Falling Into Your Smile (2021)

Amazing iirst 20 eps, but starts dragging its feet towards the finish line

Short placeholder review for now.

First 20 eps were great. Solid balance of romance and gaming. Although Douban seriously hates this drama (mostly because Chinese viewers don't like how it "disrespects professional gamers"), I thought it was a great and fun watch. The first 20 episodes had great character building and we got to see the amazing supporting characters as well. Strong female lead - although she's the quiet and stern type, she's not shy - great change of pace from all the bubbly/upbeat/naive female leads we normally see.

The episodes definitely start dragging past episode 20. Once the main character gets together, the plot becomes messier, both from their gaming standpoint and real-life standpoint. The first 20 episodes paint their team as the favorite so the plot has to introduce challenges. Sometimes a game takes too long to finish and other times, are way too short. Sometimes, it feels like their team moves backwards as well (unexpectedly suffering from arrogance or extreme sadness from losing a game - very different from the general atmosphere of the drama and a bit out of character). The real-life plot points also follow one cliche after the next - scumbag male lead, fan backlash from revealing their relationship, crazy fans, misunderstandings, etc. It's natural to have challenges for the main couple to face, but some of these plots took away from the strengths of the drama. I would have liked to see more organic plots, perhaps learning more about the side characters or more about the male lead's family and their business.

Nonetheless, still a very enjoyable show. I'd recommend watching this for the female lead herself. Finally a down to earth main character. She's had a relationship so she knows what to expect. She's calm, cool, collected and great at her profession, but isn't a Mary Sue. Finally more nuance in a character rather than being upbeat all the time and blushing at everything the male lead says. The gaming portion is done well and the animation is a step up. Romance is also developed gradually but also has some faults at time. Would recommend.

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My Favorite E-Sports Chinese Drama

Even though I grew up playing video games, Chinese dramas involving competitive gaming are almost always a miss for me. I liked some aspects of LoveO2O, Go Go Squid, You Are My Glory, Gank My Heart etc… But I basically skipped all scenes that involved gaming. So yeah, basically the entire drama. I can’t help it, it’s just a sub-genre that is not made for me.

Falling Into Your Smile is different. I found myself actually being invested in the storyline. Who will win this match? Will they win the championship? How will they overcome their competition? And if there’s anything to attribute this difference to it would be the amazing characters. I found all of them quite lovable, but especially the FL; which I’m over the moon about, because I love it when the women of ‘dramaland’ shine more than their counterparts. The ML and the rest of the team members are also pretty great. I found myself wanting to root for them, and it was enjoyable to watch the whole team dynamic throughout the show. I always appreciate it when it feels like I’m watching multiple people’s stories instead of just the two main characters.

But speaking of the two mains, their romance was darn cute and the chemistry was convincing. Even though I don’t think I’ll be rushing to rewatch this anytime soon, I’m happy to have watched it once!

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too sweet.... #1 fav

i've completed watching this long ago, but came back to write an review so more people can come and watch this masterpiece.
- the ost is just amazing, the songs for the tournaments are absolutely flawless it makes it seem more intense and addicting to watch!!
- the actors are so cuteeeeee, I really want more Xu Kai and Cheng Xiao dramas together EEEEE
- no breakups ok? <3
- love how they got thru some much problems together (so cute)
- cute kissing scenes I love it
- no second lead evil girl (I hate that the most, and I'm glad there is none
- beautifully made <3
- pls season and YOU
MUST
WATCH

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Tong Yao: You Make Me Proud

I put off watching this show for a while now. With many excuses being too many good reviews, too many episodes, having bad experiences with C-Dramas, and lastly disliking Go Go Squid.

So if you are like me, always focus on the negative. My word of advice, listen to the positive reviews just the one time!

This show has changed my outlook on Cdramas and on Asian Dramas as a whole. I am someone who loves gaming but never got into esports. So how was I supposed to love this drama?

The female lead.
My God. She just may be the best-written character in all of C-Drama Land maybe even in Asian Dramas as a whole. I have never come across such a powerful written female lead before. Never once did I find her annoying, obnoxious, whiny, or anything negative. I grew so fond of her character I was surprised because I have never really fully enjoyed a C-Female Lead before. There has always been something off. My only complaint was her being called short and then googling her height to find out she's 5'6 but that's such a small thing that it's so irrelevant about how amazing her character was.

Do you want mean female second leads? Shady best friends? In-Law Drama? Complicated love triangles? No?
Well good, this drama has really no drama like that. Yes, there was a love triangle here, maybe even a crush a male lead there. But it never was that pungent enough to get you furious and it was short. The "love triangles" were some of the healthiest I have ever seen. Now don't get me wrong this is not me saying there wasn't conflict but it was all realistic stuff that would happen.

