So cute, but heroine is seriously lacking

The high ratings I gave this show are well deserved.

First, they tackle a lot of issues I didn't expect to see in an E-sports drama at all (like girls in sports, sexism, toxic dating habits (Not a spoiler, I promise!), etc.) and so that was really cool!

Second, the acting was really amazing! Some of the best I've seen in a C-drama! Xu Kai killed it from start to finish and I have no complaints about any of the other actors (which is so very rare for me)!

Third, the story was ridiculously engaging. I don't know what the writer's did to make it so interesting, but whatever it was, I want more of it. Because WOW did it work! Even though I had tons of other work and prior engagements, I watched this in a week! It really is that good! Seriously, give it a shot and if you're not hooked after the first episode, then I guess the magic of this show doesn't speak to you.

Now to get onto some of the bad things... okay, no singular bad thing.

The show did deal with sexism, which is great. Except that Tong Yao had absolutely no personality. She was so flat and giving Mary Sue for 95% of the show that I kept accidentally trying to attribute more character to her than she presented to compensate. She is a complete blank space for the majority of the series. You could've replaced her character with a literal plant and the effect would have been the exact same.

Now, to be clear, I do not blame Cheng Xiao. Her performance was excellent. 10/10. In the moments when Tong Yao does show a bit of personality, Cheng Xiao's performance blew me AWAY. So, like WHY was it covered up for the majority of the show?? I don't know, but it's clear to me that Cheng Xiao is not the problem.

The problem is the writers because it was the literal story and character concept that completely obliterated Tong Yao's personality. You're thrown into the shown with this badass, doesn't really care about the rules gal with a lollipop in her mouth, but within five episodes, she's been broken down by the industry and is acting like a "good" E-sports girl. And it's kind of like "so this show deals with sexism and how bad it is, but also can't have a feminist FL....?" like, literally what?!

It can get veryyyyy annoying, especially in the later episodes when the romance starts to heat up. Because Lu Sicheng is making your freaking heart melt and then Tong Yao is like *peace brah*. So, I need someone to explain to me why they did this, because it's jail. I will not accept it.

Also! literally every side character has more personality than Tong Yao. I ended the show feeling more confident about the rest of her team's personalities and freaking Xiao Rui than I did about Tong Yao, which is just simply not right.

SHE'S THE FL!!! How can I NOT be aware of her personality???? Is she goofy? Is she lovable? Does she enjoy anything other than Japanese food and cats? I DON'T KNOW!! And that's absolutely crazy to me!

So, mini rant aside and over with, this IS still a fantastic show. And I am going to re-watch it. So cute, so fluffy, so adorable! It gave me all the best feels! I just wish they'd gone full throttle with their "girls can do anything" campaign and kept Tong Yao as a badass with an incredible personality all her own, but unfortunately we can't always get everything we want *sigh*

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Costumes and cast chemistry, WOW

*NOTE* I watched this show on SBS on demand with a VPN (they claim it's only available until December 2022, so maybe it'll be around on the internet with subtitles around then? idk If you have a VPN, use it to watch bc it's free on SBS)

I read a review for this show about how amazing the costumes are and was BLOWN AWAY! She is so, so stylish in every episode! Loved it! Absolutely no notes! (also, bc they KNEW how to style the ML correctly, which is SO IMPORTANT)

The acting/writing combo was a little so-so IMO. They just quite know how to mesh a procedural crime show with a side of romance and comedy. If you've seen other Chinese crime shows that take place in the Republican Era, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. They tried to pace all the romantic and comedy parts out nicely in the beginning episodes and then squished it altogether uncomfortably at the very end. There were romantic moments throughout the series that would spontaneously happen, but then they'd NEVER! DISCUSS! IT! And it drove me CRAZY! So, if you're watching for romance, you will be very disappointed. (A quick note tho that the chemistry between the two leads was quite good, so you feel the romantic tension, just without a lot of romantic action)

HOWEVER, if you're watching for the crime, then you'll be very interested. Each crime is only two episodes long, so it's not boring or dragged out and you get a whole variety of cases in just 30 episodes. The crimes themselves were also a lot more complex than other Republican Era crime shows like Detective L or My Roommate is a Detective. I often didn't really figure out who the murderer was until the final reveal, which was so entertaining!

And finally, onto my favorite part of this show. THE SIDE CHARACTERS! I mean. OH MY GOD! Incredible! Absolutely magical! They were all fantastic! You really felt like the cast themselves enjoyed being together, which made all of their interactions feel so real and enjoyable to watch. Uncle Xiang was the GOAT of the whole show and I will stand by that until the day I die. If you love a show with good chemistry between not just the main two leads but everyone, then you must watch this show! *chefs kiss*

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