Go Go Squid! (2019)

I really enjoyed watching this drama... I’m kind of sad that it’s over already. Great story with a very different concept in my point of view, pointing out very important values such as friendship, loyalty and perseverance. This is one a the few dramas where I grew to care for almost all of the characters, not just the main leads. I loved watching K&K trainees (DT, Grunt, 97, Demo and One) playing, supporting one another and gossiping about their boss; it was very heartwarming. I loved the main couple Tong Nian and Han Shanyan and the strong relationship they shared with their respectively best friends. The only thing I did not like much, was the kissing scenes; they were kind of awkward which is kind of normal in Chinese dramas.

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Opposites attract

First and foremost this drama is about relationships the CTF setting is just context so if you thought this was a gaming drama you will be disappointed.
There is enough contrast in the two main leads to add the uncertainty of how will they ever get together and if they do how will the maintain a relationship - but they do and the story is well told.
Tong Nian played by Yang Zi is bubbly, generous, smart and well loved by her family, friends and most who meet her.
Hang Shan Yan played by Li Xian is aloof, controlling, outcome driven and we learn later very lonely.
Both characters have a terrific ensemble of family and friends surrounding them and we are given enough exposure to make those characters add substance to the story.

I think this strange pairing works because the people surrounding Shan Yan want him to be with someone and have more than just the team and the goal of China winning the championship in his life.
Yang Zi has enough bravado/chutzpah to keep turning up in an effort to win him.
Despite there being 41 episodes time flew by for me. I never needed to skip or even feel bored the pace was good and even.
Music is also very apt.

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First I have to say that I did truly enjoyed watching this drama. I felt that the story it self was interesting because it was not your typical boy meets girl story. There were a lot of obstacles and misunderstanding between the characters, which is normal when you do not know each other, that I felt helps people develop and helped them fall into a relationship. Their development of each other also helped each other grow, especially the male lead, whom started stepping outside of his comfort zone and I did enjoy him doing things out of character for her. However there were times were I felt he was a bit unfair to her, and that because of issues that he personally had he treated her unfair, especially when she felt that she was helping. The female lead was just a bit to naïve for him and I felt that sometimes some of her decisions were just too focused on him and not herself. I do still highly recommend people to watch this drama since the actors were great.

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If you want to see a light fluffy and romantic story then go for it go go squid will be your cup of tea..... Superb acting light story funny touch gaming fun sportsmanship spirit are the highlight of the series I didn't like the ML at the start neither I like female lead because of her annoying start but with the time being both of them become so loveable that I would love to watch them again...... Also side stories are best and well fitted with the storyline although I m not a very big fan of nastologic feelings but this drama made me watch it without any difficulty and on the top voice of yang zi she really got cords jst a little complain story is too male lead oriented not much attention toward nian career as she was so successful .. All an all love to see the couple chemistry gaming scenes their growth together I highly recommend this dramaaaaaaa to everyone ?????

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A good rom-com with an engaging story to back up the cute

The promise of this show is not new but it was executed well. Acting was good and the story engaging. The interesting thing about the plot is that the love line is integral to the story but it doesn't drive it. It is the decade old friendship and e-sport world that forms the core of this drama. Because of that, the romance was fairly straightforward. There was a little bit of angst but no more than a few bumps. However, I don't quite understand why they introduce the senior as a competitor for the ML as it was quite obvious from the start (that is why I don't consider this as a spoiler) that he doesn't stand a chance with the FL. If anything, the writer took it too far and he would have been better served if he just come to his senses and bow out gracefully. What we ended up with a sad and broken man for little gain to the drama.
What is also interesting is the patriotic angle. Thankfully, it is not too jingoistic (except towards the end) and some may argue that it is more about making dreams come true for the younger generation. Whichever way you want to see it, it is not a hard sell and the drama is light and warm-hearted in most parts.
Back to the romance, there are several romantic plots in play, some front and centre and some were hinted at and stayed unanswered in the end. It was nice that there was not a lot of angst with the love lines and what there were was resolved fairly timely so that the OTP (and others) can spend more time being lovey-dovey and cute. Speaking of cute, the FL really knows how to do aegyo. Other FL can learn a thing or two from her. These romance sub plots were used well to space out the tense e-sport dramas and friendship angst and some of the funniest moments are generated by the interactions of the OTP.

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It was enjoyable but I think that I definitely liked the novel version more (somehow the flashbacks work better in the books). Another influencing factor was that the drama included the events from a series of novels so it was rather difficult to fit the entire backstory in 1 drama = LOTS of flashbacks needed. However what helped alot was that original author of the novel the drama is adapted from "Stewed Squid with Honey” i.e.Mo Bao Fei Bao was the screenwriter for the drama. So many times I've read the book & then the drama is NOTHING like the book (;￢_￢)

Li Xian was definitely great as Han Shang Yan - he really brought the character to life. It was interesting that he was successful and influential yet still struggled with his personal relationships & being misunderstood by others. It was nice to see a ML that wasn't this perfect emotionless robot that could do no wrong - I actually became really invested in HSY's backstory and his friendship with the other characters.

