Completed
ChineseDramaFan
64 people found this review helpful
Oct 15, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.5

How to Date Your Dean

I wasn’t sure to start watching this series or not because most of the comments I’ve read were not favorable. After one episode, it seemed watchable. The plot is rather simple and straightforward, the villain is revealed to the viewers very early in the story, Zhao Lusi is still Zhao Lusi – silly and cute, and the story is non-original with the-hero-gets-the-girl-and-the-bad-guy-vanquishes. In other words, it’s cliché and tropey. Nonetheless, I find Zhao Lusi’s cuteness irresistible.

This is a story of a girl enters a boys-only imperial college and becomes the first ever female graduate from the college. In the process, she makes her dean fall in love with her, giving the viewers a tabooed romantic relationship of a student with a member of the school faculty. At the same time, it also tries to advocate equal educational opportunities for all girls and boys regardless of their family status.

Sang Qi (Zhao Lusi) is said to be different from all the other girls. Growing up at the frontier, she is unrestrained, playful, active and intelligent. Zhao Lusi has everything this character requires. Similar to her previous drama in “The Romance of Tiger and Rose”, Zhao Lusi’s character is still the “Sha Bai Tian” (silly, fair and sweet) character with more bravery, smartness and chivalry this time. Many viewers criticize her for playing the same type of character again and again. For me, it is of course ideal if an actor is given the chance to play a different character so that she/he can widen her/his skills and scope. But on the other hand, this type of character is what Zhao Lusi is best at, probably more so than other actors, giving viewers an excellent and natural performance here. As in most of Zhao Lusi’s dramas with similar roles, she stumbles easily, gets herself all over her man, kissing him unintentionally (or intentionally?), making him fall in love with her, and she him (roll eyes).

Yan Yun Zhi (Xu Kaicheng) is the Dean of the Imperial College. He’s good looking and has a cool demeanor. He tries to be serious but with Zhao Lusi around, who can? I quite like the Yan Yun Zhi character and Xu Kaicheng’s portrayal. However, I find his expression overly joyous as he seems to grin at Zhao Lusi all the time. This, to me, doesn’t fit his supposedly stern and solemn character very well, after all, he’s supposed to be a teaching faculty that garners respect and admiration from his students and other teaching staff. Other viewers feel Xu Kaicheng is not totally suitable for costume dramas.

Comes the antagonist, Zhuo Wen Yuan (Ren Hao) who is Sang Qi’s childhood friend when they both lived at the frontier. He is intelligent and a valedictorian in the Imperial College, at the same time he is a complex and vicious schemer. This is actually my favorite character. Ren Hao has that angelic face that can turn devilish in an instant. His acting is commendable.

My Verdict

This drama has a predictable storyline, slapstick humor, and a dog blood script. The lack of attention to details is blatant (viewers can spot production team members in the scenes, etc). The conversations are comedic. Similar to Zhao Lusi's other rom-coms, this drama is entertaining if you want something to give you a good mood and to laugh about. Don't be too critical and don't take it too seriously. It's not meant to be serious. Acting wise, both main leads and especially the villain are good. The supporting cast is good too (super hilarious).

Despite all the flaws, I have rather enjoyed this light-hearted series.

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Completed
Enigma05
59 people found this review helpful
Oct 15, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 6
Overall 6.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

"Power Hungry Man Can't Take No For An Answer" <---Should be the REAL title

Lord almighty, where do I begin? I literally just wanted an easy rom-com with no complications. This was not it. I have since heard that most dramas with names longer then hell aren't good; whether that's true or not, I don't know but it's my second time running into a drama with a long title that got this score from me. The plot essentially fell apart after episode 16. More than halfway through the story and all of a sudden heavy palace politics and a nightmarish stalker SML became the prime focus of this at first comedic and mildly inspiring story. When the SML's screen time eclipses that of the leads, I'd say it's a problem.

