Arsenal Military Academy (2019)

PERFECT! EXCELLENT! SUPERB!

EVERYTHING IS PERFECT!

*Contain some spoilers*

Seriously this is the best Cdrama I have ever watched. I want to show my respect to the writer and the director of this drama~ The storyline is AMAZING! There is no plot hole, no cliche, and always full of surprise. Every episode has its own charming and important scene. Although this is about military drama surprisingly it has a lot of humorous scenes. The political scenes always are kept short and continued with them doing missions afterward so there is no boring part at all (no skipping). And to be honest from the beginning till the end of the episodes, I kept on praising the writer for the storyline. Always give what I want and sometimes much better than I have expected. The director also did a good job especially in the scene of fighting and war.

Next, I want to salute all the casts including the main leads and also the supporting casts. Thank you so much to the director for casting all of them. They all play their role perfectly. They are all visuals too! And I really love how the main leads play their characters. The best thing in this drama is the writer made the ML, Gu Yan Zhen has characteristics of childish, immature yet brave, can fight, and also has leadership. His childish character seriously made the drama is so funny. He is good at giving different types of expression. His smile, his smirk, his wink, and his mischievous look are all so cute! Despite him being childish but he also can lead the team whenever they have missions. He is a really dependable ML. Anyway, thanks to the writer for these characteristics for the ML, and of course Xu Kai is the best and the most suitable actor for this role > <. He is so handsome in this drama, i really love his hairstyle! Every time he appears, my mouth couldn't stop saying he is cute and handsome~~

Besides ML, I also want to praise the FL, Xie Xang for her perfect acting as a man. She is doing a great job in portraying the man character especially when she is in the military academy. The writer made the FL as a tough girl who can deal with the bad person and can fight. Although she has a physical weakness but this doesn't stop her from doing her best and eventually become among the best in her classmates. Plus, I love all the scenes when the ML and FL bickering with each other. Their chemistry is no joke. They are so cute and funny ^ ^. Bai Lu's acting as FL is so perfect as sometimes I see her as a man because of her character as well as her hairstyle. So handsome > <

I like some other characters too. Huang Song, Xie Lianchen's best friend is so cute but I am shocked by his fighting scene. He looks so manly there > < Shen Jun Shen, Ji Jin, Yan Lin, and Xiao Jun and many more also makes this drama complete.

#Some things I dislike about the drama (but cannot beat the good things about this drama):

I hate the love triangle !!!! Especially between Gu Yan Zhen and Qu Man Ting. I seriously don't like Qu Man Ting character. OMG, she is so annoying! At first, I can withstand her liking Gu Yan Zhen. Well, we cannot control our feeling. But after Gu Yan Zhen rejects her so many times but she still being clingy to him is what I hate the most. Can you just please accept your fate?? He is already in love with someone else so please stop! Arghh I hate the writer for making their scenes become annoying. Sorry to say but every time Qu Man Ting appears, it kills my mood > <

Next is about the romance between the ML and FL. I think supposedly because their chemistry is so good so why not make more romance scenes especially when after they got together. I barely see their romance/chemistry after they become a couple compared to the beginning scene where there are much cuter and fluffy scenes between them. It might be because the story is more focused on the war in the second half of the story. But I think there should be 2 or 3 more episodes added to the drama as the last 5 episodes seem like a little bit rushing where there are no episodes showing the love between the ML and the FL.

There is also some part of scenes where it is not well explained/not shown/not really complete. For example, they didn't show how Xie Xang as a girl has passed the health examination to enter the military academy. And there are a few more similar scenes like this but no so many.

