You Are My City and Fortress (2021)

A whole new league in itself

This drama is a breath of fresh air. Plenty of people claim that the premise is similar to DOTS but the only similarities they have are the occupations of the leads and the earthquake incident. But in YAMH, the earthquake part only takes up a little chunk in the storyline (about 10%).

This story has depth, no frustrating moments, and the relationship and chemistry of the leads ARE ON ANOTHER LEVEL.

Sandra Ma is such a great actress. She is not afraid to look haggard, normal, and stressed out in front of the camera - just like the rest of us. On the other hand, I wasn't particularly interested in the ML before starting this out, but a few episodes in, he started growing on me. HE IS THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST ML IN ALL OF CDRAMALAND AFTER YANGYANG. He is that charming.

Also, their acting is very natural! The way that they interact with each other really does look like all the other couples out there, and there is no hint of awkwardness in the way that they interact, even the skinship! The amount of ad-lib I believe this series has only goes to prove this point.

And the plot! The plot was dragging at some points, but I didn't really care about those. I cried about 3 times watching this. The romantic scenes between the leads were not cringey/corny/roll-your-eyes level. The conflict were all internal and there was communication among all the characters. This is what I specifically liked about Xing Kelei and Mi Ka: the fact that they both compromised and communicated their issues to each other - like an ideal relationship.

For anyone thinking twice about watching this, this is a sign to start that first episode.

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This is what you call a good C-Drama!!

Very extraordinary modern chinese drama that you don't see often! By far, one of the best chinese drama of 2021! It has good amount of romance, friendship, action, and suspense! Love that it doesn't only focuses on the love life of the characters but it also shows a lot of police and doctors scenes which I find very entertaining as a crime show lover! Also, love the character development here, where characters changed for the better! Everything is just so well thought, from the storyline, to the cast, to the music, and the acting! Definitely a drama worth watching and I'll rank it top 5 in my list of good chinese dramas!! It's that good!

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this gave me a toothache but in a good way

If anyone is looking for an adorkable romance, definitely check this out! One of my favorite parts about this drama was actually the romance, which is kind of a first, actually. I love a good romance, but I rarely find dramas with a romance I'm invested in. But these two are SO adorable and SO sweet, I literally could not stop smiling. Both the leads are so awkward and dorky that it makes their relationship like 80% cuter. I definitely do not like cheesy romances, but I really, really loved this one (although the romance isn't really that cheesy, just super sweet). Their relationship is also very, very healthy, which we always love to see :). They get frustrated sometimes because their professions make it so they aren't able to see each other a lot, but they're mostly super supportive of each other's careers and ambitions.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed watching Mi Ka's growth as resident surgeon as much as I did watching the romance. It was really interesting to see her work in the hospital, especially since her personality makes her a brave, hardworking, selfless doctor. I loved her friendship with Chief Shao (although it created a lot of unnecessary drama) and seeing how much she cared for her patients. Honestly, the reason I probably liked Mi Ka's hospital scenes so much is because I just loved her as a character. She was super strong and she proved over and over again she could stay calm under a crisis even if she was scared. The emergency plot events were really interesting, and I found myself extremely invested in how it all worked out!

Xing Kelei's unit was also hilarious. I really wish we got to see more of them because their mischievous antics and teasing were so fun to watch, and I could really feel the bonds between them. I was a little upset to see Zhuo Wenjing's role as the only female officer in the unit disappear quite a lot after she played her part instigating a very, very short drama (not on purpose tho!) between the two leads. Still, I loved seeing how well she fit in with the other men. There was definitely a whole slew of strong female characters in this drama (stan Xing Keyao), which I loved.

I did not, however, particularly enjoy the second leads' romance. I found the second female lead (Mi Ka's best friend Ruan Qingxia) irritating a lot of the time. Some of the things she did to chase the second male lead were pretty out of line, and while she tried to come off as decisive and independent, she only seemed clingy and stubborn. The love triangle that developed with her and two other male characters was boring and annoying. I skipped most of her scenes, especially if they had to do with her romance with the second male lead (although this is also another adorkable romances for you adorkable fans out there).

Overall, this drama surprised me in the best way possible. I honestly loved how awkward their romance was XD, and the plot overall was pretty interesting. Watching their individual careers develop was just as enjoyable as the romance. I recommend checking this drama out if you're looking for something fluffy, tooth-rottingly sweet, but also with strong, ambitious, and independent characters.