The screenwriter threw everything but the kitchen sink into this show; crime solving, setting ppl up, palace politics, the stalker SML, romance, jealousy, you name it. It should have been called "Power Hungry Man Can't Take No For An Answer" because that's what the majority of the series was focused on. He turned up literally everywhere at every moment and you were sick of him. However, giving the actor playing him his due, he was a very convincing creep. Literally the worst stalker in all of the costume cdramas I've seen. Characters like his make my skin crawl. Even his demise in the last episode was a serious copout given how much he lorded over the majority of the show.

Had I known it would turn out this way, I wouldn't have started it. The only thing keeping me from dropping it was that I actually liked the protagonists and when I realized they knew how to deal with the creep, I skipped a lot of his parts, plus got into a holding pattern twice by stopping watching the show just so more episodes could release and ppl could spoil when seeing him on screen would be less. When you stop watching a show twice, that's not a good sign.

I'm very picky with the dramas I watch. Usually I only watch dramas that have ppl I follow in them but since it's been very quiet on that front recently, I decided to try something new and though talking and laughing in the comments with other viewers was entertaining, this was a very poorly executed show. If it was going to make the creep the main focal person, then start that at the beginning. Make him the ML or something. Same goes for all the crime solving palace politics stuff. It's like the screenwriter remembered that this story was about a female student being the first to be admitted into an all male college twice after episode 16 and it was haphazardly thrown into small mentions here and there. You completely forgot that that was the main goal of the show; to be a more inclusive school.

Absolutely not a recommendation from me. Don't waste your time.

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Completed
Jilly
16 people found this review helpful
Oct 17, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 10

Romance, Comedy and Acting

This drama was better than I thought, I had it in my list and waited until it fully aired and subbed to watch it, I did see some comments and review and was a bit nervous, but i decided that I rather not read anything else and watch this for myself, if it was trash so be it and if it's great then I'll be happy.

Well, compared to all the nonsense drama they have, this drama was great, it was way better than i expected, that's why recently it doesn't matter the reviews, comments and ratings, i determine what I wanna watch and if it's no good then fine, if not then that's great, because not everyone gives honest reviews, or not every drama is for everyone, but this was for me.

I'm a sucker for romcom, heavy on the rom and the com, i also like romantic drama, and i love historical drama's, I'm picky but I try my best to give the benefit of the doubt, and I also go into shows with no expectations, I've learnt that the hard way, I rather have no expectation and be happy with a drama, rather than have high expectation and become very disappointed.

With that being said, This drama was very funny, very romantic, yet sweet and sour. The acting was pretty good, the villain well he stood out a lot, i hated his character lool the actor was way too good. The ML and FL tbh i loved there chemistry and i love the romance between them, they ha a very healthy relationship and i enjoyed watching them, i also loved this drama because of the comedic relieves, i get kinda down when i watch something with too much drama and angst, but i loved how this was very balanced.

The other thing i really liked with this drama, i loved the progress of the FL, the different stages of educational and career growth, I'm trying not to spoil lol, but i liked that it didn't stay in one stage the entire time, but we get to see her growth, and the ending was very nice, truly represent the message from the title. There was also a lot of character development for a lot of the characters, I loved that as well

So with that being said, i personally enjoyed this drama, everyone did great, the acting, chemistry, romance, comedy, drama i thought it was well balanced, i did not leave the drama feeling burdened or heavyhearted hahaha, i enjoyed this show and i am happy i watched it, good show to just chillout and watch. Every show has it's little flaws, but personally I was too busy enjoying rather than critiquing, I've seen more than 250 shows, trust me this compare to others is one of those simple nice ones, ratings should definitely be higher.

Ps. If you're going to watch, try not reading too much comments, reviews and so on, judge for yourself and give it a chance, not just this show but every show, go in with a neutral expectation and then let it flow naturally.

Take care and happy drama watching ❤😊

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Completed
Pufferfish704
20 people found this review helpful
Oct 15, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Disappointed overall...

Really anticipated this drama as I'm a huge fan of Zhao Lusi, but this drama was a pretty big letdown.

The good: the side characters were actually quite likeable, especially YanYan. Ao Rui Peng is absolutely hilarious as Yan Yan. He was funny and over the top in a loveable way. I will definitely be looking for more of his dramas to watch. Also impressed with the SML acting! Sometimes find myself wishing he was the ML instead. Also adorable was the relationship between FL and her father especially at the beginning. The leads' martial arts master was also a cool funny character but he kind of just of disappeared after the first half.