Overall, this drama leaves a big impression on me. I never expected this drama would be this good. I promise to watch it again next time because it's worth my time! I will surely recommend this drama to my friends so you guys don't hesitate to watch because you will not regret ^ ^

Thank you for reading~
*Pardon my English (it's my 2nd language)

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i really liked the summary when i read it
i thought : yesssss .... this is going to be different
then, i got shocked ... this is going nowhere

literally for me it was like standing in the middle of no where
many many many things were totally illogical
the romance didn't take it's place well
even the FL didn't tell the ML till the end she loved him :\
there were lots of side stories which could be brilliant if they took a good space and place
but it was totally political and historical and i felt the romance just to fill the drama


the writer was talking about a specific period in china .. OKAAAAAAAAAY -_-
i got the idea that this period was hematic and full of traitors
but he made me feel like I went into a dark tunnel and he left me there
what happened next ?? sure chine got out of that all sh** so why you left us there and killed most of the team i loved why, you loony meniac ??? >_<

and the most provoking woman for me from the beginning till the end was ( Man ting )
she is a real selfish B**** i hated her
it was really unfair for Ting Bai to stick with such a B**** like her took him for granted and humiliate him at every available moment
really not fair to get back to her after all what she has done
i hated her even much more than ( xian rong )

i was disappointed :(

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Not what I was expecting...

Firstly I have to say: I really loved Gu Yanzhen :D He was my favourite character!
The first half of my review won't contain spoilers, so you can read it, I wrote down where I'm starting to write about spoiling things.

I finished this drama only because lately I just keep dropping and dropping dramas, and I didn't want also to drop this one. The story at the beginning looked good and promising, like we're going to see a woman pretending to be a man and join the army, which was a good starting point, but as the story kept going, the quality just kept dropping.

I would like to start with the story. A lot of things happened, which was meant to be exciting, but too much thing happened, and after a few episodes they closed every storyline, so it felt like nothing really happened at all. There was some plotholes and unnecessary scenes, and for some things we didn't get explanation or the explanation just didn't make sense. After a time it was boring, also because we knew everything, they told us every secret and every situation, which weren't surprising anymore when the main characters learned about them. Since I've watched quite some dramas, I always had the feeling that the creators just could've deal with the scenes somehow else.

Secondly, the characters. The main characters were mostly ok, I loved Gu Yanzhen, Xie Liangchen, Shen Junshan, Huang Song, and also Ji Jin, but for the others, they felt too boring, they were too annoying or I just didn't like them. Especially Qu Manting. I hated that woman. There were also times when the acting looked forced and a little cringy.

But to say something positive, the OST was really good. Sometimes we could hear that they cut together or apart the songs, but most of the OST's were good and I liked to listen them :D

Thirdly, I would like to talk about concrete things about the drama. It's gonna be full of SPOILERS, so don't read it if you didn't watch the show.
- How could Xie Xang pass the medical examination at the first episode? The doctor clearly said she can't pass if she's not going to get undressed, but she magically passes the examination? :D
- The two characters death at the end (I mean Huang Song and Li Wenzhong's deaths) was really unnecessary. I know they wanted it to be sad and emotional, but it felt like they killed Huang Song only for this reason. For Li Wenzhong's death, I couldn't understand at all. Why did he get himself killed? I get it that he felt bad for Huang Song, and he felt like it was his fault, but please, don't kill characters for this reason, it's unnecessary, Li Wenzhong could've done a lot of useful things instead of getting himself killed for nothing! -.-" This is really annoyed me.

Overally, I wanted it to be better, I wanted it to love more. But it is only a 6.5 for me...

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Action! Action! The male lead was so cute and hilarious that you could only love him. Really great story line. If you’re into secret service, covert missions, gun battles and fighting, you’ll love this. The story centers around a female who decides to join a program specifically for men. What I enjoyed most about the series was the action. What I disliked about it is that the female lead appeared to loyal to everyone except the male lead until we get to the end of the series. Although the relationship between the leads was fun, the writers didn’t give time to develop their relationship even though it was about 48 episodes. Overall it’s definitely worth watching but don’t expect romance or any significant chemistry between anyone.

