Skate Into Love (2020)

THE BEST CHINESE DRAMA OF 2020

THIS MIGHT BE THE LONGEST REVIEW I WAS EVER WRITTEN

I don't even know where to begin in this drama. I want to wait until this was finished airing then watch but I ended up not wait because I had watched so many cute clips from this drama and all of the clips I watch made me fell in love with it, and also because school got cancel for another month, I couldn't sleep without watching a few episodes. This drama has sucked my life out of me. I love it pieces. This drama had made in written taken a lot of notes. I try not to skip a lot of the sense and enjoy it like a normal person. I sometimes or mostly skip when I watch the drama. But this one is something else. This had made me even read the novel, I only read some of it. but still, I neven do that. which means I mush love it so much and also I even re-watch a few episodes again while airing. ( while writing this I have not finished with the drama yet I have three more episodes to go but I still would rate it 10 to this point maybe it will change or maybe still the same I hope to stay the same.) This had me discovered a new actor Steven Zhang who is the main lead. This even made me practice my Chinese so I could read the novel. I thought this drama was the second-best Chinese drama for ROM-COM for 2020. In my opinion, this was Find Yourself but SKATE INTO LOVE IS FIRST PLACES. 堂雪 LOVE THIS NAME. This drama will always stick with me because the most important life lesson that I have learned is that "Never give up on your drama, you might have an accident but you can heal and get back up and start over". I love this drama. ( I was reading the comment, then this thought came to me, thx for comments ) I love everything the couple in this drama, the main leads, the second couple, thrid couple. This show has a quote where I truly will go by today " Dreams will never shine, it's you that shine while cashing your dreams."

The acting in this drama is astonishing. Steven Zhang who play BingBing, the main lead. He is so cute and handsome. Everything actor in here is amazing. I also realize something that is so funny, the second couple in this drama, their bond is way better than the mains. lol, they are the cutest and the best second couple I have ever seen. They got together around 10-20. and they never broke up once. wow.
For the story, I love everything about it. Even there are some scenes I don't like but overall this is a great drama. I know some people might be that 40 is too long and it will drag it a bit but I kinda like it and hate it. The music in this drama is the best because I started even ever it comes out I started to sing too. lol, I love all the ost in this drama. Everyone in this drama like every character is amazing and super funny. I love everyone even the evil one that I hated but yeah. I will definitely re-watch this in a few years or months when I forget or kinda forget everything. I even rewatched it while airing so yeah. I wanted to rate the story a 9.5 but just one scene changes my mind about it, this is my favourite drama ever for Chinese 2020, last year for 2019 was go go squid and I hope there will be more drama like this. I LOVE DENG LUN for his supporting / guest role. That is the best role. This is the best drama.

sorry if they dose not help you, I just wanting to make a review for myself

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So far I love it. The FL and ML are lovable. They have a lot of cute moments too. The theme is ice related sports and university. I also usually like dramas where the leads bicker a lot and have a love-hate relationship. I also really like the ML and his roommates. It's not too cringe and the characters have their own color and goals. The backstory moments are cute as well - I love how they added those to the end of each episode, its really cute.

I'd totally give it a try if I were you. The OST at the end of the episode is SUPER good, try listening to it!

I'll fix my review once I complete the drama :)

EDIT: I haven't finished this. The drama started to drag lol. But most people like it so see if you enjoy it too. The first half was worth watching.

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Nothing about this series was noteworthy

The most interesting character in this drama was the actual ice rink, others annoyed me to no end, particularly the leads. I can't quite place my finger on the reason I ended up disliking the series but it didn't help that both the first and second leads had zero chemistry. In addition, I've come to dislike the sycophancy in most C dramas, especially when support characters continuously heap praise on the lead stars for either being handsome or talented or rich or having a straight nose or being tall or whatever other characteristics made the studio cast the actor in the first place.

It's juvenile and instantly breaks the fourth wall for me. Skate into love felt like a high school drama and even the hockey matches that made the plot somewhat exciting were few and far between which made me lose interest very quickly.

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a rom-com drama that follows every asian drama rom-com traditions

(I haven't finished the drama yet, and will watch the rest to complete this review, but this is what I have so far)

Why I titled my review that way, I'll explain all that in this review:
- The most important thing is how ML and FL have that "accident", I'm sure you all know how all rom-coms have an accident where ML saves FL from falling, or they both have accidental fall which results in an act of affection; which in this case, a kiss.
- They have a helicopter mom who is very close minded and have an obsessive disorder (Yu Yan's mom)
- Multiple love triangle. In this case, the drama has too many love triangles, rectangles, or even more, that I lost count. If you put it on a pin-board, it's going to look like a spider's web ngl.
- Childhood friend and coincidentally reunited cliche (as if they're meant for each other or may even call it destiny)
- Enemies to lovers

As for the characters, as much as I wanted to like them, almost none of them are likeable. I think I only like Tang Xue (FL) and Yu Yan (2nd ML) so far. But to explain the rest of the main characters:

- Li Yu Bing (ML): I don't hate him, but I don't love his character either. From the beginning, he bullied FL because he had a traumatic past which led him to bully FL. I understand the reasoning behind his actions, but still, his bullying got too far. I'd say if he bully FL in acts of revenge like this, doesn't it make him the same person he hate? After he's done with the bullying, he suddenly have attraction to the FL? I find the character a little inconsistent, but totally not impossible, just a tad confusing.

