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This is a LONG review. I know there are currently two other e-sports dramas airing but I ended up picking this one and loved it. Initially I was also watching Go Go Squid but ultimately dropped that one because I was hoping to see the female lead there pursue her own career. That’s another story for another time.
So, GGS didn't speak to me in that aspect but Qiu Ying (played by Wang Zixuan) in Gank Your Heart did. She isn’t into gaming at first but ultimately finds her calling as a commentator for e-sports. It’s motivating to see her start from being a newbie in the e-sports world to someone who advances to the final championships as one of the main hosts. She is a hard worker, fiercely independent, and knows how to strategically move herself up the ladder in the gaming world without pulling any dirty tricks. She makes no excuses and can be a doormat at certain times, but she isn’t afraid to step up to challenges and obstacles. She can be very loyal to people she loves. On the flip side, I wish she was a more aggressive and confident in herself because she runs away (literally and figuratively) at the first chance she gets when it comes to romance. The male lead chases, of course, but our girl eventually learns to step up to the plate too.
When we meet the male lead Ji Xiangkong (played by Wang Yibo), he is already somewhat of a successful pro player. His reputation slowly tarnishes as he is accused by beating up an opponent, switches teams (not by his own doing), gets entangled in a love triangle with Qiu Ying and his ex-girlfriend Miya, and is accused of divulging game plans prior to a tournament. He goes through multiple challenges but never forgets where he came from and his aspirations. While he’s a top player, he isn’t arrogant and is considered a loyal friend. He’s the type to put friends first so we see him make sacrifices throughout the series. He sounds like the perfect male lead, and sometimes I think he is, until we get to see him handling his relationships with Qiu Ying and Miya (played by Hanna). He’s obviously in love with the former but before he gets the chance to tell her, he refers to her as his girlfriend in front of Miya who still has strong and lingering feelings for him. Of course that doesn’t sit well with our girl Qiu Ying. Here’s where I give her all the credit because she flat out says she doesn’t want to be involved in whatever is between them. So yes, he may be a very good strategist when it comes to gaming but not so great in the romance department.
But what I like about this couple is that they grow together but also separately in their careers. They make a pact to reach the top of the (gaming) world together and they fulfill that.
As for the supporting characters, I will say that they were memorable in their own ways and never once did I felt like I had to skip their parts. Even all the "villains" are worth watching to see what other schemes they have up their sleeves. Each of them has their own purpose and they help shape the main characters’ personal growth and development so that’s why I enjoy them. I also don’t think anyone is actually a true villain here because most of them are jealous of the "winners". In a way, I find it to be realistic because we all have choices to make when we come across people we see as threats. We either choose to let our jealousy take over or we humbly learn from others to better ourselves. I think this drama does a good job in showing both ends of the spectrum.
Now, if you ask me who my favorite supporting character is, I’d probably say Pei Xi (played by Jerry Yan Yuhao) n a heartbeat. In any other drama, his character would have been the second male lead who’s romantically in love with our female lead. In this series though, he’s actually the male lead’s number one fanboy (the other would be Ding Guansen’s Lin Yixuan who is clearly the comic relief character here) and is willing to pretend to be Qiu Ying’s boyfriend so that JXK could focus on gaming instead of getting targeted online for his love triangle mess. PX is perceived as arrogant when he first appears, but the more we see him, the more we realize he’s just saying “senpai look at me” to JXK in a quite endearing way. JXK’s sharp words and rejection is really what PX needs in order to grow up and learn to be a team player. And I have to say, I’m honestly glad they didn’t give him a romance story. He is just way too focused on gaming.
I don’t know if they accurately portrayed the e-sports world since I’m not someone who plays games. There were some criticism from actual gamers, but the counterargument is that it’s an enjoyable and motivational series that might lead some general audience members to develop an interest in the industry. Personally, the gaming scenes really got me fired up. They are intense and actually made me grip the edge of my seat at some points.
Acting-wise, let’s just say that I have little to no expectations when I’m watching a cast of new faces. I initially started this for Wang Yibo (The Untamed makes me do things I normally wouldn’t lol) but was really drawn into the story by the rest of the cast. I can’t say they’re award-worthy performances but they didn’t hurt to watch. The acting is natural and the cast delivered the right amount of emotions expected of their characters and circumstances.