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Wonderful Drama

This drama was a great watch- loved the story & acting.

Pros
- Both leads educated, intelligent & career oriented
- Female lead is a Surgeon
- Story - it’s about how a Police Special Force Leader & Doctor fell in love & navigate their lives (I love these military romance type drama’s)- you can truly appreciate the hectic lives & sacrifices these frontlines make.
- No love triangle among the Main Leads ( they both like each other, starts dating some where around the middle of the series…
- It’s very real story-, misunderstandings are resolved without dragging & swiftly. The type of relationship one would expect normal dating couples to have!!
- the Second lead’s love story is very very cute (but there is a one sided love triangle- however the second female lead only has eyes for second male lead)
- no unnecessary break ups
- happy ending

Cons
Nothing much actually to say on cons, but would have been more wonderful
- If a wedding scene was shown in detail among the lead couple (no worries there was a wonderful proposal)


All in all it’s a great watch, story, acting was good..would recommend ! Happy watching.

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A beautiful relationship interleaved with high-tension career moments

You Are My Hero is a lovely drama with a wonderful balance of lighthearted fun dotted with tense medical and police scenes (of which I cannot necessarily attest to their accuracy). Although objectively it may not be the most original story to grace this industry, the main characters are lovable and more than make up for certain pitfalls, heightening my enjoyment and the overall score I have given this show. The chemistry and maturity of the main relationship in particular kept me highly entertained throughout, so if you do decide to skim through this show, at the *very* least I think their scenes are quite engaging!

- STORY -
Story-wise, as stated above, I can't say it is filled with originality, and there are certainly moments that are rather tropey and plot convenient in that they are placed in there for the sake of providing some kind of conflict where previously none existed.

(spoiler)
An example of such I can recall is when the main lead's old childhood friend and her sister came back to leech on him to cover their medical expenses (and potentially further living costs). This is the age-old "third-person from the past comes in to disrupt the present relationship" trope, which is rather tiring and annoying, but luckily it does not last too long and in fact proves how grounded and stable the relationship between the main pair is.
(end of spoiler)

But that's the thing I can forgive: conflicts are not dwelled on for too long and mostly serve to confirm the strength of the main relationships! The plot may not necessarily be anything too special, and the ending may be a bit anti-climactic and lackluster, but I believe this drama is primarily character-driven rather than plot driven, so for the sake of the characters I can forgive these slights. Just don't come in expecting this story to be particularly groundbreaking.

- CHARACTERS /ACTING -
This is where this drama honestly shines the most, and is exactly what incentivized me to keep watching till the end.

Bai Jing Ting as Xing Ke Lei is a sight to behold, truly athletic, stern, and arguably convincing in this SWAT team captain role (he really rocks that uniform). I can tell that he worked really hard to maintain form for this role, and it shows in his posture and attitude. Sandra Ma as Mi Ka is positively lovely, with her straightforward and blunt but charming nature, genuine giggles, and serious sense of conviction. Her smiles are hard to resist and make me want to smile along with her. These two truly sold this show to me and each time they were in a scene together, I would honestly forget that they were *actors* and felt like I was peeking in to an actual relationship between two lovable career-oriented individuals. If I take away anything from this show, it's that these two, to me, represent an ideal and mature relationship filled with communication, support, and love. They both make sacrifices, they rub off on each other, and stick together through trying periods of their lives, and if that's not enough then I don't know what is!

In terms of the second couple, I did find them less interesting and a bit more typical to drama tropes, what with the small love triangle and the "I'm rejecting you because I don't think I'm worthy of you" mentality, but if anything, they stand against the main couple to make them feel more realistic and down-to-earth. They're a supporting relationship for a reason, I'll give them that, and for what it's worth, the actors definitely succeeded in delivering these characters as intended by the script.

What I did really enjoy, though, was Mi Ka's relationships with her friends, such as the doctors/nurses at her workplace, and the second female lead. In the same vein, Xing Ke Lei's team members all served as nice comic relief, and his relationship with his sister was also amusing to behold as well.

Altogether, the cast is great fun and managed to successfully pull off serious moments at the same time.

