"Sweet Combat?" More like, "What Combat?"

Pros:
The acting is mostly good, with the supporting cast in particular knocking it out of the park. Not just with the acting but their stories were honestly more interesting than the main plot. Even one of the villains gets sort of a redemption arc as the series goes on and it was genuinely interesting to see them try to become a better person. Cheng Yanan is honestly one of the best tom boys I've seen as of late, and Sun Hao was just the best part of the show period. There's one fight towards the end that was honestly well choreographed. Also the characters have really good taste in fashion. The T-Shirts are honestly some of the best visual gags.

Cons:
For a show whose opening plays up everyone's interest in martial arts, it's not really a focus at all. The tournaments barely last longer than half an episode and you don't get the sense that what happens in them actually means anything for the characters personally. Then there's the actual plot, aka the romance between Ming Tian and Fang Yu. It was one of the worst on again off again romances I've seen. Ming Tian does nothing wrong, all of the conflict comes from things out of his control or the actions of other people. It's more Fang Yu having to overcome obstacles that she creates for herself to be with him, which leads to just constant annoyance as opposed to actual tension. Fang Yu is the most frustrating character in the series and I was constantly begging the tv to just have Ming Tian forget about her and find someone else.

Then there's our star, easily the weakest actor in the group, (excluding the children), though that's hardly surprising considering he's got nothing to work with with how dull the script is. He hardly has any agency throughout the entire series. It's such a joke when the three side romances has better development and a more believable conflict than the main one.

None of the male characters talk to each other unless it's about the girls, excluding the bad guys that is. Oh they actually talk to each other and other male characters, but that's because they're evil I guess. Sun Hao, aka best boi, has like maybe three conversations total with Ming Tian, and two of those have to do with romancing Fang Yu. Is there a male version of the Bechtel test because oh wow this show would fail 85% of the time.

Finally, the product placement here is laughably awful. It honestly becomes a drinking game to see just how much is trying to be sold to the public and that's with me not understanding Chinese characters and brands.

Final thoughts:
This show is trash and a waste of your time. Do not watch unless you want to test if you can stomach the endurance test that is Fang Yu and Ming Tian's relationship. On the lighter side though this did get me to watch the Taoism Grandmaster just to see Pei Zitian (Sun Hao) in a leading role. I'm hoping this guy hits it big. Looking forward to Legend of the White Snake.

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