The Scent of a Woman
I was sold on this drama the moment I eyeballed the three hot main dudes - I mean what's not to like about a light and funny drama with some serious eye candy? But somehow this morphed from just another fun and light young adult comedy into a hilarious and empowering story of friendship and the shining idealism of youth that made a deeper than expected impression on me.Xue Wenxi disguises herself as her brother Wenbin to support her family as a talented copywriter and author of illicit romantic fiction. A chance encounter and a series of mishaps leads to her reluctant enrollment at the prestigious Yunshang Academy. There she becomes the glue that bonds the "Yunshang Four" an uncommon friendship between the scholarly and noble Feng Chengjun, the savvy Yu Lexuan and the rebellious Lei Zexin. Together they prevail over many coming of age challenges and overcome past secrets and misdeeds of the previous generation.
In a departure from the acclaimed Korean adaption (which I did not watch), this Chinese version portrays an unmistakably feminine version of Wenbin, from the casting of the very petite and lovely Ju Jingyi as Wenbin to surrounding her with uncommonly tall male leads. If you are unable to suspend disbelief that she is not busted as a girl on day one, then your time is better spent on the earlier version. If you get overly hung up on how she looks, you will not enjoy the witty script and brilliant comedic rapport between the leads nor appreciate the more important themes that this adaptation chooses to focus on instead. The casting visibly illustrates the daunting physical challenges Wenbin faces in an academy that has an equally vigorous physical curriculum.
What I love most about this drama is that it avoids sending the message that in order succeed in a man's world, a woman must look like a man and act like one too. It points out multiple times throughout the drama that Wenbin is a beautiful and delicate gentleman. It is clearly on the edge of everyone's consciousness that he is a girl because all of the boys are drawn to her like bees to a honeypot and when her gender is revealed no one faints from shock. Indeed one of my favorite early moments is the look on Chengjun's face when he sniffs her and gets his first whiff of the scent of a woman. It is unmistakable, all of those boys sense it but no self respecting dude is going to blurt out the unthinkable and ruin the fun of having a girl on campus! Our Wenbin revels in being herself, a young girl - at times she is annoying as hell - naggy, bitchy, petty, jealous but most of the time she is mischievous, charming, sensitive and comforting. For me, it is much more fun to watch a girl having a blast just being herself at an all-boys school than watching the tired routine of a woman trying to fit in by aping a man.
The script is very cleverly written and funny and the characters are so lovable and relateable they all give me that magical deja vu of people I know. I am floored by the seamless interactions and comedic timing between the cast as witty banter is conveyed in as much via body language and facial expressions as it is in words. The humor is just my speed - a slightly wicked roasting of all too familiar human emotions, traits and rites of passage. This is a heavily character driven drama with very satisfying character growth. The headmaster is priceless and is the show's true unsung hero. The pacing however gets hijacked by too many (albeit hilarious) comedic sketches without plot advancement to the point it drags slightly in the middle. And then everything happens a bit too quickly at the end as the romance peaks at almost at the same time the conspiracy is revealed. It could be better balanced if Wenbin's reveal happens earlier and without toying with Han Shumin's heart - it is unnecessary angst and a small stain on Chengjun's character and judgment.
Chengjun and Wenbin are smitten with each other from the beginning and their attraction and chemistry grows convincingly into something that hilariously both thrills and terrifies Chengjun. He is not my pick of the three but it is clear that his patience, wisdom and quiet indulgence is the perfect foil for the more high strung, impetuous and sometimes willful Wenbin. And her intelligence, lively and infectious sense of humor and mischief rescues him from being boring. It is a good match. Sadly my personal choice, the clever and diabolically cheeky Lexuan appears subtly more into Zexin than Wenbin. He is by far the most layered, complicated and thus interesting character. Zexin has the most character growth but would never work with Wenbin - they would just bring out the worst of their mutual immaturity, quick temper and impulsiveness. For me, their comaraderie and unflinching support for each other as they find the courage of their own convictions is far more riveting than the romance. My weary old soul is unaccountably moved by the youthful idealism and sense of justice and equality that culminates in a moving Oh Captain My Captain moment. It is also amazing that they got away with student protests, vigilante justice, and even subversive propaganda.