Will I watch this again? I most likely will because I really do like the main couple and the last 7-8 episodes of gaming were really enjoyable.
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I'm not going to be writing a really long review but I'm just going to say that this drama was so good! This drama made me cry, laugh, feel fuzzy in the inside! If a drama or movie made me cry, then I would rate it a 10/10! Of course there are some flaws but I really enjoyed it! The story was a bit like Love O20 with the game and stuff, the acting was really good it seamed real, music was good too, i would totally rewatch it but probably from the middle onwards. Overall, I really recommend this drama if you love romance dramas like me. It's really hard to find a good drama that has at least good looking main leads. I hope they would have a season 2 for this drama!
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I loved how the illustrations for the show changed throughout ht certain points or major milestones throughout the show.
The story started off great. ML Ji Xiang Kong is an e-sports professional pursuing his dream. FL Qiu Ying is a e-sports upcoming commenter trying to pursue her dreams. The relationship started off rocky, they hated each other, the misunderstandings almost ruined both their careers. Don’t worry everything gets cleared up by episode 11. I’m usually not a fan of huge misunderstandings but I think it worked for this show. Through these misunderstandings the leads grew to understand each other more. I loved how passionate they both were about there careers. I never really felt the romance chemistry between the two of them. It was always just a feeling of supporting and wanting the other to succeed. They made a promise to meet On the world stage together as player and commenter. There where a few cute moments between the leads. ( Qui Ying reaction to the Ji Xiang Kong working out was hilarious.)
After Ji Xiang Kong decided to form his own team I feel like the storyline changed.
After ml formed own team female lead stopped pursing her dream. She devoted her time into his dream. The only other reference of her still doing commentary was after a celebration party in Ep. 28 I think. Luo
Tian her mentor commented on how her latest videos were getting better but we didn’t see that on our end. When her situation was cleared up and her mentor asked her if she would like to come back once everything is confirmed she said “of course, but Phoenix needs me now.” I honestly don’t think Phoenix needed her i couldn’t think of a reason for her to give up on her dream. We seen her go from a commenter who knew nothing about e-sports but at least she was working to learn to being a team leader for her boyfriends team. I would have rather her become a national commenter early on.
I didn’t see her funny best friend Lu Yi Yi much anymore. I enjoyed her character she was funny, a bit over bearing a times but I enjoyed her and Lin Yi Xuan relationship it was comedy. It was sad the storyline just stopped on there relationship and then it was just thrown back together at the end.
Side note: why was the female lead always being gift Face mask ????? Every time she was given a gift it was always the same brand face mask. They almost kissed again in ep. 31 but guess what... that damn face mask ????. And placement was great because now I’m looking for the face mask ????
Pei Xi is the true hero of the show. His character was amazing and he played it well. The only character that grew throughout the show. By episode 30 I was ready to stand up and clap for his performance lol. He was the best character on the show!
I don’t know the purpose of the Ji Xiang Kong extra girlfriend Miya coming back that was just extra filler storyline. I hated it because it made me dislike the male character. He didn’t do anything to provoke her actions but he didn’t do much to stop it. Even when the leads officially got together there was no character growth between the two of them the story line just switched up to fit the situation if that makes sense. Episode 32 ugh, they just kept throwing her in the story. Episode 32 had me ready to give up on the show. It further convinced me the chemistry wasn’t there between the leads. I didn’t see the point in being the ex back again and this time e with a whole new plot. I honestly didn’t think the ex was bad the first go round but the second time ???? this show could’ve been 7-10 episodes shorter. I hate end of the season break ups it makes me feel like I wasted my time especially with 35 episodes to have the leads break up episode 32 sucks. Don’t worry the main leads get back together in the end.
The villains
For most of the show I felt like the villains all but for the manager won. Karma didn’t catch the villains until ep. 32 which was long overdue considering it could’ve been cleared up had Kong supported Qiu Ying the way she supported him.
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She was responsible and kind but not someone you can easily just step on.