Also the other K&K boys were so cute ~

Overall it was a cute drama that I enjoyed because the characters were human: they were ambitious, they had ACTUAL emotions (they laughed, they cried, they fell in love, they got jealous ☆｡ﾟ+.(人-ω◕ฺ)ﾟ+.ﾟﾟ), made decisions that they regretted yet they were always supportive of each other.

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Cute girl warms the heart of cold serious boss!

To start off, I dropped this drama once because of the first 20 mins of the first episode. I felt that the scenes were too cringe because the FL was like putting in her all to attract the attention of ML. But I must say I am super super glad that I gave this drama another go! This is probably one of my faves such that I am shipping yangzi and Lixian together! I loved how FL was able to slowly melt the cold heart of ML! It’s so cute how his actions start to change because of her! Other than the romance, another great feature of this drama is the team spirit, patriotism and brotherhood! I loved the chemistry between the ML and his old team mates, they are more like family and some people find the flashbacks abit too much but I really loved them! ML’s interactions with the boys under him is just too cute! He is like their dad being all strict but then he really shows how he cares for them! The patriotism of ML is really touching to watch, he really wanted to help make China proud and it’s not too overbearing! ML and FL may have a 10 year age gap but they’re both amateurs in love so it was really cute how they make similar mistakes!

The e sports in this show is different from those that I watched before (love O2O & the kings avatar), in this show there is no character graphics in the game only coding. If you like those character graphics then this is not one of those shows!

I loved all the supporting characters, kk boys, wubai, Xiaomi, yaya, solo..... there is no bad guy in this show and that makes it so heartwarming!

The kk headquarters is so cool!! It has this like container concept going on! While watching this show I really wanna have the chance to go in there and play!

Also, I read that the ML role was first offered to yang yang but he couldn’t take it up because he was already confirmed for the Kong’s avatar. I love yang yang but I really cannot imagine anyone else other than lixian to act as Han Shang Yan.

If you like cute light hearted love stories and heart warming brotherhood, this show is a must watch! P.S. the OSTs are one of the best for C dramas!

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One of My Top 10 Favourite CDramas From Now On

I like everything about this show. Everything. The chemistry, the plot, the cast, the flashbacks.

What a wonderful story about hopes and dreams and love and friendship and familial bonds

I will always remember this line: "People with dreams will always be young.,"

100% worth rewatching a thousand times. This will be my go-to drama whenever I'm feeling down from now on. Super inspiring and hopeful

Review Breakdown

1. Acting
- Perfect
- Li Xian is really super charismatic here as Han Shangyan. He really carried and expressed all Han Shangyan's hopes and dreams and fears and worries
- Yang Zi. Again another wonderful performance from Yang Zi as Tong Nian. She made her cute and charming without being annoying
- The supporting cast. OMG. From the actor who played Mi Shaofei, to the guy who played Solo, to Ou Qiang to the actors who played Demo, Grunt, 97, Su Cheng, Xiao Ai, Yaya, Lan Mei.. to Niannian's parents to Han Shangyan's grandpa.. and Hu Yitian who played Wu Bai.. Everyone did their parts perfectly

2. Plot
- I loved it. I loved how the scriptwriter tied the severance of friendship to the team's disbandment
- I loved the flashbacks to 05 period
- I loved the development of Han Shangyan and Tong Nian's relationship. Although it seemed cliche for Niannian to fall in love at first sight, but it was well done.
- This show is so good. It never has a slow moment. Never.


3. Casting
- Perfect. Everyone was perfect. Only 1 small thing bothered me.. Wang Zhener was great as Ai Qing/Appledog but she didn't have any romantic chemistry with Hu Yitian..

4. OST
This show has one of the best OSTs in Cdrama land and even Asian drama land.

无名之辈 is gonna be on my Spotify playlist forever.
I also loved the use of 海阔天空 to represent their lost hopes and dreams

Production Quality
- Amazing


If you've ever dreamt of being great, if you've ever feared mediocrity, if you ever questioned your purpose in this world, you have to watch this show. Because this show is for you and for everyone who's ever had a dream.

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This was a interesting drama, I liked it! It had like in-game, and like a lot of different stories going on as well.

From the background of the team, to the love interest. I really liked Yang Zi who played Tong Nian, and Li Xian, who played Han Shangyan. But I think the one thing that did bother me was the age gap they made them to be, was it like 10years age gap?

Even though Asians don't Raisin and reality they were pretty much closer in age! I feel like it would have been a bit better if they were a little closer in age! But I know, not all stories are like that. I think one thing that annoyed me most was the mother, or just how she intervened in their relationship and ended up making Tong Nian really upset over someone she really liked!