31 episodes seem like a lot?
Yeah, I said that once too. Yet, I binged this whole show within 5 days. Yes. No big breaks in between. In my past experiences with C-dramas (*cough* Go Go Squid *cough*), I would take long breaks and then eventually end up dropping the show. Or the only way I would stick with the show is if I watched it as it was airing. This time no breaks. Completed the drama and enjoyed every minute of it. No skips were needed, the story hooks you in, even when you think it wouldn't

I don't play video games, and I don't watch Esports, will I like this?
Fantastic question, I am biased. I like video games, however, I don't play competitive games so I thought the same. How would I like this? I don't like action in dramas... I always get stressed over the littlest of things. And yes, even though I was indeed stressed from watching the competitions, I never skipped through them. I was never bored of them. You must understand this drama is about an Esport team, so it is heavily based on esports, training, and competing. Just like a school drama is about first love, homework, big exams, graduating. So don't expect there to be little competitions. I found myself so engrossed within the competitions. The animations were amazing, I never felt bored. Plus, this game was wayyyyyy more interesting than Go Go Squids boring competition which felt very one-dimensional.

How's the romance?
I don't know what it was about this drama, but it felt so fresh. The way the male lead looked at her, the transition from teammates to friends to lovers. At first, I thought "wow they make such good friends how are they going to transition this?" That transition, their interactions, had me GIGGLING like a middle schooler watching her first drama! It was so cute and felt so new and fresh.

I think that covers most grounds. To the first drama, I have enjoyed from China in a long time. Thank you for reigniting my love for Asian Dramas. Surprisingly, never done by me before, these couple scenes are rewatch-worthy!!!!

So go on! Stop hesitating and watch this cute drama!!!

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Fantastic chemistry, addicting actors

I didn't expect to like this drama. I am not much of a c-drama fan, they tend to be more fast and well, drama-like? I expected for this to be a regular watch. HOWEVER... I am actualy obsessed.

The acting and chemistry were immaculate. The amount of chemistry there was insane I need Cheng Xiao and Xu Kai to have another drama together, it was so sweet and so beautiful, despite the story being predictable, I was left craving for more and more because every scene just had that special flare.

I watched this in one go. As much as I usualy skip certain parts during binge-days, most of the scenery shots etc, I enjoyed this way too much to actualy skip. The camera work was pretty fun, I loved the studio, it was quite modern yet exciting. I also really REALLY loved the music, am used to very lovey dovey songs on OST albums, but there are some fun noisier tracks on this one and I was in love the whole time.

To sum it up, I am definitely a stamp and I was very much collected by this drama.

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Watch. And decide for your heart if its worth it .

This drama is a must watch drama.
I love the added CGs during game fights. It made it more interesting.
The plot is well developed.
Applause for perfect character development.
I love the side cps. I also love the unofficial cp *cough*Cat & K*cough*.
*cough*This is the first c-drama I've watched with a censored bl side cp.*cough*
This was one very wholesome cdrama of 2021.
This drama needs to have season 2.
Its just sad that this drama is not well received on China right now so the possibility of a second season is low. I hope that international rates can help the producers decide that this is worth a second season.

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I recommend it if you can see past the issues.

Honestly I quite liked it. I don’t binge watch stuff often but I binge watched this. Even though I had quite a few issues with the show I watched this looking for a weird romantic comedy and that’s what I got. But here’s my issues
1. The in your face product placement. It was the worst I’ve seen in any show. Some actual ads are less weird about it.
2. How often I wanted to smack the love interest. That’s pretty self explanatory but in some ways their relationship being rough around the edges made it more real. But often it made me uncomfortable/annoyed.
3. My favourite characters were the other teammates and they barely got any character development. I wanted to see more of them.
4. They treat eating lollipops like smoking because they couldn’t have him smoking. It was really dumb. (And other general issues with Chinese media)
5. People that actually like stuff like E-sports and the team based video games it’s about apparently don’t like the show very much. That didn’t affect me too much personally but I can see why it would be the biggest issue for some people.

So there were quite a few issues I had but most of the time the good outweighed the bad. I recommend it if you just want to watch a weird romantic comedy and can see past the issues.

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Reeled in by the e-sports theme; stayed for the cast

At first glance, I was apprehensive about the drama being e-sport themed as it seemed gimmicky. I was pleasantly surprised that the drama itself was more focused on a variety of relevant topics: coming-of-age stories, the duality of social media and how damaging it can be, and more. Definitely one of the better dramas I've watched recently.

What I Liked?

