the first half is an issue with some real highs and then a lot of just filler that kills the mood. In particular, I believe it was around episodes 16-20 the pacing got so bad that it very nearly made me drop the drama. Thankfully things picked up again around episode 21 or so and the pacing improved significantly, but it was less than stellar there for a minute. One of the things I really appreciated about this drama was the lack of romance. I kept waiting for it to happen and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. I enjoyed the focus on the friendships and felt that it was stronger remaining as such rather than evolving into something more.
This drama, overall, had a stellar cast. But there were a few that really stood out and a few that really didn't. Jiang Long as Shao Tian was a riot. I absolutely adored him and he was so entertaining to watch. He completely brought his character to life. I enjoyed his chemistry with Gao Han Yu as Yu Wen Zhou, they played off of each other really well and I overall just liked their friendship. Lai Yi is always a pleasure to watch because he just disappears into whatever character he's playing. He was so entertaining as the goofy Bao Rong Xing and I appreciated the chance to see him in a new kind of role. Daisy Li as Tang Rou did a good job of bringing her character's aloof arrogance while also showing her softer side. I've seen Yang Yang in a few dramas now and, in my opinion, he's mostly just a pretty face. He's not a bad actor, its more that it doesn't seem like he's really acting, like he's just being himself. He's not quite able to showcase more complex or subtle emotions. There's just a sameness to a lot of what he does that makes him a bit boring to watch. I really didn't find his character all that interesting and in part that was due to his acting. Lai Yu Meng as Su Mu Cheng had similar issues in that I felt she was very stale in her acting. Same facial expressions, same reactions throughout with very little variation throughout the drama.
Despite the large number of characters, I was overall quite impressed with how most of them were given enough screen time to make a meaningful contribution to the story. I was also impressed with the character development of many of the characters, particularly Sun Xiang. I really appreciated the fact that while his character improved and he wasn't the irredeemable jerk from the beginning, it wasn't like he'd turned into a saint either. He was still himself, still cocky, but not quite with that same I'm-better-than-everyone attitude. Chen Guo is another one who goes through quite a dramatic development from bullying internet café owner to supportive team manager. Her journey is definitely a bit more up and down and I found myself alternately really liking her character and finding her incredibly annoying. When she was being her bossy, badass self, I really liked her. She was a no nonsense, get stuff done kind of girl and I appreciated that. But once she found out who Ye Xiu was, I found her pandering to him to be annoying and out of character. And then once she became the team manager initially, her wishy washiness and weak willed attitude also seemed out of character. Once she snapped out of that and got back to being a girl boss, I enjoyed her character again. (As a side note, I had zero issues with her age. I didn't think she looked too old at all.) You also have characters like Yi Fan who starts out lacking confidence and acting as a doormat for others and by the end has gained confidence, is vice captain, and helps lead the team to victory. Each character has their own journey and there are a lot of characters who make personal discoveries through playing Glory and finding themselves better for it.
I was not overly fond of Ye Xiu's character for a number of reasons. First and foremost, he was just too perfect. I find characters like that supremely annoying because of how completely unrealistic they are. They're unrelatable and because of that I personally find them uninteresting. Similarly, the fact that he goes undefeated in the game until his weapon breaks, again, just seems unrealistic. I don't think he thought of himself as superior to anyone but his preachiness got irritating after a while. No one always knows the right thing to say in every situation.
Though limited, I really enjoyed the OST. The opening and closing songs were amazing and I enjoyed the other songs as well. My only complaint is that I felt they were overused. You had the same songs used repeatedly and it was noticeable after a while.
Despite overall enjoying this drama, there were definitely some flaws/things I didn't love.
-I like knowing how things work so one big issue I had was not having more information about Glory and the game's dynamics. With that I was left with a number of questions regarding Ye Xiu's Myriad Manifestation Umbrella. Could any player create their own weapon? And how exactly was that done? Were there any limits? And so on and so forth. Obviously not all of those questions could be answered, but I feel like a few of them could have been to give some basics.
-Sticking with game dynamics to an extent, more information on the guilds too and how they were laid out would have been interesting. They didn't play as big of a role after the first half of the drama, but during the first half it would have been nice to have a little more information.
-One aspect that I consider a flaw is that no one seemed to suspect Lord Grim of being Ye Xiu. Ye Xiu retires and suddenly this new, extraordinarily skilled player appears and no one finds that suspicious? Really?
-In these kind of underdog stories, I hate when they throw in gimmicks to make it so they win when they actually lost. They did that twice in this drama, the first time due to an issue with the referee's timer and the second in the finale they only won because Ye Xiu broke a record. To do it once is bad enough, but twice, especially in the final competition is just lame.
-I know Team Happy needed certain types of players for their team, but I didn't love the way they manipulated people to get them to join. Yes, they gave back game cards even after they'd taken them and ultimately no damage was done and people joined willingly, but they were still manipulative and that didn't sit well with me.