There is at least one hilarious laugh out loud moment in literally every episode of this drama that has men clammoring to follow the scent of a woman to the female version of Yunshang Academy! I haven't enjoyed myself so much in a long time. Sure there are flaws but think about watching this as like having a fling and not till death do us part; no need to over analyze, just go along, get along and enjoy the ride. This is overall a 9.0 for me but on just enjoyment factor alone I would call it a 9.5/10.0.
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All Aboard the Hot Mess Express
Despite the beautiful production value and great performances from the side characters, In a Class of Her Own managed to take a well-praised and solidly written show, and water down the series into a remake that leaves a rather bitter aftertaste. This drama did not have the tension or the romance of the original Korean drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal, and I’d recommend going into this one with low expectations — and perhaps also picking up the original show instead.To start off with some of the positives of this show:
♡ Awesome Side Casts: Wang Ruichang and Bi Wenjun have to be praised for their performances as Lei Ao and Le Xuan respectively. Both characters were complex with deep backstories, and the issue was that at times their acting easily overshadowed that of Song Weilong who was the main lead. Both characters have their own personal struggles and conflicts that they undergo during the drama, and I think their stories were well incorporated into the broader plot of the drama. Their unique and distinct personalities gave them good rapport with the main leads, as well as the other students in Yunshang, and I think they were really the standout performances of the show.
♡ Cute Team Chemistry: The chemistry between our “Yunshang F4,” or Lei Ao, Le Xuan, Wen Xi, and Cheng Jun was my favourite part of the series. You can see how each of them grows to care for each other deeply, even if they start off in the beginning as being wary and bickering with each other. When they face difficulties in both their personal lives and in the broader politics of the series, they help each other and support each other through their challenges. It’s really a treat to see how these four friends become each other’s family at the school, and how each of them in their own way supports one another.
♡ Updated Production Value: The great thing about this remake is that it updates a lot of the milieu of the series, from the beautiful clothes and uniforms, to the beauty of Yunshang Academy. The props and backdrops were all very high quality, and I loved how every member of the side cast had their own unique dressing style which complemented their personality. Ju Jingyi has some gorgeous outfits and jewelry, especially when she dresses as a girl. The soundtrack was also very well done and memorable, and overall the general design and colour story of the drama are ethereal and tastefully incorporated into the show.
♡ Mischievous Female Lead: Truthfully, despite comments on how Ju Jingyi is very pretty and beautiful, and not believable when disguised as a boy, I think that her performance has improved and quite liked Wen Xi as a character. While I did have issues with some of the romance in the series, especially her relationship with Cheng Jun, I think the Wen Xi (especially in her pursuit of being a scholar) was quite admirable and fun to watch. I also loved how the drama did delve into the status of women and the poor, and questioned relevant social issues such as understandings of meritocracy and the inheritance of power. Overall, I liked how she lived up to the name of the drama, where she played to her strengths in order to achieve success, and changed the social and political norms at Yunshang Academy.
But there are also some major issues with the show, including:
♥ Lack of Chemistry and Romance: I will warn that this show has no kiss scenes, and that the romance is not well done in the series (in fact, the romantic lines between Wen Xi and Lei Ao, as well as Wen Xi and Le Xuan, seem more believable and well-developed). The main issue is that Feng Cheng Jun can be quite a bland character, and never really develops or experiences character growth. In addition, the drama clearly tries to show Wen Xi falling for Cheng Jun because of his upright nature and his intelligence, but this often comes as abrupt instead of organic, especially considering how the drama never really explores Cheng Jun’s own weaknesses and limitations. In other words, the main lead never really has the same kind of personal growth as the other side casts, which makes it difficult to appreciate him as a character and as part of the main couple.