I Just watched The King's Avatar and Go Go Squid and had previously watched Love o2o, although they are different there are certain similarities (well, they mostly have the same themes LOL) I think this perfectly filled the lack of romance from the king's avatar, a better leading lady from go go squid and as sweet as the love story of Xiao Nai and Wei Wei.
The entire drama is cute and a definite "feel good" kind of drama. It'll make you laugh, cry and jump in joy. There were ups and downs but it the time that I spent on watching this was definitely worth it.
This drama introduced Yibo to me so, Kudos!
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The second lead couple ARE SO CUTE OML their fights and bickering always make me laugh. Ok let’s talk about the ANTAGONISTS YES I SAID THAT QIAO XIN AND MI YA GIRL STAY IN UR LANE OMG YALL AINT SHIT SORRY. If y’all have high blood pressure please don’t watch this drama because I think my veins exploded already;”)
But overall the acting was great, especially Qui Ying’s given the fact that she’s fairly new in the acting industry but tbh the crying scenes were trash. The competition scenes were INTENSE OMG I don’t even game but that shit got me sitting on the edge of my seat. The songs/osts were amazing and overall I would recommend this drama!
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Gank Your Heart is underrated, but is my favorite e-sports/gaming cdrama! (sorry I wrote an essay)
When someone says “gaming drama”, I think many of us would think of Love 020, Go Go Squid, and King’s Avatar. Recently I came across Gank Your Heart, which I think may be my absolute fav e-sports drama. At first, I watched for Wang Yibo, but ended up getting sucked into the plot and fell in love with the FL (female lead), side characters, OSTs, and overall twists and turns of the drama and how realistic it felt.I’d love to hear your thoughts on the drama too (whether you disagree or agree with my opinions)! And excuse spelling/grammar mistakes, I was rambling to myself in the wee hours of the night about how much I loved this drama.
GOOD PLOT & MAIN CHARACTERS
Tbh, I thought the title sounded a bit cringe at first, as if it was some romance story with a side of gaming. But I was wrongly mistaken and realized the significance of the title halfway through when I found out the chinese title translated to “Accompany you to the top of the world” (which makes sense because ganking, or at least how my friends and I use it in-game, is going to other lanes that aren’t our own to provide support which reflects the main characters). I liked how the plot really did focus on the leads trying to accomplish their goal at the international competition together, with a clear end state. The pacing was good and no parts were filler that I thought were completely irrelevant. All of the characters grew in their own ways and were able to progress in their career and dreams. While this show had its fair share of frustrating moments and misunderstandings, I liked that it all came back to their careers.
Most of the time, the FL and ML’s personalities influence whether or not I end up finishing the drama (for ex. I can’t stand a really annoying/whiny/overly cute FL and an abusive ML). Thankfully, I came to love both Qui Ying and Ji Xiang Kong’s characters. Both are passionate and hardworking people who really care about the ones they love. QY felt very relatable throughout the show and JXK’s leadership and teamwork really stood out to me. The two leads have their own flaws, but their strengths and reactions to the things happening around them felt realistic (since they both weren’t overly talented and op in the beginning). Really felt like they were friends I wanted to cheer on, both in their career and relationship.
THE COMPETITIVE E-SPORTS/GAMING ASPECT
As someone who likes playing games similar to iConquer (ex. League of Legends), I enjoyed how realistic it felt. A good chunk of the gaming scenes were strategies with a lot of technical terms that people who play similar games know. However, while it was technical, it was also presented in a way that is understandable for an audience who may not play these games (I watched GYK with my parents and they had a good understanding of the game :D). I also liked the competitive aspect of it and the show really convinced me into thinking I was watching a real pro gaming team trying to win the championship (like I felt nervous watching the last round of the finals and teared up when teams I was rooting for lost or won).
