This review may contain spoilers
The story was very good. I typically don't like this kind of historical drama, with guns. I loved all of the main leads, especially Qu Manting. She was a very funny and sassy person. I loved Huang Song, although, I don't think he deserved the ending he got, his ending was just too terrible, he was such a nice and good guy. I always shipped Shen Tingbai and Qu Manting together. The story went downhill at like the last 3 episodes. After they found out that Xie Liangchen was a girl, the story just went awful, like it got really boring. I honestly think that Xie Xiang should have been with Huang Song. Huang Song is a nice guy, he has a very nice personality. I really recommend this show, mainly because of the main leads, each and everyone of them is different, and that is what makes them fun to watch. Was this review helpful to you?
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A drama full of emotions
this drama may not be your cup of tea if you do not enjoy dramas in this era as you might find it a little slow in the middle. but the acting is superb! all the casts fit so well with their characters. i never imagined Bai Lu would pull off a guy's look but she did and it turned out amazing! Bai Lu made her character looked very realistic and thus would not make audiences cringe when she tried to take her brother's place. all the supporting characters were cute as well and overall the casts & crew did an amazing job.Was this review helpful to you?
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read the novel!
highly recommend reading the novel after watching this drama. it contains extra insight on xiexiang’s thoughts and feelings, especially how she develops feelings towards guyanzhen. here is where all the tenderness and happy feelings are.I feel that this is lacking in the drama, where I couldn’t grasp whether she actually liked guyanzhen or why she was always annoyed / refusing to accept him.
fortunately the novel answers all these questions and more! \o/ if you can’t read Chinese, the machine translated English version isn’t too bad, still quite understandable.
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Xie Xiang is the most badass female lead ever in a Mulan plot set in the early 1900s!
I highly recommend this drama! I am personally a huge fan of the gender bender genre dramas and this drama did not disappoint!Xie Xiang/Xie Liang Chen is by far one of my all time favorite female leads. I love her character development so much. Episodes 39-41 is where you see her at her best.
I love all the other lead characters and a lot of the romantic/friend chemistry. The cast, including villains, did a great job!
The cinematography is wonderful and I personally love dramas set in this time period. The music is good, my favorite being the intro song.
I actually just finished rewatching and found it just as good as the 1st time. I had to binge even though I already had seen it all! I did fast forward past most parts that did not involve the main students because I already knew the intrigue that was happening around them. There is only one random side plot towards the end that I thought was stupid and just seemed like a time filler that I completely fast forwarded. It just randomly adds a new non main character as a minor non important plot device that the show could do without.
The only downside of this drama for me is the limited romance but the drama is so good that I still rate this drama a 10! Action packed, funny, and I found I like dramas more when there are animated/"real" side characters/friends.
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This review may contain spoilers
In My Top 5 - C Dramas!
15/01/2023
This is all about an 18 year old female posing as her deceased brother in an all male military academy during the Japanese occupation to fulfil what he couldn't do, also, to understand him better.
This will likely be in my top 5 Chinese dramas for life!
All the main and supporting actors were well chosen and played their parts so faultlessly that as a viewer I found myself invested in each and everyone of them.
There is a decent amount of humour in the first 13-16 episodes and also others, but as it progresses it does get heavier once their training is almost complete as well as when they are sent on missions.
In addition, there is this "gay" undertone throughout it because even though we know she is a female no one else really does except her best female friend and Gu, her annoying room mate, by episode 5.
I really liked the main male lead, Xu Kai, as well as the second male lead , Toby Lee, as their characters were cool guys in every sense of the word.
Some favourite moments for me would be the unexpected contraband inspection being carried out in episode two, Gu's wake up call and get back tactic, Gu's refusal to have another person sleeping in the room, Xie when she performs in Romeo and Juliette, Xie kicking Li's butt in martial arts, Qu when she saves Xu on a motor bike, Xu when he declares his love and also when he plays the piano which was unexpected, heartfelt yet so hilarious when it came to a response.
There are a number of other moments I enjoyed as well!
Before I forget there are different love situations involving Qu, Gu, Xie, Shen and one or two others in a criss cross kind of fashion. Like Xu likes Xie and so does Shen and Xie likes Shen as does Shen's female friend from his school days whereas Qu likes Xu and Shen's brother likes Qu.
Do you see what I mean?!
I will leave it at that except to say that there are no heavy angst moments nor is anyone harmed due to anyone being jealous so it made me enjoy it just that bit more.
What else?
The one character I really really liked more than anyone else was Huang Song as out of all of them he was the most uncomplicated with a good heart and balanced temperament. A very humble, kind and beautiful soul even if not clever like the others. If I could choose anyone to watch my back it would be him! And it is because of him that I will never watch one particular episode again - not ever! One of my favourite scenes with him in it was when Xie, Shen, Xu and Ji came through for him to help him get out of this "black market illegal boxing circus" in which he had to "fight to the death." All of the goings on in that made the series even more interesting.
