starfalls
So cute, but heroine is seriously lacking
The high ratings I gave this show are well deserved.
First, they tackle a lot of issues I didn't expect to see in an E-sports drama at all (like girls in sports, sexism, toxic dating habits (Not a spoiler, I promise!), etc.) and so that was really cool!
Second, the acting was really amazing! Some of the best I've seen in a C-drama! Xu Kai killed it from start to finish and I have no complaints about any of the other actors (which is so very rare for me)!
Third, the story was ridiculously engaging. I don't know what the writer's did to make it so interesting, but whatever it was, I want more of it. Because WOW did it work! Even though I had tons of other work and prior engagements, I watched this in a week! It really is that good! Seriously, give it a shot and if you're not hooked after the first episode, then I guess the magic of this show doesn't speak to you.
Now to get onto some of the bad things... okay, no singular bad thing.
The show did deal with sexism, which is great. Except that Tong Yao had absolutely no personality. She was so flat and giving Mary Sue for 95% of the show that I kept accidentally trying to attribute more character to her than she presented to compensate. She is a complete blank space for the majority of the series. You could've replaced her character with a literal plant and the effect would have been the exact same.
Now, to be clear, I do not blame Cheng Xiao. Her performance was excellent. 10/10. In the moments when Tong Yao does show a bit of personality, Cheng Xiao's performance blew me AWAY. So, like WHY was it covered up for the majority of the show?? I don't know, but it's clear to me that Cheng Xiao is not the problem.
The problem is the writers because it was the literal story and character concept that completely obliterated Tong Yao's personality. You're thrown into the shown with this badass, doesn't really care about the rules gal with a lollipop in her mouth, but within five episodes, she's been broken down by the industry and is acting like a "good" E-sports girl. And it's kind of like "so this show deals with sexism and how bad it is, but also can't have a feminist FL....?" like, literally what?!
It can get veryyyyy annoying, especially in the later episodes when the romance starts to heat up. Because Lu Sicheng is making your freaking heart melt and then Tong Yao is like *peace brah*. So, I need someone to explain to me why they did this, because it's jail. I will not accept it.
Also! literally every side character has more personality than Tong Yao. I ended the show feeling more confident about the rest of her team's personalities and freaking Xiao Rui than I did about Tong Yao, which is just simply not right.
SHE'S THE FL!!! How can I NOT be aware of her personality???? Is she goofy? Is she lovable? Does she enjoy anything other than Japanese food and cats? I DON'T KNOW!! And that's absolutely crazy to me!
So, mini rant aside and over with, this IS still a fantastic show. And I am going to re-watch it. So cute, so fluffy, so adorable! It gave me all the best feels! I just wish they'd gone full throttle with their "girls can do anything" campaign and kept Tong Yao as a badass with an incredible personality all her own, but unfortunately we can't always get everything we want *sigh*
First, they tackle a lot of issues I didn't expect to see in an E-sports drama at all (like girls in sports, sexism, toxic dating habits (Not a spoiler, I promise!), etc.) and so that was really cool!
Second, the acting was really amazing! Some of the best I've seen in a C-drama! Xu Kai killed it from start to finish and I have no complaints about any of the other actors (which is so very rare for me)!
Third, the story was ridiculously engaging. I don't know what the writer's did to make it so interesting, but whatever it was, I want more of it. Because WOW did it work! Even though I had tons of other work and prior engagements, I watched this in a week! It really is that good! Seriously, give it a shot and if you're not hooked after the first episode, then I guess the magic of this show doesn't speak to you.
Now to get onto some of the bad things... okay, no singular bad thing.
The show did deal with sexism, which is great. Except that Tong Yao had absolutely no personality. She was so flat and giving Mary Sue for 95% of the show that I kept accidentally trying to attribute more character to her than she presented to compensate. She is a complete blank space for the majority of the series. You could've replaced her character with a literal plant and the effect would have been the exact same.
Now, to be clear, I do not blame Cheng Xiao. Her performance was excellent. 10/10. In the moments when Tong Yao does show a bit of personality, Cheng Xiao's performance blew me AWAY. So, like WHY was it covered up for the majority of the show?? I don't know, but it's clear to me that Cheng Xiao is not the problem.
The problem is the writers because it was the literal story and character concept that completely obliterated Tong Yao's personality. You're thrown into the shown with this badass, doesn't really care about the rules gal with a lollipop in her mouth, but within five episodes, she's been broken down by the industry and is acting like a "good" E-sports girl. And it's kind of like "so this show deals with sexism and how bad it is, but also can't have a feminist FL....?" like, literally what?!
It can get veryyyyy annoying, especially in the later episodes when the romance starts to heat up. Because Lu Sicheng is making your freaking heart melt and then Tong Yao is like *peace brah*. So, I need someone to explain to me why they did this, because it's jail. I will not accept it.
Also! literally every side character has more personality than Tong Yao. I ended the show feeling more confident about the rest of her team's personalities and freaking Xiao Rui than I did about Tong Yao, which is just simply not right.
SHE'S THE FL!!! How can I NOT be aware of her personality???? Is she goofy? Is she lovable? Does she enjoy anything other than Japanese food and cats? I DON'T KNOW!! And that's absolutely crazy to me!
So, mini rant aside and over with, this IS still a fantastic show. And I am going to re-watch it. So cute, so fluffy, so adorable! It gave me all the best feels! I just wish they'd gone full throttle with their "girls can do anything" campaign and kept Tong Yao as a badass with an incredible personality all her own, but unfortunately we can't always get everything we want *sigh*
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