♥ Banter and Comedy is Rather Flat: Supposedly, this is a drama that is meant to be interspersed with comedic moments, but I never really found the show to be all that funny. There were attempts made to create "running gags" in the drama, such as Lei Ao's "do you want to die?" catchphrase, but often didn't work as well as they did in the original series. I will also say that some of this is because the character relationships have been changed a little (i.e. in the Korean version, the characters Lei Ao and Le Xuan had BL undertones), and I think the dynamic they tried to use in the show didn't work as well as it did in the Korean drama.
♥ Pacing Issues and Cutting Out Important Plot Points: One of the main reasons Sungkyunkwan Scandal was hard to put down was because it was a show with a lot of tension and to some extent even suspense. The viewer was always led to worry about when the female lead’s identity would be exposed, why there were political manipulations in the school, and there was always the fear of the backgrounds of the main cast being revealed. Unfortunately, In a Class of Her Own sometimes verges on boring, especially as some of these problems are never properly foreshadowed, explored, or developed in the drama. Instead, time was put on arbitrary scenes to artificially create romance, or extend dialogue and conversations about broader political issues that focused less on the students and instead on the teachers and generals.
♥ The Trainwreck of the The Last Couple Episodes: One of the things that the original Korean drama did very well was showing its characters taking accountability for the elements of the plot. For example, there are consequences for being disguised as a male, for taking vigilante justice, and for other problems that the show introduces. In a Class of Her Own however seems to wave off resolving the issues that it introduces, and instead makes a rushed attempt to address the main plot during the latter stretch — which is ironic, given how this show had more episodes to work with. The show therefore loses the sparkle that it had in the first half, when the students were solving issues in the Academy, to fill its last half with problems that result in a less than satisfying and logically inconsistent ending.
In A Class of Her Own had a lot of potential to be a great remake, especially since it already had a very well-written story to work with. While the show succeeded in some ways, such as through the refreshing performances of its side cast and the updated production of the series, it lacked immensely in terms of balancing the plot, creating a believable romance, and living up to the sparkling chemistry of the original series. While the drama is not terrible, I can’t really recommend taking the time to watch this if you are expecting In a Class of Her Own to live up to to the freshness of Sungkyunkwan Scandal, or unless you are a fan of the actors in this series.
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It's soo pretty, and that's about it.
I am going to be honest here, the reason I was eager to watch this, and the reason I stayed through the whole thing is the same: Wang Rui Chang. And also the other very good looking cast, the beautiful sets, the gorgeous costumes and stunning interiors. And simply because I like gorgeous longhaired men in pastel floaty dresses donning cute smirks.It gave me bubbly happy feelings after a long day of adulting.
What I did not stay for was the plot. I found the beginning very funny and often giggled in between. A girl pretending to be a boy in an all boys dorm creates many a hilarious situation, especially if that girl writes romance novels about her new friends.
But here is what it is: trying to be feminist, but then the three besties, who apparantly have a GPS chip implanted on her save her ALL THE TIME. Friends and teachers ex machina is boring after a while. And there are so many plot holes.
But at least the side quests are resolved quickly and amiably, so after swooning over Wang Rui Chang acting the sh*t out of this poorly written script, you can sleep peacefully.
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Inspiring & Heart-Warming
This story reminds me of the story of Malala Yousafzai, a 15 year old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Talibans in 2012 because she was advocating education for all girls. Not that Malala has disguised herself as a boy and gone to school as in this drama, but the stories are similar whereby girls are deprived of the equal opportunity to learn and to work since ancient times to today's world. This drama also reminisces the legendary Butterfly Lovers but without its tragic ending.Wen Xi (played by Ju Jing Yi), a very intelligent girl from an impoverished family, disguises as a boy by adopting her brother’s name Wen Bin and works as a commissioned writer to make a living for her family. Not out of her choice, she’s accidentally enrolled into the most prestigious academy of the land where such graduates would generally enter the palace and work as high-ranking officials for the Emperor. In the academy, she has to navigate precariously so that her feminine identity would not be discovered as girls are banned from attending school especially when such prestigious academy is only meant for aristocrats’ sons. Breaking the law is punishable by death. The drama revolves mainly around school life, not unlike modern day dramas about youth and school, but with ancient wisdom and philosophies.
