A Girl Like Me (2021)

Awesome Female Lead/ Character & Handsome Male Lead

I’m watching the drama again as I write this review. After reading the reviews by others who have watched this drama, I decided that I should give it a go too and I’m so glad that I did! Thanks to the other reviewers! I’d like to give my review on this cool drama too.

What I liked & Watch because:
- The female lead is, indeed, strikingly attractive. She’s a sassy girl! She’s a modern girl in an olden day setting. She’s feisty. She’s modern in her ways and thinking. She’s a force to be reckoned with. Love this character!
- The male lead is handsome and manly. Sometimes, I think he looks like a getai singer but I cannot deny that he is good-looking and has a manly stature. I like!
- The leads have good enough chemistry. I like it when the male lead gets jealous because of the female lead. He’s so cute when he’s all huffy!
- I like that the leads are sincere in their feelings towards each other.
- The OST is great too and I’ve been listening to it.
- The casting of the actors and actresses is good and they have all done a great job in fleshing out the characters.
- Plot is fast-paced and action packed. Mostly, the drama isn’t draggy.
- Special mention that I found Shi Jin very sexy and manly in the drama.

What I didn’t like:
- Shi Fei Xian is a total bitch and sly fox. Didn’t like her character and she was a villainess through and through.
- The second prince was all kinds of crazy due to his ambition.
- The crown prince was such a wuss.
- The wife of the crown prince was a bitch too.

Overall, this drama is highly entertaining! There are many parts that are cute and funny! I enjoyed this drama a lot and finished it very quickly. It’s an easy watch. I highly recommend this! Watch it asap!

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female lead is unlike other girls but nothing special

To me this drama is a flop ! this drama is soooo boring.... the plot is boring... like literally the first 20ish episode is about the failed arranged marriage of the princess aka female lead. She is a princess through her grandmother being the aunt of the king....

Her personality is loud , proud, bold and daring. The male lead is a official of the king, he seeks revenge to find out what happen to his parents death. Turns out its about a hu fu ( which is this panther looking thing that holds military power) I believe the king's aunt husband was the general who held the hu fu. The female lead also gets dreams thats gets her glimpse of seeing into the future. ( but to me those scenes arent done well, its so random and choppy)

Who said its good, i skipped so many conversations lol.... the relationship between the female and male lead is not very believable. The chemistry is not there. Neo Hou has more chemistry with Yang Chao Yue on the love script variety show, then with Guan Xiao tong. They are quite a boring couple. I mean I like the male lead but I am contemplating dropping this drama.

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The Importance of Family

A Girl Like Me is going on my list of my favorite historical dramas. The reasons why I rated this show so highly are as follows: the female lead is both smart and physically strong, the show is genuinely funny, and I love the overarching theme of how important family is.

At first I wasn't sure if I liked Ban Hua because she was so sure of herself to the point that I thought she was being rude to others. I quickly fell in love with her when I realized she is a character that takes no bs and sticks to her guns. She is not well read but she is very quick to pick up on things and highly skilled physically from being dedicated to learning military training. On top of being intelligent, I loved how kind she turned out to be. Even though she is rich and likes looking the part, she is humble enough to deeply care about people who have less than she does.

Ban Hua's family's interactions with each other are a guaranteed good time. They are all funny together and play off each other well. There are many humorous occasions surrounding the fact that none of them are book smart, but they readily acknowledge that fact and are willing to have others help them in that regard which was nice to see. There were also entertaining comedic moments surrounding the rivalry between both Ban Huai (Ban Hua's father) and Marquis Xie, as well as Ban Hua and Jiang Luo.

My favorite thing about this show was the thing that surprised me the most, how the plot kept circling back to the fact that family is the most important. Whenever I read a story or watch a show about people who lived in the past, especially when it centers around royalty, I'm saddened by how people were willing to harm or even kill their own family members to gain power. That desire to be at the top of the food chain comes from a place of selfishness, whereas a truly good leader wants to be in that position to help others that are suffering and would not harm people, especially their family, to get to that position in the first place. Ban Hua's family truly love each other and are there for each other through thick and thin, even making tough sacrifices to protect each other.