THE ROMANCE & RELATIONSHIPS
I’ve seen many people mention online how they didn’t like how the story didn’t have too much romance in it. However, for me, I somehow liked it - again, it seemed very realistic, how the leads’ relationship progressed. I liked that it wasn’t love at first sight and that they genuinely wanted nothing to do with each other, but after misunderstandings were cleared, they became friends. Their mutual understanding and respect for each other’s passion in the e-sports industry, which led to them supporting each other and falling in love along the way, was very sweet in its own way and imo makes it even cuter than if they randomly just fell in love in the beginning. Though it would be nice to see more romantic scenes, I don’t think we needed them to see that they really cared for and supported each others’ dreams. (This is the same opinion I have which made me like the relationships in The Untamed, which is my ult fav drama: While there isn’t much skinship, you can tell by their actions that characters deeply care for each other). However, there are a ton of scenes of QY and JXK being all cute which made me :”) small gestures like hugging, holding hands, etc.
I also enjoyed the friendships and relationships between the supporting characters and leads. The overall warm environment that surrounded the Legends team, the alumni team, and Phoenix was so nice to see, especially across the generations of players. Everyone was so close knit and supportive :”) i cri
THE IMPORTANCE OF SIDE CHARACTERS
Another thing that I really enjoyed about this drama - the side characters seemed all equally important. Whether they were a supporter of our leads, or one of the people trying to ruin their lives, each of the characters were portrayed well and I didn’t feel like they were a waste of space haha
Even the “evil” characters. While I can’t justify that what they are doing is morally correct, I could say it’s understandable that they’re trying to do what they can to survive in such a cut-throat industry where you can get replaced and forgotten easily. Even Miya, who I hated at first, I realized she was probably alone most of her life and only had JXK to rely on. She was likely scared she’ll lose her last pillar of support, which is why she was desperate to do what she did. Same for Qi Yue and Qiao Xin, where they thought “eat or be eaten”, and sabotaged others to be in a position of power because they are scared or don’t trust their own talents.
My fav character throughout the entire show though is Pei Xi. I found his character to be quite fun, kind, and enjoyed all the scenes with him (I’m rambling too much xD can Pei Xi give me a lollipop pls jk). Plus with his plot twists, in a good way, he was very different from the first impression I had of him.
OSTS
You know the feel of listening to an OST, closing your eyes, and just feeling something? Whether it’s a good feeling or a bad one? There are 2 OSTs that did this to me for this drama.
1) 最燃的冒险/The Most Burning Adventure (Opening theme) by Wang Yibo - hearing just the intro of this song can get me feeling pumped to do anything lol
2) 天空之外/Outside the Sky (Ending theme) by Xian Zi - despite me not liking Miya through the end of the drama, I still feel really bad for her. Everytime I listen to this song, I get flashbacks of the pain she went through and just makes me all sad again :( Like this song is pretty, but so painful that I feel like I’ll start crying if I close my eyes or stare at a wall. Crazy to think that this song (and Miya’s story) can make me feel so much xD (also notice in the chorus she says “jì fēng chuī xiàng dà hǎi dào tiān kōng zhī wài”? she put ji xiang kong’s name in there :”)))) time to cry
DISLIKES
Miya, that’s it. Though I feel bad for her, what she does is still selfish and one should never treat others the way she did.
Jk, like in any drama, there are frustrating moments which I wish didn’t have to happen, but needed to in order to drive the plot. The lack of communication between characters during critical moments which could result in misunderstandings infuriate the heck out of me. And seeing people sabotage others (tho this may happen irl) also makes my blood boil, especially having to wait for the moment they are caught.
Anyways...the end... thank you for coming to my ted talk and reading through my essay (IM SO SORRY I didn’t realize I would ramble for so long).
tldr - Gank your heart was a great drama and a rollercoaster of emotions, but it was one of those painful but rewarding stories. The cast and characters were all lovable and I genuinely felt happy/sad for them because the drama felt realistic. I hope more people will watch Gank Your Heart!
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A Gaming Disaster
Let me just share with you my opinions and you can decide if you want to watch it or not. I'm a huge fan of gaming or sports Chinese dramas because the story follows their own set paths and not have the typical Chinese dramas cliches so I was excited about this one...... until I actually watch this one.This drama have the potential to be a great gaming drama. The signs are all there but because the writers introduced the typical Chinese cliches in this drama, this is what ruined it for me. It's a 35 episode drama but I would say the writers wasted a good 20 to 25 episodes full of nonsense, headaches, and anger that was pointless.
