Gank Your Heart (2019)

I finished the drama in 3 days and I'm sad it's over.
The acting of wang yi bo is really good way better than I had expected.
The storyline is not moving too fast nor too slow just perfect. The main couple is so sweet to watch there interactions were just too cute. But the supporting couple were cute too and so funny to watch, I was sooo happy when they finally got together.

Pei xi was SO into ji Xiang kong and it was so hilarious.

SPOILER! I am so happy that the character that almost raped qiu ying got fired and NEVER appeared again, but I'm pissed that he never had to face any really punishment for his action, he just lost his job.

SPOILER! I cannot get over the final episode they kinda won because Ji Xiang kong thought of qiu ying omg.

The scenes were just filmed beautifully.
The theme song is SOO good omg.

I am SOOOO SAD that it's finished.

Overall I have to say that this drama is so worth to watch and to rewatch.

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I made an account just to review this drama LOL. I've watched quite a few recent romance cdramas, so I think I have a decent gauge of what makes a drama good or bad. For me, Gank Your Heart exceeded my expectations. The two mains had a really cute romance and imo had a lot of chemistry. The second leads were also sososo cute and funny too. I only have a few complaints (SPOILERS BELOW):
- I don't think the scene where Zhao Yang basically assaults Qiu Ying is really necessary. Like other reviewers said, he doesn't get punished for what he does, and I really didn't think it provided any value and seems really out of place.
- They don't show how Qiu Ying and Ji Xiang Kong resolve their conflicts at the end, and they have very little time at the end where they're back together. Would love to see a season 2 LOL
- It is slightly boring at times, and I usually like to watch dramas that are 24 ep, so 35 is a bit much for me. I have a really strong urge to rewatch because I binged it in 3 days and I'm an ABC so my Chinese is not that good, but the fact that it is 35 episodes just makes it less appealing to rewatch. It also takes quite a while for the mains to even develop a good relationship, and I think Ji Xiang Kong acts so ridiculous towards Qiu Ying in the beginning.

All in all, I think I might rewatch it when it gets subbed in English, because it was pretty hard to understand the gaming terms LOL. If you've finished watching and want some recommendations:
Just One Smile is Very Alluring (Love 020) and A Love So Beautiful are both really popular.
My two current favorites are:
Youth (2018) 以你为名的青春: this one doesn't have eng subs (last time I checked), but imo is so realistic and one of the best dramas i've ever watched. it follows 4 classmates from high school to adult life, 2 of which are ~love interests~. would REALLY recommend this one, I enjoyed it a lot.
Le Coupe De Foudre: this should be on youtube with eng subs! LMAO ok this one also follows two classmates from like middle school to adult life.......seems like i like the same type of dramas..... i would really recommend this one too - it's especially cute because it's based on a real story! i bought the autobiography that the author wrote (in chinese) and i will attempt to read it with my subpar chinese comprehension skills lmao

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Logic left the room, but the friendship was nice.

This is such a feel good show, you will end up puking rainbow by the end. When they started to recycle all the trash, all the suspense and anticipation said its last goodbyes and died. They basically told you they are going for a Disney ending and nothing will stop them.

Is that a bad thing? Depends what are you expecting to get out of this drama. Anyone who thinks this drama has good writing, is lying to themselves, but at the same time, I honestly don’t think a good writing was their goal. This is a show that is supposed to have generic motivational messages, generic saint like leads, generic conflicts and generic resolutions and it all presented in a perfect, light, fun and addicting manner that invites you for the binge watch.

There is honestly close to nothing to say about the leads. Both Ji Xiang Kong and Qiu Ying are good, hardworking, friendly, honest, passionate - so perfect it’s boring. Luckily we get some amazing supporting characters to add spice to the mix: Pei Xi, who was the literal MVP of the drama for me. I adored his character and the surprised complexity he presented. Another character I appreciated a lot was Luo Tian - on a rather low key, but he stole every scene he was in.

Story wise, it’s the underdog fighting to get to the top for both leads. They follow exactly the same path - working hard and being passionate, but always facing issues because of the jealous rivals who play dirty. For some strange reason everyone was painfully informant about the dirty tricks and no one cared to actually run a business and bring profits. My favorite unrealistic part? The internal investigation lasted weeks, but consisting only of questioning 4 people, no one knows what tracking IP address is. What I am trying to say - to make the conflict last longer and feel that screen time, to make the leads journey more meaningful, as they have to face more hardship, all the characters in the show - be it good or the bad guys, had to stop using their brains and make all the dumb decisions possible.