I also think the leads in this show compliment each other well. There is a delightful push and pull in Ban Hua and Rong Xia's relationship that always keeps things interesting. Furthermore I wasn't bothered by the inclusion of two side couples in this show as they both had cute interactions with each other as well. Overall I think this show was well written and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys either historical dramas or shows with strong female leads.

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Comedy and political conspiracy in one - Amazing is the word befitting.

This is yet another amazing drama released in 2021. The male lead is one of the most handsome Chinese actors I have come across. He has this refined scholarly look which I am sure mesmerised a lot of female fans, and for the male viewers: many pretty actresses. I was drawn into watching the drama because of him. He and the female lead both sang the theme songs as well - truly multi-talented. The soundtrack is sentimental and melodious - one of the best Chinese drama soundtracks. The two leads had this amazing chemistry - making the romance and courting scenes sensational. The pace was good with hardly any lull moments. The costumes worn by the lead actress were outstanding.

The first half of the drama was about how the two lead characters met and sought to get closer to the other with ulterior motives and for political reasons. They fell truly in love in spite of their differences in talents and interests. As they struggled through self-denial, jealousy started to emerge as other parties stepped into the picture. The humour and funny scenes really cracked me up. The video clips at the beginning and end were too much of a give-away on this - should have left some suspense on who the duchess would eventually chose.

Tension however built during the second half as the conspiracy and fight for the throne intensified and it became chaotic, although with humour interspace throughout. The two went through thick and thin to save the Ban family and help the crown prince.

The story is quite run-of-the-mill in Chinese dramas: love triangles, fight for the throne, jealousy, misunderstanding, rejecting the other in the belief it was for their good, tripping and falling into the arms of the other, saving the damsel in distress - all the common themes and tricks. It is the acting that makes this drama good. Of course, these are common emotions in real life with fight between princes for the throne a common historical occurrence in Chinese history.

The regret the drama left was the crown prince continued to look incompetent even at the end, which seemed not worth the fights to help him re-gain the throne. Somehow, I felt that the throne really should go to Rong, for he was the truly capable one. But this would be very much against the Confucious teaching of loyalty I guess. The writer could have given it a twist here.

With the ban on filming due to the pandemic lifted, loads of good Chinese dramas are released and we will see loads of it and this is one of them.

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I remember starting this drama and getting hooked from the first episode. It is always nice to have a historical comedy series. I love it when they show the main girl as the master of her own life, specially in times like those, it is rare to see such brave and free-spirited characters. On the other hand, the male lead's calming posture, gentle character and warm personality makes the two of them a perfect match for each other. Although they encountered problems towards the end, there way of making it up to each other was sweet.
The Ban family are an example of what a family should be like. This family was probably one of the best elements in the drama. Never once in the whole drama did they blame Ban Hua for her behaviour. They supported her and I loved how everyone kept on saying that shouldn't family be like them. Oh, we cannot forget Rocky, Softy and Du Jiu!! I love seeing loyal people besides the main leads. Ban Heng was one funny person. Honestly, he did an amazing job as a brother and a friend.
I quiet liked Shi Jin as well, got the second male lead syndrome from the beginning because of him.
Jiang Luo and Ban Hua's little fights were hilarious. Even though he was always scheming against everyone, I still liked his character. He could have been a great prince and an even better king if not for his evil intentions.
They didn't really explain how Xie Chong Jin switched sides and what exactly happened to him. I mean he was the main source of evil so his ending should have been shown in detail.
In the beginning, the drama was very funny. Even the problems that occurred were solved in a funny way. However, during the middle of the drama till the very end, the comedy element wasn't there. Everything became to tensed and I think the point of the drama was taken away. They could have kept the funny element and still have managed to carry on with the exact same story line.
Overall, if you haven't watched this drama, I recommend you start it straight away.

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Light rom com

Finished this about a week ago and i’d say i find another ML gem in Hou Ming Hou. This is my first drama of him and i really like his portrayal of Rong Xia. He makes rong xia so charming, handsome but at the same time, adorable, esp when he was drinking vinegar! Lol

This is also my first drama of guan xiaotong and even though her ban hua takes a little time to grow on me, it definitely grew on you later, part of it thanks to rong xia. I definitely think having a soft spot on rong xia first mellows me towards the ban hua’s character later on.


