When someone says “gaming drama”, I think many of us would think of Love 020, Go Go Squid, and King’s Avatar. Recently I came across Gank Your Heart, which I think may be my absolute fav e-sports drama. At first, I watched for Wang Yibo, but ended up getting sucked into the plot and fell in love with the FL (female lead), side characters, OSTs, and overall twists and turns of the drama and how realistic it felt.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the drama too (whether you disagree or agree with my opinions)! And excuse spelling/grammar mistakes, I was rambling to myself in the wee hours of the night about how much I loved this drama.

GOOD PLOT & MAIN CHARACTERS
Tbh, I thought the title sounded a bit cringe at first, as if it was some romance story with a side of gaming. But I was wrongly mistaken and realized the significance of the title halfway through when I found out the chinese title translated to “Accompany you to the top of the world” (which makes sense because ganking, or at least how my friends and I use it in-game, is going to other lanes that aren’t our own to provide support which reflects the main characters). I liked how the plot really did focus on the leads trying to accomplish their goal at the international competition together, with a clear end state. The pacing was good and no parts were filler that I thought were completely irrelevant. All of the characters grew in their own ways and were able to progress in their career and dreams. While this show had its fair share of frustrating moments and misunderstandings, I liked that it all came back to their careers.

Most of the time, the FL and ML’s personalities influence whether or not I end up finishing the drama (for ex. I can’t stand a really annoying/whiny/overly cute FL and an abusive ML). Thankfully, I came to love both Qui Ying and Ji Xiang Kong’s characters. Both are passionate and hardworking people who really care about the ones they love. QY felt very relatable throughout the show and JXK’s leadership and teamwork really stood out to me. The two leads have their own flaws, but their strengths and reactions to the things happening around them felt realistic (since they both weren’t overly talented and op in the beginning). Really felt like they were friends I wanted to cheer on, both in their career and relationship.

THE COMPETITIVE E-SPORTS/GAMING ASPECT
As someone who likes playing games similar to iConquer (ex. League of Legends), I enjoyed how realistic it felt. A good chunk of the gaming scenes were strategies with a lot of technical terms that people who play similar games know. However, while it was technical, it was also presented in a way that is understandable for an audience who may not play these games (I watched GYK with my parents and they had a good understanding of the game :D). I also liked the competitive aspect of it and the show really convinced me into thinking I was watching a real pro gaming team trying to win the championship (like I felt nervous watching the last round of the finals and teared up when teams I was rooting for lost or won).

THE ROMANCE & RELATIONSHIPS
I’ve seen many people mention online how they didn’t like how the story didn’t have too much romance in it. However, for me, I somehow liked it - again, it seemed very realistic, how the leads’ relationship progressed. I liked that it wasn’t love at first sight and that they genuinely wanted nothing to do with each other, but after misunderstandings were cleared, they became friends. Their mutual understanding and respect for each other’s passion in the e-sports industry, which led to them supporting each other and falling in love along the way, was very sweet in its own way and imo makes it even cuter than if they randomly just fell in love in the beginning. Though it would be nice to see more romantic scenes, I don’t think we needed them to see that they really cared for and supported each others’ dreams. (This is the same opinion I have which made me like the relationships in The Untamed, which is my ult fav drama: While there isn’t much skinship, you can tell by their actions that characters deeply care for each other). However, there are a ton of scenes of QY and JXK being all cute which made me :”) small gestures like hugging, holding hands, etc.

I also enjoyed the friendships and relationships between the supporting characters and leads. The overall warm environment that surrounded the Legends team, the alumni team, and Phoenix was so nice to see, especially across the generations of players. Everyone was so close knit and supportive :”) i cri

THE IMPORTANCE OF SIDE CHARACTERS
Another thing that I really enjoyed about this drama - the side characters seemed all equally important. Whether they were a supporter of our leads, or one of the people trying to ruin their lives, each of the characters were portrayed well and I didn’t feel like they were a waste of space haha

Even the “evil” characters. While I can’t justify that what they are doing is morally correct, I could say it’s understandable that they’re trying to do what they can to survive in such a cut-throat industry where you can get replaced and forgotten easily. Even Miya, who I hated at first, I realized she was probably alone most of her life and only had JXK to rely on. She was likely scared she’ll lose her last pillar of support, which is why she was desperate to do what she did. Same for Qi Yue and Qiao Xin, where they thought “eat or be eaten”, and sabotaged others to be in a position of power because they are scared or don’t trust their own talents.

My fav character throughout the entire show though is Pei Xi. I found his character to be quite fun, kind, and enjoyed all the scenes with him (I’m rambling too much xD can Pei Xi give me a lollipop pls jk). Plus with his plot twists, in a good way, he was very different from the first impression I had of him.

OSTS
You know the feel of listening to an OST, closing your eyes, and just feeling something? Whether it’s a good feeling or a bad one? There are 2 OSTs that did this to me for this drama.
1) 最燃的冒险/The Most Burning Adventure (Opening theme) by Wang Yibo - hearing just the intro of this song can get me feeling pumped to do anything lol
2) 天空之外/Outside the Sky (Ending theme) by Xian Zi - despite me not liking Miya through the end of the drama, I still feel really bad for her. Everytime I listen to this song, I get flashbacks of the pain she went through and just makes me all sad again :( Like this song is pretty, but so painful that I feel like I’ll start crying if I close my eyes or stare at a wall. Crazy to think that this song (and Miya’s story) can make me feel so much xD (also notice in the chorus she says “jì fēng chuī xiàng dà hǎi dào tiān kōng zhī wài”? she put ji xiang kong’s name in there :”)))) time to cry

DISLIKES
Miya, that’s it. Though I feel bad for her, what she does is still selfish and one should never treat others the way she did.
Jk, like in any drama, there are frustrating moments which I wish didn’t have to happen, but needed to in order to drive the plot. The lack of communication between characters during critical moments which could result in misunderstandings infuriate the heck out of me. And seeing people sabotage others (tho this may happen irl) also makes my blood boil, especially having to wait for the moment they are caught.

Anyways...the end... thank you for coming to my ted talk and reading through my essay (IM SO SORRY I didn’t realize I would ramble for so long).

tldr - Gank your heart was a great drama and a rollercoaster of emotions, but it was one of those painful but rewarding stories. The cast and characters were all lovable and I genuinely felt happy/sad for them because the drama felt realistic. I hope more people will watch Gank Your Heart!