Wen Bin is upstanding, kind, chivalrous, determined and courageous. For that, she’s very popular and becomes best friends with 2 roommates from renown aristocratic families. Together with another boy, they form the gang of four which is the pride of the academy. One of the boys is Feng Cheng Jun (played by Song Wei Long) whom she’s very fond of and later he falls in love with her as well. As Wen Bin is petite and seemingly weakly, the boys, unconsciously, rush to her assistance in the first instant.
Ju Jing Yi’s performance as Wen Bin is fabulous. Despite her petiteness, she commands an air of authority which the boys obey to without questions, at the same time, she can be girly to get their compassion, hence her way. I really enjoy watching how the boys love her as a comrade and her determination to do just as good, if not better, as the boys. Ju Jing Yi’s portrayal is so believable. The Feng Cheng Jun character is a studious and uncompromising person. Song Wei Long’s portrayal is amazing as the actor has a natural bookwormish face and a slow-in-realization expression. Such characteristics make Song Wei Long a perfect Feng Cheng Jun. Wen Bin is always the bridge between Feng Cheng Jun and Lei Ze Xin whereas Yu Le Xuan the conduit for all of them. The dynamics between the four friends are precious. Though constantly arguing, they’re inseparable from each other. To show her small size, the production team has even chosen 3 exceptionally tall actors to play the roles of her 3 best friends and I find their choices perfect.
The plot seems to be rather trivial in today’s standard – changing the policies so that all deserving scholars including girls and the poor receive education and serve the Emperor’s court. But it's a taboo in those days as the aristocrats fear losing power and wealth, and in the drama, there are indeed deaths for advocating such ideology and for preventing it.
Though their relationship is cordial and natural from the beginning, Feng Cheng Jun doesn’t find out about Wen Bin being a girl until episode 31. Therefore, before this when he begins to have feelings for her, he’s thinking himself a gay and his reactions are hilarious. Despite there’s not much romance per se, I find all the scenes they have together very romantic and heart-warming.
There’re some minor plot holes here and there and I find the story slightly off script towards the end. I'd have loved to see that Wen Bin fights for her right and equality for all, which has been her father's legacy, but unfortunately she seems to be weak on this and loses her appeal towards the end; all she wants is to live happily ever after with her man. I'm also not very impressed that she transfers her credentials to her brother who becomes a high ranking government official eventually. To me, this is like hiring someone to take your SAT (you know what I mean, wink, wink). As with most Chinese dramas' ending, the brilliant female character becomes common/weak. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed this drama, not so much on the plot but on the comradeship in a learning environment and the humors that come with it. The characters are lovable and their dynamics are adorable. The underlying message is inspiring -- creating oneself in the image for the eyes of others is not being strong, but facing oneself of what one is, is.
A rather enjoyable drama.
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UNEXPECTEDLY GOOD, FUNNY & ENTERTAINING
I was surprised watching this series,though I had finished watching the original drama but this one got me hooked up till the end. I found myself enjoying every episode of it!Character and acting wise for the main leads are good. I love the second lead here, he is the 2nd lead also in Eternal love (my fave series). Furthermore, the FL & ML has chemistry and they convey it well.
Story wise, I am amazed how they wrapped it up and I found it satisfying though. Not as the same as the original one. I love that they add some addition in the series and adopted some which is applicable to their culture.
TOTALLY ENJOYABLE, FUNNY AND SATISFYING!
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Pretty but bland
PlotEp 1 to 10: Quite a breeze watching. FL was cute.
