ennekube
fun but flawed reverse harem with martial artist as the female lead
Basic Story: Ming Xiao Xi is a martial artist from a rural village who gets accepted to Guang Yu university. On her first day, Xiao Xi has a negative encounter with the Elite Union, a clique/club of popular kids at the school led by three boys (Mu Liu Bing, Feng Che, Dong Hao Nan) and one girl (Sha Sha) who happen to be children of powerful leaders in the community. The principal is eager to have Xiao Xi there to shake up the entitled elitism within the school, while the entrenched elite want to kick her out. The Elite Union initially vows to kick her out, but somewhere along the way two of the boys (Mu Liu Bing and Feng Che) begin to like Xiao Xi, and drama ensues. Be prepared for multiple overlapping love triangles and misunderstandings.
Overall Impression: The drama started out fun and funny, if predictable. Other reviews have compared the drama to Meteor Garden, the Heirs, and Boys Over Flowers, and there are definitely strong similarities in the beginning. Xiao Xi arrives with a truly appalling bowl haircut, mismatched clothing, and an affinity for toe socks, which when combined with her martial arts skills and her earnest but bumbling personality truly help her stick out like a sore thumb in the beginning. The early episodes do a great job of slowly showcasing how the two male leads begin to like her in spite of themselves. There is a story arc where multiple characters go back to Xiao Xi's village over vacation/break that is also fun and engaging, as you get to see how well loved Xiao Xi is in her hometown and some truly ludicrous competition between the boys for Xiao Xi's affections. However, the drama ultimately runs too long, and the storyline gets very draggy and inconsistent. There is a lot of unnecessary jealousy, including a multiple episode arc where Xiao Xi's initial personality as a self-confident martial artist disappears and she turns into a weepy, clingy, jealous unhappy mess that never seems to successfully use martial arts again. I can also never tell exactly what Xiao Xi is studying at university and if there is any career goal at the end, as the series focuses more on the odd jobs she is constantly having to take to pay bills and the tension that the need for money introduces into her relationships. There are also a number of random characters introduced towards the end that I struggled to parse and connect with, as they appeared to have come into the picture purely for convenience (or maybe some kind of cameo idol appearance / fan service I am unaware of). I struggled to finish watching and by the end of the 30-episode series was no longer rooting for the main male lead because the relationship felt too emotionally unhealthy and I'm tired of that dynamic being rewarded in these dramas.
Likes:
-Initially plucky heroine that ultimately rocks her bowlcut and toe socks to the bitter end (with only three instances where she "glams up"/changes the hair)
-Lots of eye candy
-Large supporting cast (side characters Coco and Lan Di deserve notable mentions as supporting characters that are abruptly and randomly introduced in the latter half of the drama. While their backstories are never really adequately explained and they ultimately also exit abruptly, their characters are definitely more interesting than the one-note villains and they've got more nuance and color than some of the supporting characters that appear to exist solely to feed love triangles)
Dislikes
-Unhealthy jealousy, excessive amount of one-sided loves, and emotionally abusive relationships. The relationship involving the male character who is most respectful of boundaries, communicates best with the female lead, and understands her best is ultimately not the one that succeeds. By contrast, the relationship with the male lead who initially uses the female lead to taunt another character, forces a kiss on her, forces himself into her dorm room, and later lies to her / pushes her away in the name of pursuing revenge is the one that succeeds. The older I get, the less patience I have for this type of romantic storyline. (Side note: The only reverse harem that I feel does a good job of having FL end up in the relationship that will be best for HER is "Go Ho's Starry Night" and I will happily recommend that one instead, though it is rocking an office vibe and an older FL)
-Heroine's personality is written very inconsistently and it is difficult to root for her in the middle of the drama
-Meandering plot. This drama could have told a much tighter and effective story if it was 18-20 episodes instead of 30.
Overall Verdict: Fluffy filler if you're in the mood for a school-based reverse harem that shares many of the strengths and weaknesses of Meteor Garden/Boys Over Flowers, but not particularly memorable or rewatchable.
Overall Impression: The drama started out fun and funny, if predictable. Other reviews have compared the drama to Meteor Garden, the Heirs, and Boys Over Flowers, and there are definitely strong similarities in the beginning. Xiao Xi arrives with a truly appalling bowl haircut, mismatched clothing, and an affinity for toe socks, which when combined with her martial arts skills and her earnest but bumbling personality truly help her stick out like a sore thumb in the beginning. The early episodes do a great job of slowly showcasing how the two male leads begin to like her in spite of themselves. There is a story arc where multiple characters go back to Xiao Xi's village over vacation/break that is also fun and engaging, as you get to see how well loved Xiao Xi is in her hometown and some truly ludicrous competition between the boys for Xiao Xi's affections. However, the drama ultimately runs too long, and the storyline gets very draggy and inconsistent. There is a lot of unnecessary jealousy, including a multiple episode arc where Xiao Xi's initial personality as a self-confident martial artist disappears and she turns into a weepy, clingy, jealous unhappy mess that never seems to successfully use martial arts again. I can also never tell exactly what Xiao Xi is studying at university and if there is any career goal at the end, as the series focuses more on the odd jobs she is constantly having to take to pay bills and the tension that the need for money introduces into her relationships. There are also a number of random characters introduced towards the end that I struggled to parse and connect with, as they appeared to have come into the picture purely for convenience (or maybe some kind of cameo idol appearance / fan service I am unaware of). I struggled to finish watching and by the end of the 30-episode series was no longer rooting for the main male lead because the relationship felt too emotionally unhealthy and I'm tired of that dynamic being rewarded in these dramas.
Likes:
-Initially plucky heroine that ultimately rocks her bowlcut and toe socks to the bitter end (with only three instances where she "glams up"/changes the hair)
-Lots of eye candy
-Large supporting cast (side characters Coco and Lan Di deserve notable mentions as supporting characters that are abruptly and randomly introduced in the latter half of the drama. While their backstories are never really adequately explained and they ultimately also exit abruptly, their characters are definitely more interesting than the one-note villains and they've got more nuance and color than some of the supporting characters that appear to exist solely to feed love triangles)
Dislikes
-Unhealthy jealousy, excessive amount of one-sided loves, and emotionally abusive relationships. The relationship involving the male character who is most respectful of boundaries, communicates best with the female lead, and understands her best is ultimately not the one that succeeds. By contrast, the relationship with the male lead who initially uses the female lead to taunt another character, forces a kiss on her, forces himself into her dorm room, and later lies to her / pushes her away in the name of pursuing revenge is the one that succeeds. The older I get, the less patience I have for this type of romantic storyline. (Side note: The only reverse harem that I feel does a good job of having FL end up in the relationship that will be best for HER is "Go Ho's Starry Night" and I will happily recommend that one instead, though it is rocking an office vibe and an older FL)
-Heroine's personality is written very inconsistently and it is difficult to root for her in the middle of the drama
-Meandering plot. This drama could have told a much tighter and effective story if it was 18-20 episodes instead of 30.
Overall Verdict: Fluffy filler if you're in the mood for a school-based reverse harem that shares many of the strengths and weaknesses of Meteor Garden/Boys Over Flowers, but not particularly memorable or rewatchable.
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