- Biang Cheng: I have no words. He's just too impossible for me to like his character, or even understand him. I get it if he's feeling guilty over FL's sports accident, but if he were to pursue FL again, he might bring the incident all over again. Plus, I hate the way he treats FL as if he's pursuing a business deal. Pursuing love should not be forced nor be political. Making evil schemes and plans should only get her further away from him. He's either so dumb, or totally have narcissistic god-complex, where he thinks all girls are drooling over him.

- Zhou Ran (FL's cousin): I don't like her attitude, I don't like her style choices, I don't like her voice, just everything. Nothing to do with the actress, which I actually find her pretty, but I can't stand her voice. Her voice sounds like there's a rock that's stuck in her throat for real. I'm from a Chinese descendant, and I still have problems where I find it uncomfortable with people speaking like that intentionally. Do people really dig that kind of stuff? I don't cringe towards people who has natural voice like that, but in this case, you can obviously tell the voice was intentional. Moreover, I can't stand people who are pretentious like that.

- BONUS: Yu Yan's mom: I feel like it's necessary to talk about her as a rant. She might be given as the worst mother in Chinese drama history, maybe more than Dao Ming Si's mom from Meteor Garden lol. I can't even explain her character, just pure evil. I don't usually laugh at serious matters, but when she called out FL to talk, I actually laughed at the whole conversation because it's soo absurd. She told FL that FL has a sharp tongue, when she herself has trash in her mouth (when she brought up FL parents in the conversation saying that they didn't educate her well).

As for the drama entirely, I don't think it is something memorable nor something new, at least not yet (because I haven't finished the drama), but it was somewhat enjoyable. I don't know why, but this drama didn't hook me completely, since I ended up skipping a lot of parts and lost-focus sometimes. Moreover, the lip-syncing is seriously giving me too much cringe, especially where they had the school festival thing where students get to perform, in which, I totally blame the director. Is it hard to film a video where the lips match the song? If they were to do a lip-syncing scene, just play the damn song while shooting the scene and make the actors sing accordingly like when they do in music videos - and when they edit, just match the song to the person's mouth. What is so hard about that? Even me as a 13 years old back then - had to make a music video as part of a computer course assignment - can edit wayy better than this lip syncing. Do better! seriously

However, if you love romcom drama who follows cliches by the book, this drama might be for you.

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I didn't finish it since visual is quite an important factor for me in dramas and the FL's looks made me wanna cry so i just couldn't stand it. But the storyline in general,acting and sets were on point. Whenever i decide to drop a drama i just go to next episodes and skip forward to see if it's worth it for me to continue/if something's gonna change my mind but no the FL never got rid of that ponytail ☠️ Anyhow i don't think this series should've been that long either the ML already fell inlove like 8-10eps in. Rest is just him trying to fight his feelings at this point. Storyline is good since it's realistic but honestly it isn't anything that special either just your average chinese drama. It is better than a lot of other dramas tho. So definitely worth a shot if you don't mind a dragging series with a good budget.

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only young actors are this bold & genuine

It's quite the average story of coming of age while finding your - first - love, but it's totally well written and the young actors are SO HANDSOME AND TALENTED at the same time!? That you cannot but wonder how this little miracle happened...
Despite being a long, 40-episode series, i hardly ever got bored, since episodes are short and also filled with NICE DETAILS OF EVERYDAY COLLEGE LIFE.
I totally enjoyed this unpretentious ride. It has got everything, from high-class cinematography to eye-candy actors and entertaining plot. It's predictable in a good way...
I wonder what filters Chinese movies use, all actors' skin looks paper white.
Recommended.

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Initial impression rather than a review

Obviously, after dropping the series after just 4 episodes (in fact after three, I watched the fourth one some two months later and it didn't help) I cannot really provide a proper review, so here's just my personal reasoning.
Note that I'm writing this as huge fan of Janice Wu: I truly dislike the character she's playing here. People are praising the fact that she (the character) is not another dumb sweet girl, but for me the creators went way too far in the opposite direction. The character (at least how presented in these first episodes) is simply a bully; she was bully in the past, she is bully towards the male lead in the present (which I'm OK with, as I don't mind ML&FL bickering), and what's by far the worst, she's bully/bossy towards her friends - or I should rather write 'servants'. The 4th episode does make some attempt to portray how she won them over, but to me it still feels like "I helped you this once, so now you'll follow me and I'll order you around".
Maybe it gets better in further episodes, I don't know. For me this series is already a lost cause and the biggest disappointment of 2020 so far.

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