Hanah
Simple concept, absolutely beautiful execution
Falling Into Your Smile is a cute, simplistic but extremely well made romcom. It is a treat to watch, especially for those sweet, aww-worthy moments.
The story is very well-balanced between romance and gaming. Although there are quite a few e-sports dramas now, having a female gamer gives it a fresh angle and the prejudice and struggles Tong Yao goes through sound very true-to-life, especially hearing about Chine's netizen culture. The romance moments are so sweet. There are quite a few blink-and-you-might-miss-it-moments and flirty verbal moments that I think are much cuter than the obvious staring into each others eyes for 5 minutes while the music plays scenes.
I liked our leads well enough. I appreciated how importance is placed on Tong Yao skills as e-gamer and dedication. The actress is really good at playing cute, which I've found through extensive drama watching is not as easy as it looks. I really liked all other the characters as well, whose interactions were very fun to watch. It's nice how enough development is given to the numerous side characters so it is possible to find personal favorites and they are not all clones. I like how a lot is put on the teamwork aspect and it not just one person carrying the team. I also liked how the e-sports community felt like...well, a nice, tight-knit community. Members were friends across teams, people supported one another, competitions were fair and everyone vaguely knew or knew of each other. It kind of reminds me when people 'reminisce' about previous Kpop eras when groups collaborated more often, even across different companies, and fandoms weren't so crazy (side note: this is per numerous online comments, I cannot say how accurate it is on then vs now).
The production was pretty good, but at times felt overproduced. The acting was very good but it sometimes felt like there was so much skin filtering or smoothening or something that facial expressions looked stiff. The worse was then people would comment on how someone's face would look so red or with dark circles and all you see is this perfectly made-up and glamourized look. Like, if you are going to have a bunch of people comment on how someone is embarrassed and beet-red, at least make her look a little flushed or something.
Overall, this is a simple and sweet romcom that stays in romcom territory. I was debating between an 8 vs 8.5 since it's not a grand masterpiece but ended up choosing 8.5 because it achieves what it tries to do. This is a great watch when you in the mood for something light and fluffy but still well made or something to relax to after a long day.
The story is very well-balanced between romance and gaming. Although there are quite a few e-sports dramas now, having a female gamer gives it a fresh angle and the prejudice and struggles Tong Yao goes through sound very true-to-life, especially hearing about Chine's netizen culture. The romance moments are so sweet. There are quite a few blink-and-you-might-miss-it-moments and flirty verbal moments that I think are much cuter than the obvious staring into each others eyes for 5 minutes while the music plays scenes.
I liked our leads well enough. I appreciated how importance is placed on Tong Yao skills as e-gamer and dedication. The actress is really good at playing cute, which I've found through extensive drama watching is not as easy as it looks. I really liked all other the characters as well, whose interactions were very fun to watch. It's nice how enough development is given to the numerous side characters so it is possible to find personal favorites and they are not all clones. I like how a lot is put on the teamwork aspect and it not just one person carrying the team. I also liked how the e-sports community felt like...well, a nice, tight-knit community. Members were friends across teams, people supported one another, competitions were fair and everyone vaguely knew or knew of each other. It kind of reminds me when people 'reminisce' about previous Kpop eras when groups collaborated more often, even across different companies, and fandoms weren't so crazy (side note: this is per numerous online comments, I cannot say how accurate it is on then vs now).
The production was pretty good, but at times felt overproduced. The acting was very good but it sometimes felt like there was so much skin filtering or smoothening or something that facial expressions looked stiff. The worse was then people would comment on how someone's face would look so red or with dark circles and all you see is this perfectly made-up and glamourized look. Like, if you are going to have a bunch of people comment on how someone is embarrassed and beet-red, at least make her look a little flushed or something.
Overall, this is a simple and sweet romcom that stays in romcom territory. I was debating between an 8 vs 8.5 since it's not a grand masterpiece but ended up choosing 8.5 because it achieves what it tries to do. This is a great watch when you in the mood for something light and fluffy but still well made or something to relax to after a long day.
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