[1] *Xu Kai and Cheng Xiao*: as male/female lead pairings go, this has to be one of my favorites. Cheng Xiao plays Tong Yao, who at face value, looks like she'll tick off every box on the "ditsy, wide-eyed, and naive" female character trope checklist. I'm glad this wasn't the case and I *REALLY* came to adore and admire her character. With the subject being e-sports, the misogynistic undertones are to be expected. What stood out to me about Tong Yao was her unabashedly calling people out on their BS but also fighting for herself and her friends and not crumbling under the social media ridicule.
Xu Kai plays Lu SiCheng, your classic cold exterior male lead. His character development was well nuanced and you could clearly track how his relationship with Tong Yao had a commensurate effect on his interactions with the media and his teammates. He starts off as a very uncompromising and goal-driven team leader but over time he softens and you can see that his family and friends are the most important part of his life and everything he does is to protect them. He's that quiet, almost omnipotent, leader that seems to head off conflict and drama before it can truly get out of hand.
To me, both of the characters felt very relatable: though both strong in their own regard, they each vulnerable moments where it felt like they would crumble under the pressure.

[2] *Avoiding major c-drama pitfalls*: One commonality across a lot of c-dramas is "miscommunication" and how it feeds into the plot line. Funnily enough, in this drama where social media is so central to the theme, the characters are well armed to fend off malicious comments online and do not let it affect their relationships. This was INCREDIBLY refreshing. The characters show that they trust their teammates and friends wholly and give them the benefit of the doubt. Even going so far as to encourage each other to not read the comments and keep looking forward.

[2a] *Parental relationships*: Many of us here will not be surprised by the disparaging remarks the parent figures in this drama make towards professional gaming. That aside, what stood out to me was that the characters still pursued their dreams, despite being kicked out of their own home, disowned, or constantly berated for making irresponsible decisions. It's a very positive message that one should always go for what they believe in and don't let others hold you back. A small *caveat* about what I didn't like was Ai Jia so easily re-accepting his mother after she treated him so poorly. I expected an apology at the bare minimum from his mother.

[3] *The Music*: It's a pretty stacked line up of singers for this OST and one of the most well done I've listened to in a while. Currently 逆著人群奔向你 is stuck in my head and I'm not even mad about it. The OST is a wonderful mixture of sentimental, slow songs, more hip-hop/pop focused songs and I love that Xu Kai and Cheng Xiao even sang their own rendition of 第一默契. I highly recommend reading this lyrics if you don't understand Chinese. The lyrics tie so well into the emotions of the drama and the thematic elements of supporting one another, and tuning out the BS of the world.

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Fluffy Rom-Com Anyone Would Love

I watched this without many expectations, and I didn't think it would be this addictive and overall good. I found myself immersed, occasionally giggling at some scenes and even kicking my legs in my blanket. That's how cute it was. The only reason I gave story an 8 is because at some times I thought it was a little draggy and slow (imo), but other than that it's great. Fans of Put Your Head on My Shoulder would love this. Cheng Xiao and Xu Kai really showed us Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng's cute moments, inner feelings, and story arc in a way that it is impossible not to love this drama.

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Smiling? I'm melting at this cuteness

Okay, hear me out… I know this is a drama about gaming, but my God there was a lot of gaming. I was pretty much enjoying this show the whole way through and was like, oooh I wonder what will happen in the final episode!.’ I know obviously they had to win the final tournament, that was a given, but did they really have to spend the entire last episode just gaming? A very important aspect of the show, I know, but still. We all knew they would win so why did they have to spend the entire last episode just on the final tournament!? They could have had 15 minutes at the end of episode 30 and be done! When things were getting so good with Lu Si Cheng and Tong Yao and that’s how they end it? There better be a season two because I can’t leave these characters like that.

Okay, so it all started with Lu Si Cheng stealing her food and closing the door in her face. How rude! Little does he know she’s about to change his life. Before that though, we get to watch her being a queen, jumping on social media and roasting his ass for the world to see. Already in love with Tong Yao XD

Imma break this review down into dot-point.

