This review may contain spoilers
Lin Wanxing, Wang Fa, and Their Babies
Last year, I did look up to "Road to Success", but I literally had zero expectation of it - particularly, because I'm wary of Esther Yu's baby-ish voice and the fact that football isn't a prominent sport for the Chinese. Weeks before watching, I attempted reading half of the novel and found out that it actually did football justice. To be honest, I'm a football fanatic and currently supporting Arsenal in Premier League (Liverpool's performance had plummeted this season - but previously, I also liked Liverpool back in Juergen Klopp's shining era). For this year's World Cup, I support England - although they have been upended by Argentine (most likely to clinch the championship for the consecutive year, but let's see what surprise Spain has prepared for the final). Okay, it's time to rock back to the review again!!
The main story tells about a healthy and mature romance between Lin Wanxing and Wang Fa, with the football theme as a plot device to create a close proximity for them, as they tackle on the issues faced by the school's football team and do their best to secure a place in the league. Lin Wanxing, a psychology-PhD-dropout-turned sports equipment keeper, is a strong-willed and resilient woman who has a sanguine viewpoint of life despite a scandalous incident in her past. Actually, she has also considered suicide but still decides to live on so as to help other people realize their dreams. Against her parents' wishes, Wanxing applies to Hongjing No. 8 School as a sport equipment keeper, for the sake of her late grandfather (her grandparents were tutors in Hongjing and had helped many people through education). Wanxing has emotionally distant parents, which prompts her to loathe them. In this school, she incidentally meets Wang Fa, a former British club's coach and Wanxing's tenant who's been investigating his player's suicide case. All clues regarding the murderer points to her, thus begins the cat-and-mouse game between them. Wang Fa has a hilarious family consisting of his goofy father Wang Genfa, stern but doting sister Wang Tian, and faithful brother-in-law as well as partner-in-crime Yu Bo.
A legion of dramas has told us that love is usually built on perilous circumstances, including life-and-death situations, misunderstandings, betrayals, etc. Soon, we've become exhausted of them as these tropes are being recycled in a rinse-and-repeat mode. However, "Road to Success" provides none of the tropes listed above. Surprisingly, it encourages a mature and refreshing romance story between two supportive people. You don't need to worry about unnecessary conflicts, dramas, personal vendettas, feuds, or whatsoever. Despite both leads' gloomy past, they have never used it against each other (like Wang Fa says, everyone has their own right to hide their ugly sides of life, when Wanxing is afraid that Wang Fa won't accept her). Both of them also take turns to help each other when troubles arise (for example, Wanxing comforts Wang Fa as he tells Jason's suicide and how his mother still blames Wang Fa for her son's death - or maybe when Wang Fa insists on accompanying Wanxing to her grandparents' tombs, so as to prevent her parents from abusing her again.
Meanwhile, the babies aka the players of Hongjing No. 8 School are comprised of Fu Xinshu, Qin Ao, Chen Jianghe, Wen Chengye, Yu Ming, Lin Lu, Qi Liang, Zheng Ren, Zheng Feiyang, Feng Suo, and Zhi Hui. Previously, they were admitted to the school through special recommendation, thanks to their football's careers. However, when a teammate transferred to other school and their coach abandoned them, they began to lose hope and considered football as an omen or taboo for them. Since then, they have been divided into several classes and perform badly in academics (except Wen Chengye). Coincidentally, Wanxing is assigned to become the team's supervisor and encourages them not to lose their hopes and break through their predestined fate, creating an unforgettable experience in their lives. After much persuasion from Wanxing, Wang Fa steps in as their new coach, fueling their spirits to win the following matches. Aside from the leads' story, we also have Qin Ao, Fu Xinshu, and Wen Chengye's backstories while most serve as a comic relief or catalyst for the main couple's relationship. Personally, I like Fu Xinshu and Wen Chengye's pairing the most - the two teenagers come from troubled family and have many miscommunication issues (you know, teenagers are stubborn in expressing their ideas and prefer to keep their feelings bottle up, but it actually shows how realistic this drama is), but in the end they will resolve their conflict and become best friends again. Oh yeah, the football terminology is also handled meticulously - as someone who has some experience in watching real football matches (and a father whom I can discuss football with), I think it's kinda better than my pessimistic thoughts.