It is a well told story and a series that isn't boring at all even though there are 48 episodes. I'm not usually into war or romance yet this won me over no sweat because of the humour, drama, characters, costumes and even the cinematography. Maybe not some of the hair styles, but most definitely everything else!
It is re-watchable as I have seen it again within a short time of initially watching it plus I still keep returning to it just to revisit all my favourite scenes.
It is most definitely in a class of its own - there is nothing else like it so is highly recommended!
Main characters:
Bai Lu as Xie Xiang
Xu Kai as Gu Yanzhen
Li Chengbin as Shen Junshan
Wu Jiayi as Qu Manting
Support:
Liu Runnan as Li Wenzhong
Wang Yizhe as Ji Jin
Liu Sibo as Huang Song
Meng En as Zhu Yanlin
Shao Bing as Guo Shuting
Lin Yo-wei as Lu Zhongyu
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This review may contain spoilers
How gender benders should be done
First off, I'm not a fan of male/female crossdressing, but I made an exception for this drama as I liked the cast. The FL actually looks like a pretty boy, and actually looked strange when dressed as a woman. I loved the character Gu, Yanzhen played brilliantly by Xu Kai (the cheeky chappy who has never grown up), and the chemistry between him and Bai Lu as Xie Xiang is superb. The comraderie between all the students at the Arsenal Military Academy is great, there's no character that you couldn't like and all play a part in the overall story. There's everything in this drama: romance, bromance, action and political intrigue. I thoroughly recommend it!Was this review helpful to you?
PLOT:
Initially it was challenging for me to get invested in the drama. I have no prior knowledge of Chinese history nor had any interest in it before I watched this drama. The set-up was a huge bore for me but with good storytelling and a compelling cast, it managed to lure me in and I am glad I stuck with it. The premise is a little basic and in some ways - senseless. However, being a weakling for cross-dressing plots, I wanted to watch it. I usually forgo of my intelligence when it comes watching such dramas. With this drama I found myself relating to these characters who were fighting for the independence / against an enemy ruler as it was very similar to some incidents from my home country's struggle in the past. I also appreciated that the drama was really funny and didn't bore me of with independence/revolt talks all the time. The action / violence was well-balanced and only towards the end did it become a little bloody and messy.
CHARACTERS:
The characters are all their own individuals and very well-rounded. What also stands out in this drama is the friendship and bond between our main characters. Gu Yanzhen, Liancheng, Huang Song, Qu Man Ting, Xiaojun and Shen Junshuan will always remain memorable to me. They were excellent characters and their friendship was very deep. It was really nice to see strong females who stood up for themselves and the free-spirited attitude of Qu Man Ting really stole the show for me. Apart from this Gu Yanzhen was unbelievably funny and cute - he was mostly playful but displayed a badass side when it came to protecting his loved ones in the need of the hour. Plus,Xu Kai is pure eye candy which helps. Junshuan was the typical uptight guy but I loved his portrayal by Toby Lee. He was very handsome. I had a hard time connecting with Liang Chen because there were times her actions made sense and at times she frustrated me. In fact the weakest part of the story was her. There's also a few villains who were okay but Xianrong was nicely done on her part.
ROMANCE + ACTING:
Now let me get to the ranting. Xu Kai and Toby Lee steal the show. I can't decide who was better because they were both that good and convincing. However as I am a Xu Kai fangirl, I'll just praise him some more. I couldn't get enough of his cute moments. He was the typical playful yet jealous boyfriend who is ready to do anything to get the attention of the girl. There was moments which had me laughing like crazy and some where I was sad when his heart was breaking. What frustrated me here was the lack of reciprocation from our female lead. The love triangle/quadrangle is long drawn and I am not sure if I am fully in agreement with it. Liang Chen seemed more invested in the 2nd ML and frankly, they were better suited. I also felt super bad for Qu Man Ting as I believe that she sincerely loved our ML and they also good chemistry with each other. It's just my heart kept breaking for Yanzhen (thanks to Xu Kai) repeatedly and I honestly would have written a hate review if the FL handn't woken up. Thankfully I knew of its happy ending, else my patience would have run out. She doesn't show much emotion towards him till the last few episodes which was frankly a long wait (although she did show some feelings in the middle). I wonder if it was the script or Bai Lu's weak sides of acting showing through as she was outperformed by her other cast members. I was sad to know that most of the romance was edited out and the slight LGBTQ+ tones were also smoothed out.
OST:
The opening theme is quite cool.
REWATCH VALUE:
Maybe one day I'll watch it again. The funny Xu Kai scenes are 100% rewatchable lol.