The romance:
* They are such a cute and fluffy couple.
* Although Lu Si Cheng was so cold and distant in the beginning, the chemistry was ‘so there’! This man, he is husband material let alone boyfriend.
* Their initial trip to the store was so cute and from this point on, I knew it was going to be just the kind of fluffy show that I like.
* The episode where he came down to check on her throughout the night when she was practising and he brought her milk, covers her eyes with his hand so she will stop crying. My heart! Bless them.
* Then, when she was on her period and he looks after her! I melted at this episode. When he goes to get her a hot water bottle! The thought! The care! The fact that the bottle was so little just made it even more cute and he also chose the one with his picture on! She’s Smiling, but I’m melting XD
* When Tong Yao says they should go buy a fish and the scene is split so we see both of them getting ready and they’re putting in so much effort! I could. not. Handle. (The fact that Pancake actually ate one of Lu Si Cheng’s fish is priceless. Also, why did Tong Yao put a Nemo in the tank!? XD Girl, he is going to notice! And then he caught her red-handed. Her reflection in the glass when she realised he was standing behind her had me XD).
* When she falls over, he catches her, and they lock eyes and he says, ‘Are you done staring?’ Bruh! You were staring right back at her! Stop flirting! Jks, I’m kidding XD Please keep flirting!
* The ending of episode 20 had me swooning so hard, and then the continuation in episode 21. Lu Si Cheng was trying so hard and he confessed to her it was so cute! ‘Try me’ Ughhhh
* He tells her she only has a few hours to make a decision. It’s 8:58pm and she hears Lu Si Cheng come home and runs out the door to greet him. And omfg he has the cat! I repeat he has the goddamn kitty! And then they hug! Ugh this was just the cutest scene I have ever seen! The amount of smiling he is doing now really lives up to the name of the show. It couldn’t be more suited!
* There are so many hand holding moments that I cannot comprehend, let alone the kissing scenes. Don’t even get me STARTED on the head pats. Fhsjgksghfkgnd
* I love how the guys know what’s up. And her friend too! When she tells her friend she’s got big news. She’s like, ‘big news? I sense gossip.’ Girl knows what’s up

The Crew:
* Old K - I liked his character although he was cold and stand-offish towards Tong Yao in the beginning. It was so sweet when they started to bond and he became supportive of her.
* Xiao Pang - He was like a lil puppy! I just wanted to give him a big hug! I don’t know why he was so surprised when he actually saw Lu Si Cheng and Tong Yao kissing; like the whole crew knew what was up and yet he was still surprised? I guess he was in a state of shock. Also, love the fact that he always saw them in the suspicious situations.
* Lu Yue - When he first came into the picture I didn’t think he was going to stay. The little streak of blue hair he had always bothered me and he reminded me so much of Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot and Curious George. However, over time his personality grew on me and I didn’t mind his presence so much. He was very juvenile and likes to cause some trouble. Whenever he would whip out his phone, I thought of Gossip Girl ‘cause that’s what everyone does when they spot a hot topic.
* Old Cat - Stern face. Don’t have a lot to say about him, other than why did him and Old K have a fight about literally nothing? Or am I missing something here?

Xiao Rui and Ming God were an interesting pair. Xiao Rui reminded me of Ross from ‘Friends.’ I just see a likeness.

The funniest episode BY FAR was when Lu Si Cheng was set-up with that girl on a date his Mum prepared. He was having none of it. The date hadn’t even started and he was already asking her to leave XD. It makes me LOL just thinking about it. Lu Si Cheng is a savage.

Okay, if I write anymore I’ll just be reiterating the whole show so I will stop. Definitely worth the watch! A huge plus if you like watching people play games. Lots of cuteness and fluff that will have you ‘smiling’ for days.

-E

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It was cute and perfect for videogame and romance lovers

If you liked c-dramas like Love O2O or Go Go Squid, then you're going to like this one too!
I loved this drama so much, I kept sleeping at 5am for four days straight so I could finish it <3

Now, there are spoilers here:
There are a couple of things that I didn't like, but it usually happens in a lot of dramas that I watch.
The protagonist is a Mary Sue, that meaning that every guy that she encounters falls in love with her, and she's sometimes annoying. I liked that she is the first and only girl doing eSports as a career, and they portray that misogynistic aspect of "not letting girls play games profesionally because they only do it to approach handsome boys" very well. But once she proves that she's worthy of being in the team, they keep bringing in that shes a girl and that she's only there for pretty boys, even her fans. And I'm mad about it even though I liked the drama.
The romance is a slow burn that I liked. He really respected the protagonist (there were some jealousy problems, but we're letting that slip). He really admired her for her abilities to play the game and for how strong she was in some situations. But sometimes their relationship was a bit confusing because you never really know what things they've done in their privacy, like if they had had their first kiss already or not because they never show it on-screen??? The first kiss you see is in a bus surrounded by their team mates and that barely feels like a first kiss, so even though it was a cute romance, it was confunsing at times.
I didn't like that half of the episodes were them playing that game, which may sound rare but the characters and the dynamic of the game are never introduced to you, so half of the time I got confused with the technical aspects of the game. But the 3D animation of the characters was very well done and I appreciated those parts, although sometimes it was confusing which person was using which character.
This is not a critique, but K and Cat were boyfriends and you can't change my mind.

Even though all of these things I've said, I liked the drama and I'd recommend it if you like romance and videogames <3

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