The bad: the plot basically goes in circles. They keep repeating the same ideas (basically they pretend to fall into the villains trap but actually outsmart him again and again). The FL and the ML are not particularly interesting or even likeable. I honestly found myself not caring about what happened to them near the end. The FL and ML have zero chemistry. Zhao Lusi usually has incredible chemistry with her costars but there is nothing here. Their sweet scenes are cringey and the actors themselves even look bored. Towards the end, I felt more towards the bad guys than the leads and sometimes skipped their scenes together.

Verdict: not worth watching even for a huge Lusi fan...

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Completed
Aliy-ah
16 people found this review helpful
Feb 15, 2022
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Absolutely incredibly amazing!!

I was stunned to see the score here and the bad reviews…like what’s wrong with those people?? The reviews are absolutely not founded on the reality of the drama.
Is the first ever drama I watched that didn’t give me headaches and bad vibes because of the bad things happening again and again.
The drama is easy: romantic, comedy, beautiful story, beautiful music, beautiful actors etc.

I highly recommend watching this drama if you want something that will make you laugh and will leave a positive feeling.

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Completed
Xtinew
12 people found this review helpful
Sep 26, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

HILARIOUS DRAMA THIS YEAR

I've been looking forward for this drama because I love Zhao LuSi...she's a cute gal with acting like fresh breath of air. Too many heavy intrigue back stabbing dramas lately, too many stupidity story lines, a light heart comedy drama is most welcomed. Zhao LuSi is good doing comedy, there're fans tired watching her on the same genre but when she's doing something different character (Le Yan - Long Ballad) she looked out of character and miserable. Xu Kai Cheng is the kind of guy who'd look gorgeous without smile...his soft gaze betrays sternness as Deputy Chief educator. His expression is on the spot; between exasperation, wonderment, delight, love, unbelievably, and protectiveness. The kind of a man that has finally found his treasure in his life and happy to announce the world that that treasure is belong to him.

I enjoy every minute of it. It's started from a 'bet' - a bet that would get Sang Qi (LuSi) into hilarious efforts to get Yan YunZhi (Kai Cheng) accept her tiny purse/pouch who'd happen to be her Dean at the Imperial Collage. The collaboration of supporting actors in this drama was amateur, some act childish even wooden. Xu Kai Cheng was a bit older which appropriate for his character as he's her oldest brother's best friend and the Deputy Chief of the collage - about 27-30 while LuSi's character was about 16-18 (marriageable age) a care free and brave girl that grown up at the frontier of border. MLs were both look so comfortable and relax together like sibling. They're bickering - outsmart each other - play trick as well as shamelessly showing open affection. Sang Qi was kind of a Tomboy, she gets herself into fights between school mates, she's the ring leader of the boys, the only girl amongest competitive unruly young noble men. The girl Lan Qi was such a bore, a killjoy.

I love ep 1 when Sang Qi and Zhao speak dialect to mock Ms Song and YunZhi, ep 11 a hilarious memorable scene as first time ever I see a quarrel - a misunderstanding between lovers using their apologetic (and up set) expression while on the other side of the rock, another couple arguing try to reconcile their same misunderstanding. I think that's an awesome scene because we don't see that cleverness/witty expression scene in a scrip. Ep 14 'hiding' scene under the bed is good too...actually there are many funny scenes in every episodes. Ep 18 onward is not funny anymore...little serious. The MLs kissing/hugging scenes were pretty cute, their eyes locking together with smiles and affection, they look good and cute together,I love the OST...the background music is very good. I gave rewatch value 10 because I've been watching this over and over again....

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Completed
XiaoMeiren
7 people found this review helpful
Aug 1, 2022
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

I want to go back to being a student & date

[First Impression (Ep1-6)] Yan Yun Zhi is indifferent to Sang Qi at first until he finds out that she's his late best friend's sister, then he's intrigued. Meanwhile, she finds Yan Yun Zhi to be an annoying stickler, but he saves her time and time again. I've been seriously laughing (with tears) at some of their interactions. I’m wondering who is going to fall first?!