A bickering ML & FL with each other in the beginning I can understand and I can understand the hardship the ML faces in the beginning, but when the writers kept repeating this pattern of ML & FL suffering for about 75% of this drama, I've had it. It resulted in skipping. Evil people in this drama whose punishment is barely anything gets me furious. Don't even get me started on the brushing off that the writers did on the sexual assault that the scumbag manager did on the FL's friend and the attempted sexual assault on the FL. I really hated how this was handled like it was nothing. Then you have a few side characters who are just the root of evil. Why do they get so much power on doing certain things even though they're not important? And all of this sudden, they get caught and last minute change because they lost everything? Yeah right. Oh and there's that stalker ex of the ML who seems okay at first but they decided to ruin her character by making her obsessive with the ML, even toward the very end which ruined the last few episodes for me. They ruined the ML's character because of this ex and I'm not happy about that. Tons of misunderstandings and an evil stepmother who's so rude but all the sudden has a change a heart immediately.
Also, I'm very disappointed that the FL's dream of being a commentator wasn't presented well in this drama. They stalled on her progression too long by making bad things happen to her due to that evil jealous co-worker. Progress was needed for her to learn and improve yes but she should've been shown commentating the esport long time ago, not just for the final showdown. Yes, she got to experience her dream but it should've been for multiple events not just the last one.
So what's good then? Well I did like the developing relationship between the leads, started as friends to eventually growing to like each other. Their friends are the goofballs. The FL's friend is the overprotective mother while the ML's friend is just silly overall. Of course, these two friends do like each other and there's another sweet couple too that I wish had more screen time. The gaming is okay but it's more of just seeing them playing on the computer than actually seeing game action scenes. The SML was my favorite. Even though he seemed like a non likable guy, he was just a fanboy of the ML throughout the series which ended up making his character pretty funny and cool. But overall, it's the bond and friendships the ML makes with others I really enjoy seeing.
So in conclusion, a potential to be a great drama but adding nonsense, headaches, and frustration ruined the quality of this gaming drama for me. Very rushed last several episodes and a lot of wasted episodes. The typical Chinese drama cliché of a problem occuring even towards the end of this drama ( I hate this!). This is probably the worst gaming drama I've seen but I stuck by it and not drop because of the lead characters and their friends.
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Such a great piece to watch. I personally think this drama is kinda underrated. I love the way they portrayed the message! Do not give up. Ups and downs re part of life. If you fall down, Rebirth with a new spirit and no one can stop you! I like the cast too. Female lead is so pretty and ML is so handsome. Their friends, their old friends all were too good. The cast was great. I laughed so much on the most unexpected bromance, I've ever witnessed, between Ji Hong and Pei Xi! More than ML, I am too in love with Luo Tian Aka Harry Lu. He is super cute. I hate writer for not getting a girl for him! *crying in corner* . Last 10 episodes were epic. Especially last episode! I was literally jumping on my bed as if I'm watching the game live. Being gaming lover, I liked this drama a lot. If you are bored in ur quarantine so give it a try! That's what did! ♡´･ᴗ･`♡ Was this review helpful to you?
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Can't be compared to dramas like FIYS, TKA at all.
Here I am after finishing 'Gank Your Heart' in the middle of my 12th Boards Viva. I'm not gonna rant today and will just list the things I liked and disliked in this show.Things I liked :
» I really liked that they showed international championships in this one. I think I've watched most of the E-Sports C-Dramas and this is the only one that shows International stage.
» Pei Xi : ohh Pei Xi...( sighing with content ) I can write a whole page about him. He was the star of the show for me. He was an introvert star player in the show who grows as a person and learns about teamwork with time. At first I thought he's gonna be the typical 2nd lead : woo Qiu Ying, but what a plot twist he was for me. No, it's not like *plot twist* plot twist, you get what I mean right? And his smile is just so sweet. Me being an introvert I get this character, sometimes we want to make friends, to get to know people, but don't know how. We get lonely, but still prefer to stay alone. Pei Xi was the biggest fanboy of Xiang Kong that he offered to fake date Ying so that Kong's training won't be disturbed. And his moments with Xia Ling were so satisfactory. He was a great friend, a great team member, and everything good. I'll stop here. I was going to drop this show around 26th episode, but I didn't just because of Pei Xi.