- MUSIC -
I'm not a musician by trade, but some of the main insert songs in this drama are rather fun and lighthearted and fit with the scenes they play in. In particular, "愛上了" by Hu Xia stands out to me with its simplistic, charming, hummable melody, and genuinely fits with the silliness of the second couple. " 呢喃" by 都智文 is also a nice and soothing piece that gives me kdrama vibes (even though I don't really watch kdramas)!
The rest of the OST is rather standard, befitting of tense or more melodramatic scenes. Nothing abominable, mostly pleasing to the ear. Certain songs have admittedly been added to my Spotify playlist to help me retain some good vibes.

- CONCLUSION -
This is a wonderful drama worth watching for the realistic relationship portrayed by Bai Jing Ting and Sandra Ma and certainly made me a fan of both of them! Sometimes I had to turn my brain off on certain plot points, but overall my enjoyment factor trumped over a lot of negatives and inclined me to give this a rather high score. Thank you for reading this far, and hopefully someone else will enjoy this as much as I did!

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Not a masterpiece, but a must watch

Story: The plot was more original than most C-dramas and was very decently developed.
The SWAT team and the hospital scenes were interesting with not too much technical language, so easy to watch.
Also, I like the dynamics in relationships between friends, couples, colleagues.
It is basically a nice slice of life, with no twists or complicated arcs.

Acting/Characters: It was my first time watching Bai Jingting and Sandra Ma, and I can say they are great actors, they portrayed their characters very well.
Mi Ka is very calm, courageous and caring. She is very different from the stereotypical female lead.
Xing Kelei is the typical perfect male lead: handsome, good in everything and charming.
Their romance is so pure and slow-paced, they act like a 10-years married couple, so don't expect anything passional.
As for the second couple, I didn't like it, the SFL was very intense and the SML was indecisive. It was draggy, annoying and a mess. But don't get me wrong, they were nice characters in their own.
The third couple was a lot better, more mature and healthy.

Music: The songs were very nice and catchy. I put some of them in my playlist.

Rewatch: Yes.♡

Overall: I enjoyed this drama a lot. I don't consider it a masterpiece, but is so captivating that I understand why reviewers say that.

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Romances Couldn't Hold My Attention

I'm not a fan of medical or police dramas, but I had heard the romances were cute in this show. I can get through almost anything if it has a romance I enjoy. However, it became increasingly obvious the more time I spent watching that the romances did almost nothing for me. The main leads were certainly cute together in the beginning, but their romance quickly fizzled out as their relationship grew. It felt like I was watching two friends, not romantic partners, in the later episodes. While the second lead couple started off promising in the "opposites attract" category, they quickly turned into the worst part of the show for me. Ruan Qing Xia had too many red flags and boundary issues for me to root for her in a relationship; likewise with Shu Wen Bo, who was too cut off and removed from his emotions. I enjoyed the romance between the third leads, but they do not get much screen time until the later half of the season.

While the romance is an important aspect of the show, I would say their individual careers truly make up the bulk of the story. If you are squirmish or violence is a trigger for you, please skip this show. It doesn't shy away from the realities of these two people’s professions. The action sequences and medical emergencies were well-done if that is important to you.

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!!MUST WATCH!! Laugh and cry romance with medical and military perspectives

(Review written after watching ep 22/45. Will update after airing)
STORY: Great story line focusing on the story between MiKa and Xing Ke Lei after their first encounter two years prior to the drama. There are intense scenes from both medical and and military prospectives but also light and fluffy scenes between the three main couples. Side couples are well developed and take up appropriate amounts of screen time. Good character development so far.
EXECUTION: Nice and quickly paced story. Lots of complexities between the lives of the three main couples and their colleagues/acquaintances. Main couple gets together ep 17/45. Casting is great, chemistry between the leads work well (Bai Jing Ting’s first on screen kiss!) and all side characters fit their roles nicely. Music suits the drama well (favorites being 眷戀, 愛上了, and 意外 ). 

OVERALL: A great drama to watch for romance, slice of life lovers with emphasis on medical and military perspectives. I have cried and laughed in almost every episode due to the challenging aspects of MiKa and Xing Ke Lei’s professions and hilarious moments throughout the script. Hoping the rest of You are my Hero is as great as the first half!

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Great in parts and very boring in parts too.