[Actors/Actresses] Xu Kai Cheng and Zhao Lu Si is the best pairing for this hilarious series. I cannot get over Xu Kai Cheng's varied expressions in this. Zhao Lu Si always delivers on being funny but she has brains in this, too. Ao Rui Peng is the third reason I wanted to watch this - and he is just adorable (there really is no other word for him in this.) It's my first time watching Ren Hao, so I think he does a good job as the second lead.

[Behind the Scenes] I’ve only found videos of the cast having fun behind the scenes - and that’s not a bad thing right? :) Zhao Lu Si shot a video of the cast for her social media account, and it’s pretty cute. Skipping stones can be a good pastime, right? (The scenic location from Ep14.) I like watching Xu Kai Cheng and Ren Hao carrying the ladies (core strength is necessary).

[OST] I enjoyed the OST but undoubtedly my favorite would have to be The Rivers Resemble Mirrors (百川如镜) which is performed by Yan Yun Zhi and Sang Qi twice in the series (but I’m not sure who the real performers are for this song). The guqin just slays me every time. I hope they release a version without the series dialogue/sound bites in it. Liu Yu Ning’s Take Advantage of Your Youth (意气趁年少) is the perfect anthem (he always delivers). Zhang Yue's Meet the Female Disciple (遇见女弟子) is very catchy and is in sync with all of this mischief.

[Ending] Happy ending for all, except for the bad guys.

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Completed
Rhea
6 people found this review helpful
Oct 28, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 6.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Uninspiring!

The drama begins with a female student being granted the opportunity to study at the Imperial College at at time when women are considered inferior to men. Just when you expect this story to be about a lady paving the way for women’s education, the focus shifts to an unrequited love and a murder case with links to a spying and smuggling network. Hence, just be aware that the plot may not be what you would have expected given the title.

The drama starts off being light that is typical of rom-coms. But that rom-com flavor starts to fade as the drama progresses. It just gives me the feeling that the production team is trying too hard to make it both comedic and serious that it ends up being short on both ends. There are super annoying characters that overshadow the fun bits and framing innocent people become standard operating procedure for the villain. In short, the whole story is not well-executed and together with the tropes, the drama becomes uninspiring to watch.

A Teacher-Student Romance
The plot of A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College involves a girl who falls in love with her late brother’s best friend. And that man also happens to be the Deputy Chief of the college and her teacher. He woos her and even fights with another student for her affections. I think this is why I can’t really get into this story because it is simply weird for a teacher to have romantic ideas with a student. Moreover, he is portrayed to be a noble and virtuous man that seem inconsistent with such behavior. Well, if you don’t mind the way this romance is written, then you will definitely like this couple more than me.

The second male lead is there to complicate the main couple’s romance. A lot of screen time is spent on Wen Yuan’s jealousy. It is really a case of refusing to take no for an answer to the point that it becomes highly annoying to the viewer. Add in the supporting female characters who also refuse to let go of the male lead and you will have more annoyance to contend with. Basically, this is where the plot goes together with the criminal activities that the male lead is trying to get to the bottom of.

Repeated Plot Twist (Spoilers Alert!)
The second male lead is the villain whom the main couple needs to take down. So, viewers will be shown that Wen Yuan has the upper hand in one episode before being brought back down to earth in the next with Sang Qi and Yun Zhi’s plotting. The lovers will play pretend to trick Wen Yuan.

This plot twist is repeated with another pretense towards the end of the drama. So, Wen Yuan is tricked twice using more or less the same modus operandi. To the viewer, this would seem a lazy way of writing a story. It becomes predictable and the drama ends up offering no surprises.

Not A Matching Pair
Personally, I don’t find Rosy Zhao and Xu Kai Cheng to be a great on-screen couple. Their visuals don’t match and the chemistry is lacking. In the initial episodes, they bicker quite a lot but I cannot see the sparks despite the quarrelsome interactions. When they start to date, some of their romantic moments just fail to emit the required fluff. This is so unlike the couple in One And Only whereby you can immediately sense their yearning despite being reserved.