I know Tong Nian was really young in the story, but I feel like they could have made her a little less clueless if that makes sense. But I did enjoyed the show altogether though, and really ended up liking Hu Yitian who plays Wu Bai, such a like cold character yet, smart and like you know he's just a cute little sweet guy you know <3

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I simply loved this show! I started watching it several times, 4 to be exact, and didn't get far through the first episode. But in the end I pushed myself through it and fall in love with this drama. Normally I do not watch (e)-sport series, because, you know, there is only 1 winnar. But somehow this drama got me in. May be I was watching it in the right mood, but their friendship, dreams and how they pursued their dreams touched me very deep in my heart. It is not even the romance that I liked the most (it was very cute and fluffy though) but the feeling that they gave me, that you should not give up you dreams. The music was fantastic and suited the moments very well. I almost never skipped the opening. I recommend it to everyone!

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Absolutely wonderful drama with the most adorable leads and a sweet story

This drama didn't have a huge interestingly suspenseful plot but it had a pretty good plot and the storyline was developed really well. It was very entertaining to watch and felt very satisfyingly joyful. It is a very good drama! The actors have done a great job and I loved watching all the actors, the leads had GREAT chemistry too! The cast have done a great job! The music too was just as joyous as the drama and complimented the scenes really well. Overall, This is a really wonderful drama with adorable leads that have amazing chemistry and a really sweet love story that is adorable and super entertaining to watch. 💻🌐👩‍🎓💘🧑‍💻🖥🖱

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Her Highness Squid goes on a hunting trip

I really liked this drama. It checks nearly all the boxes in the fluffy romcom genre. Despite the drama having 41 episodes the OTP's journey doesn't get boring for a second, almost every moment the two leads are on screen together is a joy to watch. Their chemistry is great & they have portrayed relatively unique personalities with a lot of charm. The female lead looks kind of like a chibi vampire, I found her visuals very amusing. The actor depicting the ML did a great job, Li Xian fits this persona well. It's also worth noting that the leads conveyed emotion superbly, they did not overdo what I call "super eloquent chill Mandarin speech", in other cdramas actors delivering their lines with almost robotic emotionlessness is a recurring problem..
There is no love triangle, which is always a huge positive for me. The way how Little Squid chased after HSY in the early episodes was really fun, albeit a little creepy.
The ratio between the Esports stuff & the romance is about 50/50 which feels just about right. There are fundamental problems with the Esports related content, but still it's hugely more interesting to watch than office politics, or God forgive court life in a Saeguk.
The drama is nicely wrapped up, the ending is fairly satisfying.

I've been super entertained, hence the 9/10 rating, however objectively it should probably stop at 7. The biggest problem with the drama is that there is only enough meaningful content for about 30 episodes. In the first half there are way to many flashbacks of past events and more than half of these are extremely boring, using the fastforward button is a must. In the second half the flashbacks become even worse, some of them are just 1:1 repeats of flashbacks we've already seen and some others are just present time scenes from earlier episodes.

There quite a few additional things I can quibble about, don't take these too seriously, but here we go. ⇊

Hu Yi Tian role in this drama is a bit confusing & meaningless. Other reviewers talked about how he is too big of a star for this role and I do agree, but to me it seems he spent less than 1 hour filming most of his scenes. He is not present in most scenes, not sitting anywhere on the bus, simply he is just not there whenever the camera is pointing at multiple team members. It seems like first they recorded the dialog without him being there & then later they just showed us a close up of him reacting with a similar enough looking blurred backdrop.

How the inevitable breakup occurred irked me a little. Specifically how ML promised mom that he would break off all relations & stay away forever, a conviction that only lasted at most like two weeks. I mean it sounded almost like he is making on oath and then.. In the comment section I saw recommendations that it's the best to just skip episodes 20-30. Personally I feel that would be a pretty big mistake. The official breakup only lasted from ep22 to 26 and there is not much angst there, I wouldn't even call this real separation. Arguably those were some of the better episodes and I did not even care about the YaYa couple's story all that much.

Product placements were a real problem, some of them were so separate from the flow of the story, that they can just be considered regular ad breaks. At one point the team went to some sort of luxury resort. The ML who is supposedly always low on cash stayed in a room that shared a transparent wall with a giant aquarium with sharks in it and later on he invited FL over to stay in the presidential suite. (they called it "her room") There is no way those were not honking product placements, right?

Every now and then there were some weird dubbed voiceover happenings. This did not bother me too much, but I'm mildly curious if it was related to some sort of microphone failure, or they just changed some of the dialog in post..

CTF is completely different from how it's described in this drama. Reaction time and APM are hardly relevant things, it's more like highly trained IT experts/programmers solve puzzles, some parts of CTF competitions involve speed, but it's hardly the deciding factor. This is related to another problem, how moms in the show don't see the value in what these kids are doing. CTF competitors can easily get prestigious jobs in the IT industry. To me it feels like the novel this is based off of is about gaming & the writers were just too lazy to replace the story and dialog that seems clearly League of Legends related. Like there is no way in hell that a top of the line CTF expert wouldn't "speak the same language" as Tong Nian.
People doing intense mouse movements in gaming chairs, while a group of commentators can barely keep up with what's happening makes no sense in the context of CTF.

There were a few cringy foreigner related scenes. People speaking Chinese in an environment that does not make any sense etc.

Lastly the Chinese patriotism was a bit too much, then again I've seen quite a few American sports movies where they went even further..

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