This story is driven by formula. The start is refreshingly sweet and you feel happy in the atypical characters. but then the makers decide to go on repeat-rinse mode. The repetition of the same medical and law and order crises just wears down the viewer so much . If they had cut down this story to 18 episodes or so, it would remain very watchable.
The actors are sincere and natural. There is hardly any negative characters at least in the first half( I couldnt drag myself to watch 40 episodes of the same crises resolution).
Plenty of the viewers have spoken about the casting. Individually the actors are brilliant but there is definitely a bit of "looks miscasting" . The ML, who enacted Xing Kelei beautifully, looks young, fresh from school, boyishly slender and both his subordinates and seniors looked older than him. Worse, the FL looked decidedly older than the ML.
The FL is a great actor , effortlessly catching the character's vibe, but she could have been cast opposite a ML who looked more capable of handling her than this boyish ML.
Overall I loved both the characters the FL and th ML individually , but put together there were incongruities.
Next the big question -Is this a DOTS remake-- No it isnt for sure. That was more of a disaster story, physically the leads were in disaster prone areas, or in conflict zones - in a kind of Red Cross initiative. The level of interdependence and grit required were of a different level in that story. YAMH is kind of set in a single city with its small law and order or medical emergencies. The canvas on which DOTS is painted is huge and wild and exciting; YAMH is a more urban, tame and milder setting.
Overall a good watch, but skirts short of greatness due to repetition and its length.

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Absolutely adored this show! This gave all the feels!

This is one of the best modern cdrama I have seen. Mature storyline, wonderful characters and beautiful relationships. Xing Kelei and Mi Ka are adorable! I cannot get enought of them.

I was pleasantly surprised by this drama. I am so glad I gave it a chance and watched it. It was pretty good and addictive from the get go. And whoever wrote the script or translated the subtitles just did an amazing job. The lines, it just gave all the feels. Best on screen proposal. Great blend of action and medical drama. They couldn’t have casted this show any better. Wishing for a season 2!

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Watched this because of Sandra Ma & many people said this drama is good.

Sometimes i really wonder, why Sandra Ma voice is so soft, not because she playing cute, but more like someone who is not confidence with herself, here is no exception.

After watched this i'm thinking yeah how important for doctor to receive emergencies training.

Funny thing, the moment i said to myself: "this drama so unusual to have no love rival" that moment the annoying love rival show up :d. I really like how they handled that annoying woman ^_^.

In here we have very funny male character. Yeah sometimes soldier is stupid & rigid man. It just like in their base only 1 man quite understand women :P. We have:
° Xing Ke Lei (KL) is one of the most clumsy male lead I've watched so far, so funny when he try to pursue Mi Ka (MK). But it's also so unreal when they already in relationship KL just automatically became romantic. But i really like how KL & MK be honest to each other & learn to grow in the relationship together.
° Shu Wen Bo who is also so stupid. He is definitely military man who is so straight forward even in love. So funny to see how Ruan Qing Xia (QX) pursue him.

By the way somehow i don't know why i think the chemistry between Sandra Ma and Bai Jing Ting is not that good, not bad but i feel like there is something, like some tension, between them. I more like other couple, they are so funny in their own way, and the chemistry between the cast is better than our main lead.

Overall i quite enjoy this drama. But i don't think this is as good as people talk about. So no, i'll not gonna re-watch this drama.

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It was great, but….

The show was great, but there was some slight flaws.

Number 1: I know this was based on a novel, but it did NOT warrant 40 episodes that story could be told within 35 MAX.

Number 2: There are three love stories in this show, but the main one that was focused on was Xing Keilei and Mi Ka. But because they didn’t have any problems, their love was too easy and laidback with the slight problem of the jealous sick sister in ep. 31 to 34. I guess I like the love stories with the triangle and the rivals. So, though it was about Mi Ka and Keilei I wasn’t invested in their story as much as the other two couples. So, so for that I gave the acting a 9.5, the other actors did a better job pulling me into their stories than the ML and the FL.

The ending was okay. I felt like it ended like it just fell off with a drone shot overlooking a busy night time street, the promise was nice, but it was a dull ending. I felt they could’ve put this promise when they were overlooking the night traffic with the proposal at the training center.

It was a an okay drama, but not one I would rewatch again.

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