Of course, you might have a different view about their chemistry especially if you enjoy Rosy Zhao’s acting. She is a natural here as this type of young, spunky and brash character is nothing new to her. She did it in The Romance Of Tiger And Rose and again in the modern dramas, Please Feel At Ease Mr Ling and Dating In The Kitchen. You can say she is being stereotyped but she is also at the right age for this kind of roles. So, it is easy for her to look and act that part. For me, I would like to see her in more challenging roles given her talent and I liked her performance in The Long Ballad which is different from her usual characters.

As for Xu Kai Cheng, I think his character has been overshadowed by Ren Hao’s Wen Yuan. Although Wen Yuan is highly irritating to the viewer, it just reflects the ability of the actor to bring out the essence of the character. He manages to give Wen Yuan an evil and creepy feeling of an obsessed young man.

My Verdict – Skip It
A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College is certainly not a great drama. Some people even see the female character as being dumb. While I don’t consider it that way, I also don’t see Sang Qi as a character that really stands out. So, if you like matured and intelligent female characters, you are better off watching Jun Jiu Ling or Song Of Youth. Sang Qi is more on the immature side given her age and pampered upbringing.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with a young character who is free-spirited and unconventional if done right. But the drama is a letdown to me because the story concentrates too much on the unrequited love portion when it could have developed the criminal and investigate part better like in The Imperial Coroner. As it is, those parts are simplistic that it lacks suspense. At the same time, the main couple doesn’t possess that alluring sweetness needed for a good romance drama unlike Maiden Holmes which manage to balance crime and romance rather well with a matching pair.

For this A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College review, I would give it a score of 6.5/10. I think it is skippable with its average plot and weak storytelling. You can watch it if you don’t mind a teacher-student romance. But you should skip it if you absolutely hate annoying love rivals who can’t take rejection. This is not a drama that will make you hungry for more but rather one that you would be glad you are done watching once it is over.

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Completed
CrimsonXZ
6 people found this review helpful
Oct 15, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

If you are looking for a light historical drama with a ton of comedy, this is for you!

I say this only through my opinions, I see that there are a lot of mixed reviews out there on this drama, but here I am giving my opinion on this drama and why I rated it high.

Story - 9.0/10 :
I recommend this drama, to the drama watchers who are looking for a light but historical drama. As for me, I was feeling like watching one and I noticed this drama started airing. I don't regret watching this drama as I actually thought this drama was fun to watch. Now let's talk about the plot. In the first 18 episodes, I do agree the plot is really missing a lot and it's definitely can't be considered as the best out there, but for a light drama, it's not the worst though, and maybe you could enjoy this drama as I did. As for the majority of the drama, comedy takes a big role through the drama, as for nearly every episode there would be time's where I couldn't stop laughing watching this drama. Near the end is where the majority of the story comes together and I've got to say the ending is very exciting. This drama throughout a lot of scenes that you wouldn't expect to happen and I was blown away by how well this drama did it. After every episode, I just couldn't wait to start the next. I'm very satisfied with the ending as I was happy to see that what they planned to do for Bianjing and the Imperial College was worth it. I expected that the whole drama would have no meaning at all and would just be fluffy the whole 30 episodes, but it didn't do that, in fact, the fluffiness stops not long after she graduates which gave a little sense of reality (I guess) as it made you feel like when you graduate, that is when you enter the real world and could face problems. This is why I rate the story a 9.5/10 since I didn't expect this drama to do this to me as a light drama, I think it did well.