» I really liked the moments when Oiu Ying stood up for herself. Even if she's not a spy or heiress or a female CEO or something, she was strong as a woman and didn't let people walk all over her. Even if I didn't like her in the first few episodes as all she did was just cry cry and cry, I warmed up to her.
» Luo Tian was a great mentor and friend to Qiu Ying. I knew he liked her ! But i was a little sad that he didn't confess, but i get it, he knew Qiu Ying wouldn't accept him as she just saw him as a mentor/teacher and friend. He was happy to see her happy.
» shoutout to Shu Wen, Summer, Sun Ze Yi and Lin Yi Xuan. They were great supports.
Things I didn't like :
» oh Xiang Kong, how much will you hurt our Ying Ying? He clearly has low EQ. In the last few episodes were just - I don't even know how to write it. I get it, before ex, Mi Ya is your childhood bestie. She doesn't have any family so you're talking care of her. But that doesn't mean you gonna ignore Ying Ying now !
» the matches : the main element of an E-Sports drama is E-Sport matches. But after watching dramas like YAMG, FIYS, TKA, GGS, GGS2, LS, I had so much expectations from this one. But this drama didn't even reach the half of it in this case. I didn't fill the thrill, the excitement - just nothing. I think i only watched the Finale match in last episode and skipped others.
Conclusion :
I admit, I watched till end just because of Pei Xi. The last episode was full of everything, but still felt a little you know empty to me. Like there was no WOW factor. Will i watch it again? Never. Did I dislike this show? Of course not. But did i like it? Definitely no.
PS : oh I did rant again.
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Absolute phenomenal actors in an extremely disappointing plot.
Absolute phenomenal actors in an extremely disappointing plot. Specially the villains. I think the roles of villains is harder than playing the hero and often goes unappreciated. Only the side were somewhat well written. The sidekicks were the most lovable throughout the entire series and probably the only ones that were well written.Qiu Ying was a terrible character all the way to the end due to the inexplicable need the writers had of making her so "delicate”, completely contradicting her supposed strong personality. She depended too much on chances that things would get better or the charity of others. The series wrote her "hardships" too unrealistically, and fleeting. There was too much wasted potential in the plot of this drama on account of making it a sweet and pink tinted romance. No matter how much I tried, it was impossible to relate to this pampered, weak and selfish character at all. her dramatic scenes were all dependant of how much she was hated by the villains even if there really was no reason to hate her. She really wasn't extremely talented or successful to warrant it.
The arrival of Fu Mi Ya was a useless, convoluted plot line which served only the purpose of extending the angst. I can see the idea behind this plot was to show that the two mains could overcome adversity, but in reality, it turned Ji Xiang Kong's character into a clueless douchebag, Qiu Ying's character into a jealous, weak loser who gives up on her own boyfriend at the first sign of trouble and Mi Ya's character into a selfish, obsessive, delusional, superficial child who is nothing but an insult to all idols in the world.
All in all, the series was an utter and compete waste of a great plot and even greater cast and crew. Whoever wrote this should work harder to improve themselves.
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Avoid watching 32-35 and save yourself some disappointment
Up to episode 32, everything was going fine even with the crazy repetitive tantrums thrown by Qiao Xin. And then Fu Mi Ya enters the picture again, not necessary to the plot at all. What were the writers thinking? So many good dramas' out there spoiled with such poorly written endings. (It is the curse of poor endings with these dramas) At least include something that would make sense, there should be a flow of things.So, when the Miya shows up yet again the ML completely forgets about the FL. When your friend is sick you sure go take care of them for a while but don't setup house there my dude! What's more the ML did pretty well before ep 32, he seemed like such a poor partner for FL by the end of the show.
The worst part was ML was aware of how much the female lead was hurting because he was neglectful and he chose not to rectify it, even though he was quite capable of doing so. She wasn't a priority. Her dreams weren't a priority.
0 rewatch value.
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