To sum it up, this drama left me with a mix of emotions. There were several scenes that left me feeling quite emotional, for example, when the captains and Shao Tian meet Ye Xiu in the Heavenly Domain and welcome him back and when Team Happy all assembles on stage at the conference. Those scenes were so well done, but a lot of the time, those highly emotional scenes would be followed by filler episodes or scenes that just kind of killed the mood. This drama was truly an emotional roller coaster and not necessarily in a good way. I'm glad that I finished it, but if Season 2 ever comes out, I don't think I'll be watching and I don't think this is a drama that I'll be rewatching, certainly not anytime in the near future.
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However it is a power fantasy, it was fun and enjoyable to watch despite all the flaws.
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i decided to watch this only because of YANG YANG in the first place.
I don't watch many dramas till the end I watch the first episode and the last one, then I decide whether watch it or not. only a few have passed my taste. as for this drama, I didn't watch the last episode from the start, it really had something interesting.storyline: Amazing! it has a lot of inspiring things like teamwork and friendship. how to trust each other and pursue your dreams no matter what the future will be.
characters: yang yang as ye Qiu is the best thing ever. even the other characters were amazing. I really liked when ye Qiu came to Xin xing net cafe as a manager and loved their friendship bs between Su Mucheng Ye Qiu and Che Guo. their chemist is amazingly awesome
songs: 1000 out of100. honestly I loved all the songs, they fit perfectly with the drama. after I watched the drama I kept listening and listening, and even put one as my phone's ringtone
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Very Inspirational and “happy.”
This drama had many great lessons and quotes. Definitely one for the underdogs needing a pick-me-up. I’m happy there was no romance between the two main leads. Although I did ship Ye Xiu with Su Mu Cheng. The actors held great consistent chemistry. But it was refreshing to see platonic friendships develop between the characters. What I really appreciated was that it kept the focus of the main plot of gaming. Watching them play made me want to participate in the game “Glory.” One thing I’m surprised to see is all the 10 star ratings for the music. although some of the songs were nice and went well with the story, it was amateurishly paced. Made the drama seem low-budget at times. Since it was too distracting when they’d talk sometimes. That is until you see the expense was not spared on the gaming, costumes, and set. I can forgive the artificial feel, since it’s based off a manga. I personally wouldn’t rewatch. Once was enough, but I would recommend. The whole cast was so fun to watch I’d watch them in other roles. This site shows there might be a 2nd season. If that actually happens, I’d definitely continue watching, hopefully they’ll hire a better sound engineer.Was this review helpful to you?
Nail biting
Ye Xiu is the bar we set for ourselves when it comes to personal comportment. His understanding of his strengths and weaknesses, the unfailingly professional way he treats everyone, especially his opponents, the way he supports his teammates and friends. Yet, we ache with him when it comes to the estrangement with his father, the regard he had for his best friend, we shed tears for his pain.The story is such a feel-good one, celebrating triumphs, losses, personal achievements, camaraderie amongst a group of strangers whose bond at the end is stronger than ever. Their ups and downs, their joys and bad moments. Each one has a ladder to climb, a challenge or two to overcome, a loss to come to terms with. Every story is a teachable moment.
I’m not into gaming at all so I’m not even a beginner when it comes to judging the graphics however they look so good to me. I wasn’t bored at all, in fact, the tactical moves by each team were a delight to watch.
Last but definitely not least, what an absolutely wonderful portrayal of Ye Xiu by Yang Yang, he’s a consummate actor. Not only is he the foundation, he is also the load bearing wall. It is a joy to watch his calm demeanour, his myriad of expressions. His on-screen presence is so powerful. I’m so glad this isn’t a romantic drama, and that we get to see so much of him in every episode as he plays such a central character.
I’m so stoked for the sequel!
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First of all, the characters, Yang Yang as Ye Xiu was a proper match, they did a good job in casting him as Ye Xiu, while for the others I'm not really sure, but the timid-healer guy caught my eye! As for the story, it is not too fast and not too slow for me, 10/10 for the animations.
Side note, I've played many types of games and I'm quite disappointed that in every team match they always aim for the carries instead of the supports/healers/clerics and they smashed their keyboards on every match. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this series!
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This review may contain spoilers
I actually read the manga first but tbh it was a bit confusing at first so i wasn't into it so much, but i still find it good. But the translated chapters are incomplete so I went to watch the drama... and it was amazing.I was rly captivated and i decided to reread the manga and i was able to appreciate it so much. Then i watched the anime but it wasn't enough. I didn't touch the novel at first cause i thought i dun hv the patience to read 1728 chapters!! But i was wrong, i actually finished it and one word again: AMAZING!!
Now let's go back to the live action. Tbh if i didn't read the novel, I'll give it a perfect score. But after reading it, i was a bit disappointed in some of the changes in character personalities as well as some big changes in later eps. Don't get me wrong tho, i still find it good but it's just a shame they didn't include this and that or why they change that chara's personality. Lemme list the things i like and dislike in the live.