OVERALL:
In its essence, this drama is about people- friendship and love really does endure all. It also has some great messages about appreciating the sacrifices of our older generation and being loyal to one's own country. The cast did a solid job and this drama is one of the best C-dramas I have watched till date. It was well made with the only lacking things being the editing of some romance scenes and Bai Lu's acting not being at par with the others, which was forgivable. At least we get a female lead who can fight and hold her own. She didn't need to be rescued at every step. The cast is quite nice and the story fits in as well. The ending was a bit average but I was glad to see most of my favourites make it through.
I recommend watching this drama if you can get past the era it is set in. The cast will compel you to stay and the moments of frienship and humour won't make you regret picking it up.
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liking gender bender- the girl kicked the role- this was the best ever gender bender ever swamping.
me, as a person who is scared of every drama with more than 24 episodes, I was avoiding it for a long time. Especially when I was looking for gender bender type and some light romance but the number of episodes always pushed me away.I accidentally forgot the number and started watching it and it was too late when I released and I am so thankful for that!
the drama is fantastic, Bai LU (main girl) was marvelous, the cast amazing, it is true -not much of a typical romance thing, but who cares about romance when everything else was just amazing. in C-dramas it stands alogside with Love 020 and love me if you dare and my amazing boufriend (season1) for me <3
it is about a girl getting into men military academy and like a men kicking ass of other bandits and protecting country better than some men. side stories are so good as well.
I would like to applaud to the director and every person who made this drama happen.
as for Bai Lu (lead girl)- it is impossible to not fall in love with her. she is so strong, amazing and her smile <3 I can't even imagine somebody else in this role. lets not for get our lovely Xu Kai (off to watch this pair in Legends ^_^) and Toby Lee with his captivating smile that catches your hear.
the story is realistic, it gets better and better. especially last 10 episodes its a whole new world.
the ending is just what you would wish for- fantastic. OST is perfect- downloaded. cast amazing.
it is in my top 10 recommendations for life. you never notice how fast time flies (i took me 3 days though to finish it).
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Retro classic timeline.. Highly recommended drama..
Enjoy the story timeline, really love Bai Lu in this cast as Xie Xiang/Xie Liang Chen..its makes me remember my wife with shortcut hair, really love her..??.. She really give strong effort into her character as main female lead..for Xu Kai never forget his naughty face, my kids really love his naughty face act.. LolYou can see and enjoyed classic autocars from this drama..
Enjoy the story timeline, really love Bai Lu in this cast as Xie Xiang/Xie Liang Chen..its makes me remember my wife with shortcut hair, really love her..??.. She really give strong effort into her character as main female lead..for Xu Kai never forget his naughty face, my kids really love his naughty face act.. Lol
You can see and enjoyed classic autocars from this drama..
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This review may contain spoilers
Despite obvious short-comings, it is one of my favorite C-Dramas!
Usually, I am not a fan of republican era dramas because of their propaganda message and the evil portrait of the Japanese. Still, I started this drama because of my love for Xu Kai and Bai Lu (I adored both of them in Legends.). And I am delighted that I watched it. Both actors have impressed me so much that both became my favorite Chinese actors. But besides the leads' excellent performance, this drama brought me countless positive surprises.First what I adore about the drama:
♡ The main leads' romance (not a surprise): The love between Gu Yan Zheng and Xie Xiang/Xie Liang Chen is very precious. It started hilariously, sometimes eye-rollingly embarrassing but advanced to bitter-sweet and heart racing at the end.
In the middle, I became slightly impatient about XX's ignorance towards GYZ's pursuance but later on understood that she deliberately tried to suppress her feeling to him to stay in school. And the wait intensifies the longing they have towards each other later in the show (I was really touched by the arc of the two in Beijing around episode 40 - beautifully written!).
♡ The lead actors: Xu Kai absolutely blew my mind with his performance as Gu Yan Zheng: He is funny, arrogant, silly, goofy, childish, flirty, and an absolute show-off. It is his straightforward and pure personality that goes after what he wants that makes him extremely likable. These positive traits developed into determination, righteousness, and bravery when GYZ grew up to a soldier and man protecting the people and the country he loves. Despite portraying countless dramatic and ridiculous scenes, none of the actings felt over the top or unnatural. Through this character, Xu Kai indeed proved himself to be an actor of far-reaching talents. He really made GYZ his own.
Bai Lu: Bai Lu impressed me already in Legends as the overbearing demon queen, but in AMA, she outperforms herself even further by switching convincingly between the tomboyish girl Xie Xiang and the pretty boy soldier. Two thumbs up for the stylist who created her cute and handsome styles. Bai Lu also did a fantastic job in all her fighting and action scenes. Compared to Legends, where a lot was done using CG, these are real combat and acrobatic scenes, which certainly required a lot of practices and reshoots to make them as good-looking as they are.