Ep 11 to 30+: Quite forgettable, didnt register much. I skipped quite alot cz it was boring, oacing and development wise
Issues: The directing and writing focuses on the pretty and this makes the story quite dull. They nvr focus on the sad n difficulties of FL, her mon and bro's sickness in the right intensity..so although its there, it fails to resonate. The growth of FL again although its there it lacks focus. There should hav been more thoughts to develop FL and her ring of friends better. On romance section, I dont know if its considered slow burn.. but intensity of their feelings again couldnt feel it cz it was not written and develop properly. Lack of skinship is not the problem; theres lots of other C dramas that can convey beautiful love between leads without kisses etc. You just dont feel it here
Acting: If you watch BTS (behind the scenes), you would know director works closely with actors (esp the young cast) to work out how to convey the message in each scene. So i will blame the director in how the acting was carried out. JJY is not a new actress, acting wise she hasnt progress or regress from Legend of Yun Xi but as YunXi she was much more memorable. SWL this was his first drama that i watch, i previously watch him as a dorky teen/campus guy in a film..he was better there. The direction and his character here was flat..and boring. He didnt bring any extra on the table. The other 2 male leads had a more colourful character and hence was much more memorable.
Cinematography and costume etc were all nice. I just wish there was more depth where it matters! Story! And not an after thought.
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Delightful
This drama takes the basic plot points of the Korean series and redoes them, adding threads that I thought enhanced the storyline tremendously. It has a sweeter, kinder feel--an emphasis on friendship and companionship and respect that was somewhat perfunctory in the first one. There is also less of the threat of (sexual) violence, which I for one, did NOT miss.After a somewhat rocky start (the Korean one isn't a whole lot better at the beginning), i.e. once they get to the school, it starts out delightful and keeps getting better and better. The whole novel writing thread was absolutely hilarious.
The President's sister's arc was much less obnoxious in this version. (I just wanted a good ending for the President and his beloved, after he'd earned it. At least there was a hint of a good end in the first, the one regret I have.)
There was more individual motivation for the President's followers in this version, whereas in the Korean one they were cartoon figures. Also, the whole plot re the book was much more interesting in this version--in the Korean one it was confusing and I ended up fast forwarding for relationship resolution. I loved the ending here, whereas the Korean ending just seemed odd.
My one complaint, besides no resolution for the President, was that the archery contest in the Korean one was way, way more intense. That win seemed earned. In this one, not so much. But otherwise, the bed switching shenanigans were just as LOL-making as in the Korean one.
Definitely a rewatch in store. So much fun!
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A joyful Journey
I don't like to watch drama that still on-going, but i accidentally watch this drama while it's still airing and decided to torture my self by waiting every week for new episodes.This drama is a remake from Sungkyungkwan Scandal, i watched Sungkyungkwan Scandal long time ago , and from what i remember, the story line is not completely same, there are several different things.
Characters:
The four main characters in this drama are WenXin (disguised as wenbin), Feng Cheng Jun, Lei Ze Xin and Yun Le Xuan.
And oh boy, trust me, you'll be so fond of each of them by every episodes that you watched.
The story is not draggy, the acting is natural, and the sound effect is hilarious. There will be a lot of cute interaction that'll make you giggle.
Le Xuan character is so irrestable, you'll be charmed by his look and his sneaky demeanor, he did his role excellently.
And for you who don't like sad ending, lemme tell you that the ending for this drama will be a happy one, so don't hesitate to watch it.
I really love everything in this drama, the story is light and fluffy, i cried when the drama ended ㅠ.ㅠ
Even though it's impossible, but I'm still hoping there'll be special episode or season 2 for this drama💜😭
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Nice
I watched sungkyunkwan scandal about a year ago. I don't remember it perfectly but I obviously compared it to this show while watching it. For the first 25 / 30 episodes, I found it nice but nothing exceptional. I felt like I prefered the version I had seen before. But it turns out I really enjoyed the last 6 episodes! I loved the ending! I also enjoyed the character development the President of the Council went through -didn't happen in the Korean version from what I recall-.I would have liked to see the reactions of the scholars upon finding out Wen Bin was a girl and I would have liked to know what happened to Han Sheng Zhi and Mu Xiao Man.