However, i must say that for a historical drama, theres a few things that i have questions on:

-rong xia is basically just a minister, but he was basically given too much importance by the emperor to me, it was sometimes quite absurd.
-same with ban hua. Not sure she should be allowed such ‘power’, sensibly speaking. Being only just a xianzhu/junzhu, sometimes she got away with too much, as compared to say, the emperor blood second son by the empress ?. I mean, i get that her grandmother is the royal princess, but still, tone it down a little! Lol
-wherever is the emperor’s other consort? Lol. Well, maybe he just had the empress? Lol
-i still dont know whether rong xia should be versed in martial arts or not until the end? Sometimes he is, sometimes he’s not?
-everytime, it was always ban hua who got hurt, and even if rong xia got hurt initially as well (when he drank the poison to help ban hua counters hers and also when someone was sent to kill him), he was always portrayed to be completely well and healed on the next scene and it frustrates me. Lol

But overall, i really like this dramas. It is not too heavy and of course, as i said, rong xia is sooo adorbs i cant even. Lol. Not too mention, i like that the ban’a family is such a laid back family, with such a supportive parents and of course, a street-smart, silly little brother. Ban heng’s story with xie wanjun (and ban huai’s bickering with xie wanjun’s father) is a nice touch.

Ost is quite nice as well.

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A girl like none other- another one of my favorites

Love the pairing of Guan Xiao Tong and Neo Hou. Both are gorgeous though in a few episodes, NH’s makeup is too strong (e,g. Red lipstick?). That said, I just love this drama. I would say it’s a romantic comedy featuring 2 beautiful people without the sap, mix in some martial arts which the FL is good at, comic relief, drama, political intrigue, angst, great cinematography, beautiful sets and costumes… need I say more?

Ban Hua, the female protagonist, is a woman before her time. She is brash, strong willed, beautiful, fearless with good martial arts skills, not as educated as some of her peers who are jealous of her beauty and look down on her. Her character is likeable because she is straight forward, street smart, loves her family and is kind to the unfortunate. She has an undeserved bad reputation because 3 of her engagements were dissolved. She meets the good looking Rong Xia, the “number 1 scholar” and favorite courtier of the emperor, under 2 very embarrassing circumstances. She calls him a dull goose to his face when he wouldn’t go along with her white lie.

The rest of the story is a process of the 2 getting to know each other, their difficult courtship, trials and tribulations as he tries to unravel the mystery behind the tragedy of his family. XFS, the hypocritical #1 Talented woman, is Ban Hua’s love rival as she likes RX and schemes to do Ban Hua in, but RX has eyes only for BH once he falls for her. There are funny moments when BH tries to win RX over to help her brother, the # 1 wastrel. She uses the wrong volcabulary, forgets her lines, fakes gentleness because she thinks RX likes the SFX type.

BH has an unconventional family which also provides comic relief. Her father is a pushover, loves her and is afraid of his wife but is an honest courtier and loyal.

This is a light hearted drama which I will watch again and again for entertainment. The BH RX couple is too cute. But those who don’t like romance may not like it.

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Neo killed me with his acting!

I was supposed to read the novel (bookmarked it) but ended up watching the drama instead (didn't know it was the same until I did)! ------I don't regret anything tho.

First off, the story is amazing (obvs since I was gonna read it). The FL is the living definition of a strong, clever, independent (and rich) woman - she's basically like a Goddess and a subject of envy. The ML, perfectly matching her, is just as good (and cute. and cunning). They suit each other very well and look very good together. But the three things I liked the most in this drama are:
1. How FL's fam treats her (they're family-centered)
2. Neo calling the FL "Hua Hua" (man, I can see the hearts form his eyes)
3. The OST

And since I loved the drama, I'm still super in for the novel. It's so so worth rewatching!