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I know this drama since last year, but i keep pending to watch it because usually i dont like less romance drama, and i prefer modern drama.and now after i watched it, i fell in love with this drama and the leads, both of them xu kai and bai lu.
I knew bai lu from her modern drama lucky's 1st love. And this is 1st time i watch xu kai's drama. And they are so amazing. They have a very good chemistry.
I little bit dissapointed about the ending, the ending story about gu yan zhen and xie xiang just like that. But overall the story is good. I burst into tears when huang song died.
My favorite character is gu yan zhen (of course), he looks childish, but he will do anything and sacrifice to protect xie xiang.
Because of gu yan zhen, i like xu kai.
Because of AMA, gu yan zhen+xie xiang. I ship xu kai-bai lu. So i watched the legends
I really wish they will work together again as couple...

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Awesome chemistry between actors

The story is set around the early 1900s and revolved around a military school and lives of their students and instructors etc.

Main character is a lady who cross-dressed as a boy to attend the school in the name of her dead brother. 2 fellow students fell for her and no surprise, she eventually ended up with the character who is somewhat a playboy and immature. Personally I find the character of the 1st male lead irritating and irresponsible. It is also because of his impulsive nature that caused numerous issues and eventually the death of a close friend.

The 2nd male lead in comparison is a gentleman and man of righteous character. Was disappointed that the female lead did not fall for him and it was quite boring for me to watch after. I skipped through all the parts with the 1st male lead and female lead after, hahaha.

This drama is full of action and entertaining to watch. It also has history component in it and allows for viewers to understand alittle about what happened after the fall of the Qing Dynasty etc. Definitely worth watching!

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Must Watch

Not sure where to start since there are so many impressive elements to address for this drama series. Having known Bai Lu was an extremely talented actress already, I came in with high expectations. I wasn't prepared for the amazing cinematography, acting, and storyline the series had to offer. The characters were portrayed so well by the actors, so big big big props to them. I haven't seen a drama that enticed me as much in a while so Arsenal Military Academy really was a breath of fresh air. The set depicted China in the early 1900s extremely well I was pleasantly surprised by the architecture and fashion style. Ngl, I shed a few tears in some scenes but honestly, the audience had it coming...In conclusion, super great and one of a kind film. I've fallen for all of the cast especially Xu Kai and Bai Lu <3

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Second Favorite drama after The Untamed

I don’t usually write review..it is my second review writing..and the first was the untamed...
It has become my second next fav drama after untamed..literally become Xukai fan after watching it..this drama will take only few minutes to make you laugh, cry, angry and fall in love with all the cast.. the best thing is that you will eventually love all the love triangles..they acted so well that you will end up praying, O God they might be a couple..thn you will realize no..they aren't main..
even the songs are strong enough to pierce your ♥
some deaths will left you being sad... but the end is pleasing enough.
The friendship in the drama was outstanding and too touchy..the feelings, expression and the way of avenging the friend was superb....the tactics of defeating the enemies was unpredictable..and unbelievable.
Actor:
After this one, i finished every drama of Xukai and can't get over him...such a brilliant actor. You will be surprised how he switches his role from being naughty to a responsible brave guy.
Other than main role:
As I said, you will undoubtedly love all the cast.. but I need to say, after the main characters, you just can't ignore the character Qu Manting...Brilliant..Even if there were not the main character's love story, this character will make you love the drama..she just killed me by laughing
Rewatch:
I rewatched it for 3 times in a row...maybe the number will increase if i miss him..i loved it

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What a handsome squad!

Wholesome drama, great acting, great storyline, great villain and a really mischievious Xu Kai!
What more could a drama asked for??

While we were served with so many good woman-pretend-to-be-man drama like the legendary hanazakarino kimitachie (both Japanese- Horikita Maki and Taiwanese ver -Ella Chen), to the beautiful you (kor- park shinhye) and sunkyunkwan scandal (kor- park minyoung), NOBODY, I REPEAT, NOBODY DOING IT LIKE BAI LU!

From the swag, and the way Xie Liangchen carry herself, you would think she is truly a man. Just you know, a little bit shorter and smaller. The way her voice tone also perfect for the character. It give an appearance of a calm but principle man. Even when she became Xie Xiang, it doesn't look ridiculous.