As it’s always the case with shows like this, the best aspect was the friendships and partnerships. The number of fun and heartwarming interactions between various characters was a blast to watch. My favorite pairings were Pei Xi with everyone (but especially Qiu Ying and Ji Xiang Kong) and Qiu Ying and Luo Tian. Friendships and mentor-mentee relationships between female and male characters are so underrated in dramas.

The production value was fine. On one hand we had a great set design for different locations, on the other hand, unfitting styling for the characters. One thing I truly cannot stand in dramas is dolled up female characters even if the setting makes no sense for it. Why did both Qiu Ying and Lu Yi Yi look like idols ready to go on stage no matter the circumstances?

Acting wise, I don’t have massive complaints. Taking into consideration the writing, I don’t think anyone could give a better performance.

Overall, it’s a fast-food of dramaland - nice, addicting, something we crave from time to time, even though it’s not exactly good.

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Really wanted to love Gank Your Heart

How to start this review? Now- that is the real question.
I really wanted to love this drama. I've seen other gaming/esports dramas recently. They are newer but due to them, i did have some sort of standard. ( for example "Kings Avatar" and "Falling Into Your Smile") I also really enjoy and love Wang Yibo and his acting so i really really tried to enjoy and love this drama.
Unfortunately this drama was all over the place..

THE STORY:
Pretty standard youth story. Main characters face difficulties and grow from them. Ex gf comes back and wrecks havoc but all is well in the end. But the things i really disliked in this drama was the ex gf and how the manager of Team Legends got away with hurting Qiu Ying. Who knows what he would have done to her if Ji Xiang Kong wouldn't have followed his car. He was already sexually harrassing Qiu Ying. Yet all it took was a couple of punches and the problem got solved?! WHO WOULD NOT CALL THE COPS ON A GUY WHO JUST TRIED TO SEXUALLY ASSAULT YOUR CRUSH?! i did like the esports in this but was really disappointed how we didn't get to see the actual game play much- but i guess if they didn't have the budget for it.. I will be focusing on the romance part in this review since there really isn't much to say about the story itself.

THE MAIN LEAD, QIU YING:
At first i disliked her character since in the first episodes she already commited like three crimes. 1. Sneaking into backstage by stealing a pass. 2. She faked an injury by "getting hit by a car". and 3. Illegally filming in a bar that was supposed to be a "top bar".
I mean i'm used to these dramas having these types of crimes and usually it's fine but i mean all of these right from the start was just a little tiring to me, You know? "Please stop- dont embarrass yourself more..!" i found myself saying outloud..

After some time she grew and started to have dreams of her own and i was really liking her character more, she was acting more mature. Especially when Ji Xiang Kong's ex girlfriend Miya came back and she really put her foot down and said that it's between the two of them and that's their problem and to leave her out of it.

JI XIANG KONG
Now- I love Wang Yibo. It was really painful to see him act this character.
Ji Xiang Kong was a great friend, but the worst boyfriend. At first Qiu Ying and Ji Xiang Kong really hated each other and that part lasted a little bit too long for me, but fine- its a 35 episodes long drama. Then they slowly became friends and then i got excited to see how their relationship would grow from this- It didnt.. Yeah you could guess "oh- i guess its about time they start to have feelings for each other" but did it seem like they actually felt anything more than friendship toward each other? No. In the whole drama there were 2 kiss scenes. Other skinship? Yeah no- aside from like keeping his hand on Qiu Ying's shoulder.

Miya, his ex gf from 5 years ago comes back and the moment she came back, she texted Ji Xiang Kong to come meet her- ok i get it that she was important to him once and that at one point in the drama it was pretty clear he was still into Miya, buying her cds and telling Qiu Ying to stop imitating Miya (When all she literally did was do a dance cover to one of her songs). But at that point it seemed like Ji Xiang Kong already had feelings for Qiu Ying, yet he went to see her and didn't push her away when she hugged him.

