This review may contain spoilers
A lifetime of sacrifices, an enduring friendship
A prince of ping pong meets his match. Arrogant Yu Ke Nan grows up under the pressure of his father to become a world champion in Ping Pong. Meanwhile, reserved Xu Tan's family pressures him to use his brain and talents elsewhere. The two polar opposites personalities meet at the provincial training, and Xu Tan slowly becomes friends with Yu Ke Nan, supporting each other through training. Yu Ke Nan teaches Xu Tan to fight for the things he wants, while Xu Tan teaches him a love for ping pong and drive for self improvement he didn't know he had.
The two friends grow up, face extensive mental and physical challenges, and become world athletes, learning to deal with challenges both individually and together. It's a wholesome drama that has you cheering for Xu Tan.
The not so great things:
The main villain (Coach Zheng Hao) gets off quite lightly after lying about and mentally / physically abusing the athletes under his care. It seems like the drama would rather put the coach / mentee relationship on a pedestal than punish bad coaches.
Yu Ke Nan and Xu Tan's romantic storylines were quite boring. I understand why they were included - to nail home that champions often have to deprioritize everything else, including romantic love, to hone their craft.
Set design was pretty cheap. You could tell that the hospital room was the same as Lei Lei's room, just with some different furniture. Same with some of the homes / hotel rooms.
The two friends grow up, face extensive mental and physical challenges, and become world athletes, learning to deal with challenges both individually and together. It's a wholesome drama that has you cheering for Xu Tan.
The not so great things:
The main villain (Coach Zheng Hao) gets off quite lightly after lying about and mentally / physically abusing the athletes under his care. It seems like the drama would rather put the coach / mentee relationship on a pedestal than punish bad coaches.
Yu Ke Nan and Xu Tan's romantic storylines were quite boring. I understand why they were included - to nail home that champions often have to deprioritize everything else, including romantic love, to hone their craft.
Set design was pretty cheap. You could tell that the hospital room was the same as Lei Lei's room, just with some different furniture. Same with some of the homes / hotel rooms.
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