Xu kai oh xu kai. When I wrote this, I have just finished The Legends and I wholeheartedly like Xu Kai better in this. Guy can act, I give him that. He made the show entertaining. Although sometimes he can get annoying, especially when it comes to teasing Liangchen. His facial expression and gesture is to die for, (ya know when he winked???)

Worthy mentioned about this drama is the roller coaster unrequited love.

Gu Yanzhen > Xie Xiang
Shen Junshan > Xie Xiang
Shen Tingbai > Qu Manting
Qu Manting > Gu Yanzhen
Huang Song > Xie Xiang

Half through this drama, I was wondering if the pairing ever got together and luckily, they did! In a manner that just flow naturally, it felt like they just come back to where they belong.

Storyline:
The reason why it wasn't a ten because this damn storyline on the first half of the series. While I venture into the drama knowing who the main CP is, even I got confused of the Shen Junshan-Xie Xiang and Gu Yanzhen-Qu Manting. They seems to have more screentime and moment with the 2nd lead than with each other. At one time, I swore I felt guilty rooting for Qu Manting and Gu Yanzhen.

I'm not someone who like slowburn but suprisingly, I can deal with this one voluntarily. I didn't even skipped or fast forward. It just that the drama kinda failed to tell us exactly how Xie Xiang ended up discovering her love for Gu Yanzhen. I mean, what was the specific moment?
I know she never really like Shen Junshan like that. We all see that she only like him for reminding of her brother. But half of the drama, I did wonder if Xie Xiang/Liangchen is going to fall for our male lead or not. And when she decided she is, I just couldn't pin point why. Like YOU FIND THAT GUY ABSOLUTELY ANNOYING BEFORE AND NOW YOU LIKE HIM?? WHY?

Anyway, as a period drama enthusiast, I find this drama very good and worth remembering. The costume is great, the idea of patriotism is superb. You had people of all walk of life fighting for their country whether its the military soldier, bussinessman, students, or secret society. It is a good reminder on what it was like during that time. And I appreciate that a lot.

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One of the best cdramas ever

I was avoiding Arsenal Military Academy for a long time because the theme really doesn't speak to me, but decided to give it a try due to high ratings and XuKai playing one of the leading roles. And boy, I'm so glad I did! It's really one of the best series in terms of plot, production, and well-written characters that make the series so good. It's really all about people, relationships, emotions, and complicated choices they have to make due to their own reasons, beliefs, or life situations.

○Amazing acting○

First, I have to say that acting is truly superb in the series, From the slightly tired and discouraged army veterans and teachers in the academy (who still do their job out of duty) to passionate youths, who are all about taking action, even if it means sacrificing themselves for the greater good. I'm not a fan of this type of patriotism as I believe all life is precious and one shouldn't just throw it away, but in this world, there is a place for everything, and the series made everything very believable, and everyone's reasoning worked too well. You start really feeling what each character is all about, so their actions just made sense.

○Loveable characters○

☼ XuKai's Gu Yanzheng goes from a troublesome teen to an equally troublesome military student, but we see his growth and passion, and how manly he becomes, without ever losing his identity. His playful and mischievous side is always amazing to watch, and the way he expresses his love for Xie Liancheng is both funny and heart-warming. He's not afraid to be himself no matter what he does, even when acting like a kid.

☼ Xie Liangchen, portrayed by BaiLu, is figuring out what really matters in life after her brother's death and even goes so far as to take his identity, trying to understand him better (and as a result, to understand herself). I don't think living someone else's life is a good idea, but while doing so, one can discover a lot about themselves - and that was the path she chose. She became stronger and turned into a great fighter just because she wanted to - so she could help others and protect her friends. She's definitely not the usual girly type of girl, I guess that's why she and Gu Yanzheng clicked so well together.