Fun to watch.
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Witty storyline, perfect cast, great ost!
I discovered this drama randomly when I was browsing in IQIYI app. Honestly didn't expect I'd love it immensely! It started off pretty well, enough to get someone hooked into it. And it ended just perfectly and I still can't get over it LOL. The FL chemistry with the ML is perfect! Their romance is so pure yet so powerful. It does perfectly conveyed that, and that is what I love most in Asian dramas, kudos to that! The casting is perfect, I love it! Both the main leads are really good looking and portrayed their character pretty well. I surely will watch the entire episodes after my exam LOL.Highly recommended! 10/10
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If you want to watch it because you loved the Sungkyunkwan Scandal, don't bother.
If you want to watch it coz you like the comedy aspects cross dressing scenario brings, this ain't for you.
BUT, if you want to watch a light, fun and unproblematic show without much melo that will just simply make you happy and entertain you, this one is a perfect choice.
The best aspect of the drama were the characters and their friendship, and I don’t only talk about the main cast. The drama focuses on the building of the relationship between Wen Xi, Cheng Jun, Lei Ao and Le Zuan - who they are and what are their convictions. Each of them lives a vastly different life, yet together they were able to create this light and cheerful chemistry on screen. We follow them as they navigate and try to change the current school system by challenging the school president (ma moi best boi Zhi Sheng) and trying to uncover the truth of the past events.
Compared to other historical shows, or even to the Korean version, this one stays away from heavy politics and all the branches of corruption. We still get the basic story line in this style, but it's not nearly as overwhelming as it sometimes happens in similar productions.
As I said at the beginning, there is barely any romance. Did it bother me? Not really. At some point I started laughing and questioning if we will even get any romantic scenes before the show ends. Still, the interactions between the characters were entertaining and amazing to watch even if it was heavier on friendship rather than romance for the majority of the episodes. No painful SLS. They didn't feel that much pain, so I could watch with a calm heart too.
Overall, the show is just extremely pretty and PG. Jing Yi is cute as Wen Bin and stunning as Wen Xi. Wei Long is purely adorable and his smile can melt any heart. Richards Wang, even though he plays the "strong" guy, made me want to protect him, as his character was just so pure. Wen Jun fitted his role perfectly, guiding and uniting the characters and being the voice of reason. The set and costume designs were beautiful too.
I started this drama with zero expectations, and this might be the reason why I enjoyed it so much. Even the flaws were charming. The last episode was slightly disappointing, but that also just made me laugh and be like: sure.. makes no sense but I'm okay with that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
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It's a cute, easy to watch series
It doesn't have a deep or intricate story line, but its a cute, sweet story to watch after a long dag at work. All the caste are very handsome and pretty. Fell in love to the main character, but also to Lei Ao. So many eye candies, the casts are all handsome and pretty. The Story is a bit too bland because so much tume on day to day student life and only last few episodes about the main story line. I Wont rewatch it, but i enjoyed it.It doesn't have a deep or intricate story line, but its a cute, sweet story to watch after a long dag at work. All the caste are very handsome and pretty. Fell in love to the main character, but also to Lei Ao. So many eye candies, the casts are all handsome and pretty. The Story is a bit too bland because so much tume on day to day student life and only last few episodes about the main story line. I Wont rewatch it, but i enjoyed it.
It doesn't have a deep or intricate story line, but its a cute, sweet story to watch after a long dag at work. All the caste are very handsome and pretty. Fell in love to the main character, but also to Lei Ao. So many eye candies, the casts are all handsome and pretty. The Story is a bit too bland because so much tume on day to day student life and only last few episodes about the main story line. I Wont rewatch it, but i enjoyed it.
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