When Miya came back , he hadn't yet confessed to Qiu Ying, yet when Miya started to pull her mean girl stunts, Ji Xiang Kong goes to say in front of them that he and Qiu Ying are dating. And this was the part i was proud of Qiu Ying for putting her foot down.
Miya was already acting like the typical ex gf.. arrogant. God i hated her character the most.
Then the moment u think she is being a decent human being and leaving them alone- She gets injured and all of a sudden it's Ji Xiang Kong's responsibility to take care of her. He bought her flowers (something he never did for Qiu Ying who at the same time literally was helping him form a team.) He let Miya hug him and was with her all night long.. And that broke Qiu Ying's heart. He really took his sweet time solving all the problems with Miya and Qiu Ying. Only when Luo Tian, Qiu Yin's "Teacher" who has a crush on Qiu Ying too, literally yelled at him for hurting Qiu Ying with the thing with Miya, was the moment we as audience could have more confirmation that he is going to fix things soon.

The last episode was the cherry on top of the cake. All of a sudden in the last 10 minutes of the drama, Miya comes clean to Ji Xiang Kong about her eye injury and turns out he knew.. She then tells him that she is sorry and that she sees now that Qiu Ying really does know him better. Qiu Ying sees them hugging AGAIN- But hey- it's too late to solve the misunderstanding now since Ji Xiang Kong needs to go play the last game so they can win.

How did the drama end then?
They won and Ji Xiang Kong called Qiu Ying to be on stage with them. All of a sudden without ANY conversation they are back together just like that.

That was my rant. If you read it this far, thank you. If you feel like my review is all over the place.. you can only guess how all over the place the drama is.

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could have been way better

For the most part, I thought this drama was good. I felt the actors and actresses did a good job. I definitely felt some Falling into Your Smile vibes but the e-sports vibes, not the romance vibes from Falling into Your Smile (as Falling into You Smile's romance was waaaaayy better). I was planning on giving this drama a 9-star rating up until I saw episode 32 from there everything just went downhill for me. The ending could have been way better. The break-up make-up at the end was so short that it's like what is the point. We get no reconciliation conversation which I believe was very much needed. All we get are two hugs from the main leads and that's it, no romance whatsoever.

My disappointments with the drama:
I mostly had issues with the romance in this show. In the beginning, I thought they did a good buildup for when the ML and FL finally get together. Although, once the main couple gets together there are hardly any romantic scenes anymore which was a disappointment. They had a perfectly good scene for a kiss when she tries to grab the sheet mask and falls into his lap and instead of them kissing she just gets up and goes to her room after all that tension buildup. I also hate the ex coming back trope/plot device. But this show not only brought the ex-girlfriend back once but twice which was completely unnecessary. I really didn't like how the ML didn't say or do anything right away when his ex made it seem like they were together. Like how difficult is it to just make a statement saying "no we are not together I like someone else" And his friend told him no matter what in that situation someone is going to get hurt so why did it take him so damn long to clear up the situation? Like would you really rather hurt the girl you currently love or someone you used to love and who isn't a part of your life anymore why did it take him so long to make that decision??? I also cannot stand that they brought the ex-girlfriend back again in ep.32!!! And why does he have to be the one to take care of her?! She has her staff to handle things and the ML and ex-girlfriend aren't in each other lives anymore so it was completely unnecessary to bring the ex back. I just can't stand that they brought the ex back because it makes the ML turn into an a**hole because he is paying so much attention to his ex-girlfriend just because she is hurt. And then the ML completely forgets his girlfriend and doesn't even realize that his girlfriend isn't around until she leaves or his friends yell at him for neglecting her and then he realizes his mistake and starts contacting her like crazy or he runs into her and is like "oh my bad I don't care about my ex but she has no one else but me so I have to take care of her and treat her better than I treat you sorry please forgive me." I mean in ep33 the ML's best friend even commented "you don't even care about the FL" and the ML didn't even deny it!!!! and THEN when she leaves he didn't even fight for her all he did was text her, "take care of yourself" like WTF!!! Then in the next episode, it takes him forever to even just admit that he loves the FL when the male commentator asks him!! It seems like he really doesn't care to fight for the FL. And what was the point of the ex coming back when in the end she came cause she wanted him back and then 4 episodes later she gives the ML her blessing to be with the FL. Again WTF!!! In the final minutes of the last episode, there was no romance (just a few hugs) which makes it feel like the two main leads decided to be friends instead of getting back together. I feel like this drama either needed to be 5 episodes shorter or an episode or two longer to fully tie up loose ends.

All in all I really wanted to like this show but once the couple got together the drama started to go downhill. The romance was flat, the ex coming back multiple times was aggravating, the ML started to turn into an a**hole, the unsolved tactics leaked case that lasted forever for them to solve, the time skips in which we don't know how long it been (especially when you pay attention to the FL's brothers limping), and other minor things that annoyed me.