Likes:
- The music was awesome. Every bgm was so good too.
- Ye Xiu as Yang Yang was a good choice (though after reading the novel, i feel like ye xiu's shamelessness personality doesn't fit yang yang lol)
- actually i find it nice and cute that Chen Guo is a total fangirl of ye xiu (even tho in the novel, not so much, she likes su mucheng more)
- The way Glory game was portrayed. Tbh at first i thought the actors are gonna cosplay or something so i was a bit hesitant to watch at first lol if it wasn't for that wonderful game portrayal, it would be hard to imagine what it looks like while just reading the novel.
- The internet cafe!!! It looks so awesome compared to the manga heh
- Chen Yehui actor is actually a very convincing antagonist lol I rly hated him!!!!!
- Overall it's a nice watch!!
Dislikes:
- Qiao Yifan portrayal. When i watched the live first, i actually felt sorry for him most of the time tho not rly strong impression. But after reading the novel, maaan, the way they made yifan in live is so WEAK!!! Such a waste... iirc he always lose in matches in the live or always no confidence but in the novel it wasn't like that at all!!!
- An Wenyi portrayal. This... i actually didnt like him much in the live tbh cause his personality was kinda a turn off. But after reading the novel, hes actually a good chara!! Idk why they made it in the live that an wenyi is bullying yifan (like their first meeting). In the novel, ye xiu scouted him in game (hes a member of Tyrannical Ambition guild) nvr did he had an argument with yifan.
- Wu Chen portrayal. Even tho he only appeared in later eps, that time he cheated was actually very ooc of him if u compare his chara in the novel. Tho i didnt mind it much when i first watched the live. But after reading the novel, i prefer his chara in novel, cause he didn't do that at all!!
- When Myriad Manifestations Umbrella broke. Honestly i was heartbroken when it broke in the live, i couldn't accept it. Even tho it was fixed in later eps... still... but thank god thats just a filler scene. It nvr happened in the novel.
- Happy vs Excellent Era team competition in challenger's league. Tbh when i watched the live, i didn't like it very much!!! It wasn't that exciting cause they're always on the losing side. Iirc they only won the championship there cause of the additional point of damage that ye xiu did (i think?) But im happy that in the novel it wasn't like that at all!!! Sun Xiang actually even forfeited cause he knew he wouldn't be able to defeat ye xiu.
- They didn't explain Heavenly Domain much in the live. In the novel, it was a big deal. Iirc in the live, they rly nvr talk abt levels of their chara right?? Cause level cap was at 70 (later on 75) and an unspecialized chara can only level up to 50 in normal servers and they can only continue leveling up in heavenly domain. Ye xiu entered heavenly domain at level 50!! It was a big deal in glory world that time.
- How they made ye xiu's fake identity such a big deal. In the live he almost couldn't attend his match right?? In the novel, it wasn't a big deal. In fact Tang Hao (boss of Excellent Era) was the one who is worried most cause Excellent Era's 3 championship was under Ye Qiu's name.
Hmm now that i think abt it, i think i still hv a lot of things i wanna list but those are just minor things. These are the major things i dislike in the live after reading the novel.
Anyway!! Im actually glad i watched it first than reading the novel first cause i didnt hv anything to compare it with plus i rly came to love the live. But if i did read the novel first then watched the live, i think ill just end up comparing without appreciating woops.
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Keeps you rooted till the finale.
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!)
Ending: Happy
How did I miss this gem? Am glad I took it out of my treasure box and finally watched it.
Firstly, the imagery and graphics of this drama are mind-blowing. The life of “Glory” is so well animated. The matches literally come alive. You feel as if you are actually a part of a video game. It’s that detailed! And each match and each game is so exciting. You can’t not get involved and you can’t escape that knot in your tummy when it's your favorite team member playing.
Yang Yang as the male lead, Ye Xiu, just fits into the role perfectly. He portrays the role of the fallen leader to an internet café manager to the leader of Team Happy effortlessly. His character is a strong one who decides to take his supposed downfall as a challenge and is determined to come out a victor. His love for the game Glory is what brings that victory to him. He seeks the same passion in the new team that he builds. I love the way each team member is introduced one by one with their own story given due importance and their due airtime.
I love the relationship he shares with the leaders of the other teams. It's healthy. It's competitive. Its rivalry at its purest.
While there is no romance between the main leads (Ye Xiu & Chen Guo), we can feel glimpses of it. A fleeting comment, a look but it's there. It's subtle. I like it a lot. Maybe there is a possibility of it coming to the fore in the sequel but that’s again not something whose absence will take away the essence of this drama. The focus is on gaming and esports and it delivers that beautifully.
It makes us reflect on a lot of life lessons if we actually listen to the dialogues carefully (thanks to some amazing subtitles) ….my best one being “The key to winning is not the tactic you choose but to find one that suits you”
It’s a drama about perseverance, about fighting for your passion, for doing what you love, for team building, and finding your own strengths.
You won't get bored!
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