Acting/Cast - 10/10 :
Zhao Lusi and Xu Kaicheng look like they were made for this role, the chemistry between the leads exceeded my expectation.
I've seen a lot of netizens commenting how Zhao Lusi's acting was quite annoying, but honestly, it didn't impact the way I watched it. I thought that Zhao Lusi's acting was quite cute overall and suited this drama and my expectations well. Although, (Zhao Lusi wears Korean makeup and her eyelashes and hair colour have annoyed many netizens since there are times where she looks like she is in a contemporary drama when she wears her own hair out it's been dyed brown which may affect the look of a historical drama) if you ignore this factor, then Zhao Lusi has done well in this drama. Zhao Lusi made Sang Qi feel lively and who was a smart girl.
This drama is my first Xu Kaicheng drama and I'd say his acting was well done in this drama. His acting skills were just what was needed for this drama. Xu Kaicheng is quite handsome and he's very tall and has more of a built body, which suited the role of the Deputy Chief of the Imperial College. I was really satisfied by the way he acted out his character throughout the story. The way he always acted around as Yan Yun Zhi to trick Zhou Wen Yuan, I got a tear out of my eyes at one point, and I'd say if he's able to make me cry, he is definitely a good actor.
Now about Ren Hao, to be honest, I hated his character (Zhou Wen Yuan) so much, Zhou Wen Yuan annoyed me all the time especially when he got very possessive over Sang Qi. If I'm at the point where I hate him, I guess he must be a good actor right? I'd say his visuals are handsome for a second male lead, also for a rebel. His eyes really told you his emotions and his feelings throughout the plot and I was impressed with the way he expressed the emotions through his eyes.
The supporting cast was pretty well done, if I have to say who would be my favourite supporting character I would have to say Yan Yan as he brought laughter from the times in the Imperial College right through to the end. In every character, it was wonderful to see how they act the characters when they grow older and go into the adult world.

Music - 10/10 :
I really like Liu Yuning's songs and I was happy to know that he sang a song for this drama. Zhao Lusi's song was also a nice one too I've got to say her singing skills have slightly improved. I was surprised to know that Zhang Yue (actor of Song Jia Yin) sung the opening song, her voice is really nice as well. All the songs suited the emotions the drama needed and I really like the whole OST of the drama.

Rewatch Value - 10/10 :
For me, it's hard to get over dramas that I feel just finished too fast, I could probably watch this another time but really depends on your opinion on rewatching dramas.

Overall - 10/10:
This drama has exceeded my expectations of thinking it was only going to be fluffy, I was very happy to see that this drama wasn't just full of fluff but there were a lot of tricks being played near the end which fulfilled just what I needed in a drama. To make this opinion I probably wouldn't have said this if I wrote this after watching the first 10 episodes. I think it's a good idea for you to watch the full drama to make an opinion on this drama because a lot changes after episode 18. So please do watch this drama and expect to see fluffy drama in the first 18 or so episodes but the story does not stop there when things change it gets very interesting and it is very intriguing to watch to the end. :)

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Completed
Yuki_tokki
14 people found this review helpful
Oct 14, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 5.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 4.5

Nothing impressive but it's okay

I am quite picky when it comes to dramas, especially historical dramas. I feel that this storyline is cute but has been ridiculously overused. Furthermore, I used to like zhao lusi after watching her earlier dramas, but recently, she has been acting in roles that are extremely similar. I mean, sure, it fits her image. But I see no improvements in her acting and neither do I see a desire in her to try other types of roles. I think this is a disgrace as an actress especially when there is potential in her but she's just wasting it. From the number of dramas that she's been in, I can infer that her company is willing to provide her with more than enough resources and opportunities, but she's just not improving at all!!!
And for the male lead.......I can firmly say that he doesn't look good in historical outfits. He looks dashing in modern day clothings, but he looks like a bloated pufferfish in this outfit. I have seen his face plastered all over posts that are titled "ugliest men in historical dramas 2021" on my social media, and I am not surprised to say the v least. Okay. But historical outfits are just not meant for everyone.
If you are looking for cute and light-hearted historical drama. This drama is for you. But if you are picky and likes good plots, good lines and good outfits, then don't watch this.

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Completed
Apsara
2 people found this review helpful
Nov 6, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

I wish I had that much free time in school.

I don't want to be too harsh on this drama for those people who actually like it. This is the first drama of Zhao Lu Si that I finished watching. I tried watching her dramas in the past, but end up dropping it maybe because of the same concept and character. I mainly watched this for Xu Kai Cheng, but after I saw how well Ren Hao played out his role, I'm just stuck to him. I came in this drama with no expectations at all and I'm so glad I have no expectations because I'll be more disappointed than this.