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Tbh, the concept was really good. The story also is nice. But this could've been better! With e-sport genre creating a trend in the cdrama world, it was actually an interesting story. Think about it, a genius gamer and a pretty girl who isn't just a pretty girl, both working hard to reach the top, I mean that's a substance right? Imagine having two powerful individuals, together they would've been invincible (and to think they started from being questioned by everyone for their skills). I actually don't mind slow pacing romance however dude, this is freaking 35 episode drama but they only got together in the remaining 10 episodes? It would be fine if something happened in the past 25 episodes, like a nerve-wrecking competition or a bloom between the 2nd couple or anything that would've been a content-worthy, yet nothing literally happened! The first 25 episodes was just pure conflicts. There were only 2 protagonist but they have atleast 5 antagonist! What's the use of having a 15 episodes about Zhao Yang's cruelty when what just happened was a beginning for Xiang Kong's career? They could've cut it short.

I wouldn't want to compare but I just had to say this. A lot of people may want to watch this because of Go Go Squid which is loved by a lot and I admit I'm one of the people who came here because of that. Actually, if we are going to be talking about the story, this is actually better than that. An e-sport genre focusing on the real development of the team and a romance genre which isn't just pure fluff but also tackles the growth of them as individuals and as couples, this one is actually a real deal. The thing is, from overall look, this is way far to be compared to Go Go Squid. That one actually had a better premise and had a content (something that made me enjoy watching rather) despite the slow pacing.

If we are going to be talking about the characters, it was actually good. It was handled and portrayed really well. The acting was good except for the crying scenes, the supporting characters also did well, and to top it of we have Wang Yi Bo. I mean do I have to add more? The evil characters were frustrating, but let's admit the actors and actress illustrated them well and really got into my nerves. Plus, they have good looking leads, which is really hard to find because I keep on seeing dramas who makes the female lead ugly (the bob-cut with bangs hair and awful style) when in fact they are really beautiful. The 2nd couple and 3rd couple is really cute, I may have liked them more than the main couple.

All in all, it was really good after Episode 27. When they started creating the dream team oh my god it was like that is the quality and intense feeling I've been wanting since episode 1. The development I've been asking for is finally coming to place. I've seen the friendships, relationships and family relationships getting stronger. So if I were going to rewatch it, I would definitely start from episode 27 onwards. And the ending is so awesome, I totally loved the finale!

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Hmmm... the plot of this show is worth watching ! Although there are some parts i skipped because there are lots of annoying casts which i felt like killing them TT Wang Yi Bo is <3
The main couple is cute although i was frustrated that they can't be together until towards the middle part of the last episode TT Was hoping for more cute couple scenes thou :/
I teared up at the end of the last episode because the show portrayed how their great teamwork and tough times paid off after winning TT <3
How they not only win for their own team but also for other teams TT
The OST suits the show thou <3 I legit got addicted to the opening theme song
The casts' acting were great besides some of the crying scenes. Overall it is a great show and it's very much worthy to watch.
Not to mention, their acting skills felt surreal!
This drama made me squeal and fangirl over the lovey dovey scenes, smile and teared at their achievements, have the feeling to kill ad punch some super duper annoying antagonists and proud of their hard work, achievements and the way they support one another albeit some of them are of different teams.
There are also some take home messages in this show which are well conveyed thou!! <3
eg. teamwork, do not give up easily, friendship, sportsmanship and many more !

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Frustrating with a capital F

This was one of the most frustrating dramas that I've ever seen, for a multitude of reasons.

First of all, the pacing and plot distribution was just all wrong. The main male lead's own e-sports team was not fully established until episode 30 (yes, episode 30 out of 35), and that meant that we got barely any time to see how the members would actually grow together. The team felt like a hodgepodge of different characters, randomly pulled from here and there, and until the very end I still felt like only understood them in their previous contexts, not how they would grow in this new environment. We were only given about five episodes of gaming montage, and it was not nearly enough to convince me that this team would win, and that they deserved it.

Before the team was established, was show was just super frustrating and it never gave you a breather. Both the main characters basically just kept getting yanked left and right by evil antagonists — different characters, I might add — and that's the main source of plot development. It made both the characters feel really passive, and it was irritating how both of them seemed to recognize who was mean to them, but then became completely clueless when they were sabotaged and things went wrong.