☼Shen Junshan stole the spotlight many times and their love triangle with Xie Liangchen and Gu Yanzheng was really believable as all the male leads were great at portraying complex emotions. Xie Liancheng really needed to get to know herself better to understand what she wanted and whom she liked. Shen Junshan is a more reserved type, but very manly, gentle, and protective. I just feel he was more of a traditional guy and Xie Liancheng was definitely not a traditional girl, according to the choices she made in life, that's why she was drawn more to Gu Yanzheng (well, and there's also love that works in mysterious ways:)

☼I also adore Qu Manting - she's brave, open, and free to do whatever she wants no matter what other people think. For a woman back in the day I can't imagine that was easy, especially without the support of the family. In many aspects, she acted like a spoilt child and demanded love and attention from other people, but she was also fearless and I could see that she and Gu Yanzheng really had a lot in common and could become a power-couple if it was real life and not a scripted performance. They both were always open about their feelings for each other and other people, they said what was on their minds and acted passionately on a whim, which sometimes led to dreadful consequences. People like that aren't afraid to live (or to die) and they do everything to the maximum of their capabilities. That's why their love is also fiery, passionate, and grand. Qu Manting wasn't afraid to make grand gestures for Gu Yanzheng (her saving him from the wedding was a total blast, it was really one of the best episodes ever with their fake relationship, although her love was quite genuine), just like Gu Yanzheng wasn't afraid to do grand gestures for Xie Liancheng (him playing the piano in the candlelight right inside the military academy was just beyond stunning, attention-seeking, but also genuine). I also feel that Qu Manting was avoiding Shen TingBai for a long time because he could actually make her happy, but in a different way, with fewer fireworks and fiery emotions. For some reason she was avoiding him, going for Gu Yanzheng who was obviously in love with someone else. In the end, though, I guess she realized that love can be different as there are different kinds of relationships (that don't always have to explode in your face all the time).

☼The story of Huo Xiaoyu, who is far more than just a bartender owner, and Guo Shuting, was tragic and amazing in many aspects. I don't want to spoil it, but so many characters in the story are inter-connected and their past and present, all is written beautifully in the plot.

Anyway, all these love triangles made for a very captivating watch with lots of truly funny moments. Given the theme of the series, I was surprised at just how many cute and fluffy scenes this drama has, especially with the theme of cross-dressing. Naturally, Gu Yanzheng was openly acting like a man fully in love, not caring that his love interest looked like a guy to everyone else. This is one of the most endearing aspects of his character, and also the reason for a handful of hilarious scenes. It's a pity the director had to cut lots of romantic moments, but even without the kissing scenes, all the romances in the series are beyond enjoyable (but do watch a few cut scenes on YouTube, they are too precious).

○The atmosphere○

All the costumes, osts, and scene decorations deserve an honorable mention, too. The production was amazing and very life-like, and I especially loved everyone's styles. Gu Yanzheng was like a cool military-esque male model dressing in style every time. He was really something else, also because he came from the upper class and could probably spend more money on stylish outfits. Qu Manting's dresses were attention-grabbing and worthy of a star singer. You could always tell by her outfits she wasn't just an ordinary woman - she had a presence and wanted to grab attention with her looks as well. Huo Xiaoyu exuded charm and elegance whenever she was dressing up - she just had a special aura about her, and the designers made her look even more stunning.

○Conclusion○

This drama is just too good in many aspects. I recommend watching it even if you're not a fan of the military genre - it is so much more than that. With brilliant acting, stunning scenes, lots of love and drama, this is definitely one of the best series about human relationships and life in general.

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I loves every single character n cant stop crying over the last few episodes... it still hurts.

I loved both Bai Lu n Xu Kai chemistry, its so strong n loving it. Such a cute couple. Xu Kai is such a snobbish rich man son with political power n his rebellious character is so funny, his love towards Bai Lu were so open n funny yet so sweet at the same time.

I liked how other characthers so well, their circle of friends are so fun... loves the rich girl character too. She's strong, demanding yet very real. She's who she is. I just loves all even those who played as villain.

I wished the ending could have all of them enjoying their happy hour time together...

Highly Recommended!

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