Now, to the acting part. I really love Esther Yu's portrayal as a level-headed and calm teacher who becomes a illuminating starlight crashing through her babies' bleak daily lives. She exudes the undeniably sunshine aura needed for Wanxing's character essence. Despite her doing the dubbing again, this time she sounds more mature and less like a pouty little girl (if you've seen "Speed and Love", you can relate to that). Aside from Esther Yu, I also like Chen Jingke as Wang Fa. Previously, I'd only seen him in "Amidst a Snowstorm of Love" as a supporting character. This role can be considered as breakout for him and he uses micro-expressions very well through act of service and love language for Wanxing. I hope there will be more main roles for him to take - he really has the potential to become a well-known star. Special mention for Victor Ma - his awfully nonsensical bickering with Wang Fa always gets me in laughter. The babies are naturally newbies who have recently entered the C-drama industry (while mostly take mini dramas or guest roles in other big dramas). Kudos to Zhu Boyan for his debut role as the rebellious yet righteous Qin Ao too. Meanwhile, another special mention for Liu Jun and Yan Yuchen for their bromance energy (or you can call it subtle BL if you want to) in this drama (I've only seen Yan Yuchen in "Generation to Generation", but his styling isn't my cup of tea - as for Liu Jun, he played a supporting role in "Revenged Love" prior to taking "Road to Success").
OSTs are better than my expectation after a slump of nice songs in C-drama land. I especially like Bai Jugang and Excuse Me's high-octane rock anthem, Dong Xianglin and Zhao Lei's melancholic pieces, and Duan Aojuan's jazzy track (thank God, this time she doesn't sing cringey songs anymore). I'm not into Curley Gao and Du's tracks though.
To cap it all, "Road to Success" is highly recommended if you're into healthy green-flag relationships, football, the team's camaraderie, the subtle psychological counterparts, and many more. Overall, it's a ten out of ten. Thank you for reading, good luck, and happy watching!!!
P.S.
1. The mysterious people who lead Wanxing to work at Hongjing No. 8 School and reorganize the chaotic football team is actually her grandparents, Director Qian (her higher-up), and Jiang Xun (Coach Jiang's son and Grandpa Lin's most beloved disciple).
2. The person who slanders Wanxing of having an affair with her professor is Xiang Zi, her senior. Filled with jealousy and resentment over Wanxing's popularity in the campus, he resorts to using underhanded tactics to destroy Wanxing's life and makes her as miserable as possible.
The main story tells about a healthy and mature romance between Lin Wanxing and Wang Fa, with the football theme as a plot device to create a close proximity for them, as they tackle on the issues faced by the school's football team and do their best to secure a place in the league. Lin Wanxing, a psychology-PhD-dropout-turned sports equipment keeper, is a strong-willed and resilient woman who has a sanguine viewpoint of life despite a scandalous incident in her past. Actually, she has also considered suicide but still decides to live on so as to help other people realize their dreams. Against her parents' wishes, Wanxing applies to Hongjing No. 8 School as a sport equipment keeper, for the sake of her late grandfather (her grandparents were tutors in Hongjing and had helped many people through education). Wanxing has emotionally distant parents, which prompts her to loathe them. In this school, she incidentally meets Wang Fa, a former British club's coach and Wanxing's tenant who's been investigating his player's suicide case. All clues regarding the murderer points to her, thus begins the cat-and-mouse game between them. Wang Fa has a hilarious family consisting of his goofy father Wang Genfa, stern but doting sister Wang Tian, and faithful brother-in-law as well as partner-in-crime Yu Bo.
A legion of dramas has told us that love is usually built on perilous circumstances, including life-and-death situations, misunderstandings, betrayals, etc. Soon, we've become exhausted of them as these tropes are being recycled in a rinse-and-repeat mode. However, "Road to Success" provides none of the tropes listed above. Surprisingly, it encourages a mature and refreshing romance story between two supportive people. You don't need to worry about unnecessary conflicts, dramas, personal vendettas, feuds, or whatsoever. Despite both leads' gloomy past, they have never used it against each other (like Wang Fa says, everyone has their own right to hide their ugly sides of life, when Wanxing is afraid that Wang Fa won't accept her). Both of them also take turns to help each other when troubles arise (for example, Wanxing comforts Wang Fa as he tells Jason's suicide and how his mother still blames Wang Fa for her son's death - or maybe when Wang Fa insists on accompanying Wanxing to her grandparents' tombs, so as to prevent her parents from abusing her again.
