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China needs more Esports dramas
This drama blew my expectations of what a Chinese drama could be. I didn't think an esports drama could be as good as Falling Into Your Smile. TLDR: The story could use some work with some points of the story being drawn out and some points being not as well explained, but I think the story overall was still really good. The acting, on the other hand, was lackluster but still better compared to some of the other competition. I think the music from WayV and Seventeen fit the theme of the story with perfection. What makes this drama stand out over dramas like Love 020 and Kings Avatar, however, is it's rewatch value because this drama has so many small details that you can miss. To any new C-Drama watcher, I definitely recommend this drama.
Story - 9/10
The story is quite good in general, however there are sections that aren't really explained in much detail. I find Cheng Xiao's character to be written quite poorly. I don't think there is quite as much character development in her. The only character development the story gets is with the Korean player defeating her in the game, however, the plot point really misses the mark towards the conclusion of the story arc. I don't think it takes away from the story quite enough to deduct points but its something that I marked down on my notes. I think the supporting cast like Lao Mao and Lao K could have gotten more screentime. They have some really funny bits but I feel like it could have been expanded upon even more, but when they were on the screen, it was absolutely excruciatingly funny. I also find the female and male lead to have really nice interactions throughout the story. That's why although there are some sections where the writing could have been better, the general gist of the story was well done and there was good, funny bits from the supporting case which deserves a 9.
Acting - 8/10
Cheng Xiao is a great singer. She's a great entertainer, but she doesn't belong in acting. I know it sounds harsh, but her acting felt out of place throughout the show in some places. I don't she shouldn't ever act again, but I don't think it was as polished in this show. With that said, I think she has a lot of potential to be one of if not the best singer turned actor in modern C-Drama history. I can see the potential in the emotional scenes. When they hit, they hit really hard. I think Xu Kai's acting was the same as all of his other roles. He has this cold hearted man turned nice role in the majority of his shows which I find somewhat peculiar. It doesn't take away from his role in this show since it fits the show perfectly and his acting was some of the best I have ever seen from him, and believe me when I say I've seen a ton of shows from him. The supporting cast was definitely the best casting and acting I have ever seen in a modern C-Drama, especially Xiao Pang. He has a really big range from being emotional in one scene to being cute to being hilarious. All of that said, the acting was good in general, but I think there are some points deducted from Cheng Xiao, but I definitely think if this drama was done in 2024, this category would definitely be better. Waiting for Cheng Xiao's next role, hope she proves me right.
Music - 9.5/10
The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful. I don't think there could have been another original soundtrack that could have beaten the one they had for Falling Into Your Smile. I also really enjoyed the features from bands like WayV and Seventeen making appearances. I think their songs fit each Esports team's main idea. If you read the lyrics, it adds extra details to how each team adds. I like the extra marketing effort with Everytime by WayV and FNATIC. I think it was really cool to see an actual esport team represent in an esports drama for one of the very first times, despite the drama surrounding it (I don't really know what its about so if someone could explain that would be great). I also thought the Chinese bands did a great job for ZGDX team theme which in Chinese was a really good sample of past music for gaming. The subtle hints to League of Legends were amazing and brought me back to League's hayday. The only reason why this category is not a 10/10 is because sometimes they overplay the music. I think the only reason why I don't have the songs from this drama on repeat is because of how many times they repeated them in the actual drama.
Rewatch Value - 10/10
There is absolutely no question with this. I know many people don't like rewatching this drama. To those people who don't like to rewatch this drama, you aren't a real critic. You don't recognize the best parts and small details in this drama like how you can see the FNATIC players stream and how he donated to the FL. There were many different small details that people could have missed. I loved rewatching this drama to find the small details that I didn't see the first or second time. I feel like more people would agree if they actually rewatched this. I think the wholesome love between the FL and ML were made to a ripe perfection that can't be matched.
Story - 9/10
The story is quite good in general, however there are sections that aren't really explained in much detail. I find Cheng Xiao's character to be written quite poorly. I don't think there is quite as much character development in her. The only character development the story gets is with the Korean player defeating her in the game, however, the plot point really misses the mark towards the conclusion of the story arc. I don't think it takes away from the story quite enough to deduct points but its something that I marked down on my notes. I think the supporting cast like Lao Mao and Lao K could have gotten more screentime. They have some really funny bits but I feel like it could have been expanded upon even more, but when they were on the screen, it was absolutely excruciatingly funny. I also find the female and male lead to have really nice interactions throughout the story. That's why although there are some sections where the writing could have been better, the general gist of the story was well done and there was good, funny bits from the supporting case which deserves a 9.
Acting - 8/10
Cheng Xiao is a great singer. She's a great entertainer, but she doesn't belong in acting. I know it sounds harsh, but her acting felt out of place throughout the show in some places. I don't she shouldn't ever act again, but I don't think it was as polished in this show. With that said, I think she has a lot of potential to be one of if not the best singer turned actor in modern C-Drama history. I can see the potential in the emotional scenes. When they hit, they hit really hard. I think Xu Kai's acting was the same as all of his other roles. He has this cold hearted man turned nice role in the majority of his shows which I find somewhat peculiar. It doesn't take away from his role in this show since it fits the show perfectly and his acting was some of the best I have ever seen from him, and believe me when I say I've seen a ton of shows from him. The supporting cast was definitely the best casting and acting I have ever seen in a modern C-Drama, especially Xiao Pang. He has a really big range from being emotional in one scene to being cute to being hilarious. All of that said, the acting was good in general, but I think there are some points deducted from Cheng Xiao, but I definitely think if this drama was done in 2024, this category would definitely be better. Waiting for Cheng Xiao's next role, hope she proves me right.
Music - 9.5/10
The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful. I don't think there could have been another original soundtrack that could have beaten the one they had for Falling Into Your Smile. I also really enjoyed the features from bands like WayV and Seventeen making appearances. I think their songs fit each Esports team's main idea. If you read the lyrics, it adds extra details to how each team adds. I like the extra marketing effort with Everytime by WayV and FNATIC. I think it was really cool to see an actual esport team represent in an esports drama for one of the very first times, despite the drama surrounding it (I don't really know what its about so if someone could explain that would be great). I also thought the Chinese bands did a great job for ZGDX team theme which in Chinese was a really good sample of past music for gaming. The subtle hints to League of Legends were amazing and brought me back to League's hayday. The only reason why this category is not a 10/10 is because sometimes they overplay the music. I think the only reason why I don't have the songs from this drama on repeat is because of how many times they repeated them in the actual drama.
Rewatch Value - 10/10
There is absolutely no question with this. I know many people don't like rewatching this drama. To those people who don't like to rewatch this drama, you aren't a real critic. You don't recognize the best parts and small details in this drama like how you can see the FNATIC players stream and how he donated to the FL. There were many different small details that people could have missed. I loved rewatching this drama to find the small details that I didn't see the first or second time. I feel like more people would agree if they actually rewatched this. I think the wholesome love between the FL and ML were made to a ripe perfection that can't be matched.
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