Story: 6/10 - Literally, episode 5 all the way to episode 11 have no plot whatsoever. A lot of the episodes were fillers and really unnecessary. They could've easily done this in 24 episodes or less. From the title of the drama, I really thought the majority of the episodes will be at the Imperial College, but nope. They weren't in school for more than half the drama. And, I wish I have that much free time during school. Like, go around pranking your classmates, running around campus, and falling in love with the Deputy Chief. Lol. JK. The outfits and styles were really pretty though. AND, can they just punish the aunt a little bit more? Sending her to the Cold Palace is not enough!

Acting/Cast: 7.5/10 - Of course a character like Sang Qi fits Zhao Lu Si well as she has played out these type of roles before. A lot of the comments said her character was stupid and naiive which I disagree with. Her character to me was smart and quick witted like our male lead Yan Yun Zhi. Their misunderstandings were all setup to catch the second male lead, Zhuo Wen Yuan. Zhuo Wen Yuan was manipulated by his aunt or maybe I'm just being bias. Lol. He's done too many evil deeds, so it's impossible to redeem him. Zhuo Wen Yuan and Song Jia Yin were the only couple that I'm looking forward to, but it's so sad that he died and nobody wanted to cremate his ashes except for Song Jia Yin; after all they are husband and wife.

Music: 8/10 - I like the ending theme song and Zhuo Wen Yuan's theme song sung by Ren Hao.

Rewatch Value: 6/10 - Probably not gonna rewatch.

Overall: 6.5/10 - It's pretty funny and the styles are good. :)

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Completed
justjacky
3 people found this review helpful
Mar 13, 2024
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.5

Top-notch comedy, cute romance & mystery sub-plot

One of the funniest historical dramas I’ve ever watched with Zhao Lusi as the star and her three awesome male leads. The comedy was top-notch, the romance was cute and the actors had great on-screen presence. This drama is about the female lead who is the first woman to study at the Imperial College. While at the college, she falls in love, goes through academic challenges and reveals the mystery of her brother’s death. The plot is very straight-forward and the comedy and brilliant acting are the highlights of this drama.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
- Female lead (Zhao Lusi) - the smart, beautiful, brave, cute, outspoken and silly girl that you can't help but love.
- Male lead (Xu Kai Cheng) - the Deputy of Chief at the College. He was strict but also fair, a green flag love interest with unexpected small quirky traits.
- Second male lead (Ren Hao) - the childhood best friend. (His character really stood out to me because I had such conflicted feelings. I hated him and would never want to be near him but his aura was so hot and my eyes were always glued to the screen when he would show up).
- Third male lead (Ao Rui Peng) - the true comedy relief in this drama. His scenes were 100% gold.

POSITIVE:
- Top-notch comedy. For real, one of the most hilariously clever scripts I’ve seen.
- Fantastic acting. I truly feel the cast had great charisma and was the reason I continued to watch.
- Zhao Lusi as the star. If you like her, you need to watch this drama.
- Ao Rui Peng’s character was one of the best and his story was done well for a supporting role.
- Cute romance. For real, it was super sweet.
- No teacher-student drama. Even though in the drama the male lead is technically her teacher, we don’t really see him teach and there is no annoying drama about that.
- No love triangles for me. I see a lot of people saying there is a love triangle but I don’t see it that way. A love triangle for me is when one person loves two people or is involved romantically in some way with two people. In this drama, the female lead only has eyes and only loves the male lead. However, the second male lead does try to actively break the main leads apart. I usually find it annoying but in this case I didn’t mind it maybe because the actor was very charming.

NEGATIVE:
- Male lead didn’t stand out to me. He was good, I did like him but not impressive, especially when you put him next to Zhao Lusi.
- Last 5 episodes felt very draggy and I had to skip parts. The drama became more serious and focused on the mystery rather than the comedy.
- Too many episodes. There were certain small moments where the drama would start to feel draggy but then something interesting would happen. In general I feel like these small boring parts could have been avoided if the drama was shorter.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a hilarious and cute historical rom-com with an uncomplicated plot, watch this drama.

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A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College (2021) poster

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  • Score: 8.0 (scored by 6,439 users)
  • Ranked: #2514
  • Popularity: #1144
  • Watchers: 16,091

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