Meanwhile, the babies aka the players of Hongjing No. 8 School are comprised of Fu Xinshu, Qin Ao, Chen Jianghe, Wen Chengye, Yu Ming, Lin Lu, Qi Liang, Zheng Ren, Zheng Feiyang, Feng Suo, and Zhi Hui. Previously, they were admitted to the school through special recommendation, thanks to their football's careers. However, when a teammate transferred to other school and their coach abandoned them, they began to lose hope and considered football as an omen or taboo for them. Since then, they have been divided into several classes and perform badly in academics (except Wen Chengye). Coincidentally, Wanxing is assigned to become the team's supervisor and encourages them not to lose their hopes and break through their predestined fate, creating an unforgettable experience in their lives. After much persuasion from Wanxing, Wang Fa steps in as their new coach, fueling their spirits to win the following matches. Aside from the leads' story, we also have Qin Ao, Fu Xinshu, and Wen Chengye's backstories while most serve as a comic relief or catalyst for the main couple's relationship. Personally, I like Fu Xinshu and Wen Chengye's pairing the most - the two teenagers come from troubled family and have many miscommunication issues (you know, teenagers are stubborn in expressing their ideas and prefer to keep their feelings bottle up, but it actually shows how realistic this drama is), but in the end they will resolve their conflict and become best friends again. Oh yeah, the football terminology is also handled meticulously - as someone who has some experience in watching real football matches (and a father whom I can discuss football with), I think it's kinda better than my pessimistic thoughts.
Now, to the acting part. I really love Esther Yu's portrayal as a level-headed and calm teacher who becomes a illuminating starlight crashing through her babies' bleak daily lives. She exudes the undeniably sunshine aura needed for Wanxing's character essence. Despite her doing the dubbing again, this time she sounds more mature and less like a pouty little girl (if you've seen "Speed and Love", you can relate to that). Aside from Esther Yu, I also like Chen Jingke as Wang Fa. Previously, I'd only seen him in "Amidst a Snowstorm of Love" as a supporting character. This role can be considered as breakout for him and he uses micro-expressions very well through act of service and love language for Wanxing. I hope there will be more main roles for him to take - he really has the potential to become a well-known star. Special mention for Victor Ma - his awfully nonsensical bickering with Wang Fa always gets me in laughter. The babies are naturally newbies who have recently entered the C-drama industry (while mostly take mini dramas or guest roles in other big dramas). Kudos to Zhu Boyan for his debut role as the rebellious yet righteous Qin Ao too. Meanwhile, another special mention for Liu Jun and Yan Yuchen for their bromance energy (or you can call it subtle BL if you want to) in this drama (I've only seen Yan Yuchen in "Generation to Generation", but his styling isn't my cup of tea - as for Liu Jun, he played a supporting role in "Revenged Love" prior to taking "Road to Success").
OSTs are better than my expectation after a slump of nice songs in C-drama land. I especially like Bai Jugang and Excuse Me's high-octane rock anthem, Dong Xianglin and Zhao Lei's melancholic pieces, and Duan Aojuan's jazzy track (thank God, this time she doesn't sing cringey songs anymore). I'm not into Curley Gao and Du's tracks though.
To cap it all, "Road to Success" is highly recommended if you're into healthy green-flag relationships, football, the team's camaraderie, the subtle psychological counterparts, and many more. Overall, it's a ten out of ten. Thank you for reading, good luck, and happy watching!!!
P.S.
1. The mysterious people who lead Wanxing to work at Hongjing No. 8 School and reorganize the chaotic football team is actually her grandparents, Director Qian (her higher-up), and Jiang Xun (Coach Jiang's son and Grandpa Lin's most beloved disciple).
2. The person who slanders Wanxing of having an affair with her professor is Xiang Zi, her senior. Filled with jealousy and resentment over Wanxing's popularity in the campus, he resorts to using underhanded tactics to destroy Wanxing's life and makes her as miserable as possible.
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