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Enjoyable watch that fulls of plot twists

I don't think I'm exaggerating. Anyway, it's my fault that at the start I watched this drama without stopping until 37th episode. Then, life intruded. About more than a month later only I got to finish this drama. Now I don't hv that same drive or feeling to write a review when I was fresh finishing a drama in one go. I will try to do my best though. I might rewatch this in the future and edit back the review so who knows.

ML, Rongxia, was an intelligent scholar and a righteous man. When he finally fell in love, he became affectionate man and a fierce protector.

FL, Ban Hua, quite arrogant woman at the start, I mean, I get it, her family was a wealthy noble and related to the royal family too so ofc she lived in luxuries so that shaped her in a way. She was also not that smart in literatures and classics I think? since she was not quite interested in reading all that. BUT she was quite skilled in martial arts bcs of her grandfather. She got a character development throughout the drama when she tried her best to save her family but still fell in the trap by the villain and villainess. As she was the one closed to her fearsome legendary General grandfather, so she inherited his talent for fighting and strategizing in wars too.

I definitely enjoy other couples story, Ban Heng with Xie Wanyu and Softy with ML's assistant (I don't remember his name I'm sorry.

I was quite happy that they gave us happy ending, my kind of HEA when we got closure knowing what happened to everyone in the end. Well although I do wish to know what happened to the "new" Emperor's relationship with his "Empress".

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This is it, this is the sign you've been looking for, WATCH IT!

OH MAN, OH MAN, never mind the naysayers, YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS WUXIA CHINESE DRAMA!

I want to specifically write a review for each segment, story, cast, music, and overall.

STORY/PLOT
Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know where to start! The plot was just awesome, okay it may have its ups and downs but i swear it was never dragging. The filler episodes were fun to watch and I was SWOONING every time our ML and FL had sweet moments. Aside from that, the political part of the plot was enough to keep you watching more yet it's not borderline boring. I love how FL is such a badass, I literally screamed “YES QUEEN!!” Every time she did hot girl sht, it was awesome! ML is such a dashing man, smart, cunning, AND THE NUMBER ONE GENTLEMAN in Daye, hihihi YOU GUYS HAVE TO WATCH IT! Aside from that, the plot is unpredictable which makes it more exciting, I had too much “NOW HOL UP WHAT THE FREAK IS GOING ON” moments as the plot progressed, and I love it yall!

OF COURSE, ANOTHER THING I LOVE, I SWEAR TO ALL THE ANGELS AND SAINTS, SHI JIN DESERVES THE BEST SECOND LEAD AWARD. That man is so pure! His love for our FL is so freaking pure and wholesome I wanna cry- lol I already did.

ANTAGONISTS? Bruh I wanted to murder all of them one by one, but thank God they got what they deserved in the end.

CAST
THE CAST WAS AMAZING! FL, ML, Antagonists - which I cursed too many times - other supporting roles, all of it!! PERFECTLY CASTED! YES, no annoying actor/actress is present in this cdrama which makes me want to puke rainbows AAAAAHHH

MUSIC
HANDS DOWN, I’m still super lss with the ost’s. Although, at some point in the drama I wished they chose a much more appropriate set of bg music. You know, to make us cry more XD

OVERALL
AWESOME.. You have to watch it, definitely one of the best wuxia dramas I’ve ever watched. Aside from the FL being such a badass -yes I’m biased, I love women empowerment themes- the ML is so smart and super supportive of his lover. You guys have to watch it, definitely one of the best cdramas this 2021. I hope they make more chinese dramas like this! COS THIS IS SERIOUSLY A GEM!

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A girl like her

Found this drama while browsing YouTube, and was really positively impressed. While a bit reluctant at first, I got to like the heroine for her no nonsense approach to love and life, for bravely admitting who she is and what she likes, for not submitting to those who tried to make her sumissive.
Her choice in courting is direct and open, she speaks her mind always.
He family brings the comic relief in s pleasant way, no half/ fake smiles here..
Male lead is scholarly, handsome, cunning, much alike the character of Hei Fenxi from Who rules the world..and also gets smitten with the female lead. However his dark past will get in the way of their happiness for a while, until finally reunited in a happy ending.

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