♡ The second leads, supporting characters and their emotional storyline:
For AMA, if the chemistry of the main leads would not have been this good, I would have shipped the leads with the secondary ones instead. I am most impressed with Wu Jia Yi's performance as Xu Man Ting. Her personality is similar to that of GYZ and extremely fun to watch. Plus, I love her voice (is her own voice) that puts the right emphasis on the low tones. It positively adds to her excellent acting.
This drama is probably the second-best drama (after Joy of Life) I have watched, which has a fabulous team of supporting characters. Each of them has his/her unique personality, who is loveable. They remind me of the characters from Shonen Jump animes, which focus on friendship, effort, and victory. Liu Si Bo, who played Huang Song, was outstanding. His friendship with both XX and GYZ was precious and beautiful to watch. A shout out to the excellent cinematography and performance for his underground fight club arc. The character development of Li Wen Zhong, played by Liu Run Nan, also caught me by positive surprise. I did not expect that the makers will give a douchebag character like him such a great turn towards the end - that's what I would call good storytelling.
♡ The cinematography: Hui Kai Dong is the same director as Yanxing Palace, and he is known for his beautiful and high-quality shots. The team built the school campus entirely from scratch to shoot the drama. Also, the bar from Hu Xiao Yu is charmingly designed - who can copy this bar in the real world would for sure money. Most sets and action scenes are real, and even if they use CGs, they are not very obvious. Another lookout point is the action scenes. Most scenes are firmed directly with the cast themselves. You can see the makers have spent a lot of time crafting and correcting the movements for all the action scenes, whether that is a shooting, a fistfight, a sword fight or a car chase. And then there are the beautiful costumes. Oh my god, is GYZ good looking in his various types of trench coats... The dresses from Xu Man Ting also look gorgeous on her.
Last but not least, there is a great OST. I have been listening to the songs of AMA up and down. My favorite is the duet sung by the main leads themselves. Though slightly cheesy pitch, I find it just right for this drama. I wished they would have played it more often as BGM.
Now what I think the drama could have done better:
⭐︎ Unrealistic story and plot holes, esp. for the military plots: While the writer is talented with emotional storylining, she is not as skillful with military and battle storylines. I was trying to ignore those plot holes, but there are some that I could not ignore. The first real battle, there is not even one student who died or injured. If it comes to the enemy, there is no hesitance in shooting them. But when it comes to our own people, the enemy would always first catch them and then only attempt to kill them, leaving the heroes time to escape. The writing of the auction scene was also a mess; it was anti-climax, not knowing which party is involved and what they were up to. There are also a lot of random shootings on the streets, as there are no rules of laws, at which the villain would get punished and our protagonists saved at the end. And then there are typical unrealistic happenings such as all characters ended up in the same city at the same time.
⭐︎ Too many love lines: Despite my love for the emotional storylines, there are too many. Not only do we have many love triangles between the main leads, but we also have a few love lines between supporting characters and the main leads and vice versa. This got me confused sometimes. The makers also spent too much time describing the love triangle between the leads. Instead they could have used the time to grow team spirit of the student group, or spend time telling the stories of Ji Jin and Zhu Yan Lin. I would have loved to see more arcs, such as the mission to take out the drug dealers in episode 34.
⭐︎ Character development of Shen Jun Shan and Jin Xian Rong: Both actors playing SJS and JXR have performed well. Unfortunately, I wish the makers could have spent a bit more rationalizing the characters' emotional response based on proper human motivation. SJS is a strong 2nd male lead, perfect for opposing GYZ's funky personality. However, his prince-like behavior to XLC in the whole first half of the drama is totally questionable. There is no whatsoever explanation why he would behave this way at first and then later fall in love with XLC. The same goes for JXR, a villain with complicated past, feelings for SJS, and thus possessing a lot of potential for character depth. Why would she try to hide her famous identity naively believing that SJS, the son of such a renowned business family, would not find out? After the reveal, what did she do to save the relationship? Her past of being a Japanese but born and raised in China only came out from her somewhat commemoration towards her adopting family but was not used anywhere else. Just because she is Japanese by origin, does this make her a slave to the Japanese and a killer machine? Don't forget that she killed her own father, trying to protect SJS. A big lost opportunity here!
Despite the shortcomings I mentioned above, I truly love this drama. I think the more I was disappointed about specific areas, the more it shows that I really wanted this drama to do well. (I have never spent this long to write such a comprehensive review...). I am even surprised myself how much I am thinking about the characters, the scenes of the drama, days after I finished it. I would definitely go back and rewatch some episodes. All in all, I would recommend anyone watching it - the characters and the emotional plots are what make it really enjoyable.
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