There were simply just too many antagonists. Everyone aside from the two leads and about five side characters were either evil, easily manipulated by evil characters, or were just judgmental and obnoxious. While most e-sport dramas are inspiring and about people coming together, this one, for 30 episodes, felt like it was more about how people could be pulled apart. And the way many of these antagonists were handled were extremely weird — either they were given a redemption arc that felt out of the blue and unearned, or they were just unpunished and it felt like we just moved past big events.

I was not a fan of the romance either. The first ten episodes were a constant cycle of the FL making decisions to be nosy and annoying, followed by the ML being extremely rude, and then the FL randomly crying over her dead mother. I was not emotionally invested enough in her backstory to care about these sobfests, and when the leads suddenly started flirting and going on dates one episode later as if they had never argued, I had to backtrack and make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped an episode. It didn't help that the ML kept getting flashbacks to his first love throughout his initial interactions with the FL. Regardless, throughout the course of their flirtationship and relationship, the communication was just not there. The female lead constantly saw things and jumped to conclusions, and she never heard out the male lead, and all I kept thinking was that it never felt like their relationship could withstand outside forces.

The second couple was alright; they had some cute moments but were overall quite cliche with the typical more outgoing female character. Still, Lu Yiyi often came across as more abrasive.

I think the best part of this show was Pei Xi (and I am eternally grateful he wasn't dragged into a love triangle) who I think we desperately needed more backstory for as he had a really intriguing relationship with the ML, and Lin Yixuan (the sidekick, if you will), who wasn't that exciting of a character but provided the loyalty and friendship that was missing from a lot of the show.

Overall, I've watched a few gaming dramas and this is definitely not one of my favorites — the title for that still goes to Falling Into Your Smile, a drama where its strongest point was a female lead who was actually in the e-sports industry and who was capable and career-focused. At this point I'm a little over these gaming dramas where the FL has to be an outsider; there are moments where it's done decently but even when the FL in this drama was getting into e-sports commentary and joining the Phenix team, it felt like she was always asking questions and never knew what was going on.

The one thing I will give this drama is that the OST is quite good. But everything else...if you want to watch a gaming drama, I recommend you look instead to Falling Into Your Smile or Out With A Bang.

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Not as good as it could have been

I don't understand why this drama has glowing reviews. There was a serious lack of romance, after a soft kind of breakup between the leads, he never really explains or asks forgiveness and somehow they just forget and forgive and are magically back together in the last bit of the last episode.

The toxic people barely get punished. An attempted sexual assault is pretty much glossed over, that bad guy doesn't go to jail, he just disappears from the show. The jealous and manipulative Qiao Xin who destroys the FL's life and work multiple times, suddenly has a change of heart after getting caught and just decides to be a better person. wtf? Barely any consequences for the bad people, but the good people suffered HUGE losses, financially, career wise, as well as personally.

Over all I found myself losing interest in the last 1/3 of the series and had to force myself to keep going to just see if it got any better. I wouldn't give this show any higher than a 6.5 maybe a 7 and I definitely won't be rewatching this. There are a lot better shows in this same genre.

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This show was really really good and very touching, especially for what I'd classify as an "idol drama"., albiet a very high budgeted one. The cast was filled with new faces and they all did a really really good job so that was super refreshing. I found all the characters really different to the usuals you find in any drama, they were all intersting and unique and the relationships between characters was refreshing. This show's cinematography was stunning tbh and the way they edited the competition scenes was really really amazing, I actually cried a bit in the end because of the way they portrayed the build up of emotions. As someone who only has a basic understanding of league (which i dont know if they're parodying or if iconqure is a real game out there idek lol) I feel like they still made you interested and invested in the competitions even if you dont play computer games yourself. I feel like a lot of the osts were used quite well and the dialogues were really well written. The side couples were super super cute and the main couple was also very cute, and all the friendships were enviable because this show is mostly about teamwork and fighting for a goal together and I really liked it. I also liked how their were characters of different age ranges such as the previous generation of gamers that acted as mentors/guidance towards the main cast. Overall, other then an obsessive ex that appears for a bit which is a trope im just so totally over, I think this show has a lot of heart and you could tell the production team really cared about it. This drama is the result of a lot of people's hardwork and it shows.

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Not only game story

This drama was really nice to watch. I didn’t know wang yi bo, but when I watched this drama I was really curious about him. Now I am a fan off him.
FL & ML had great chemistry! The focus was not only on e-sport/gaming but also the message about do what you like to do. Find out what you likes to do and do it! Even if you think it’s hard, you should try it.

The only annoying thing in this story was the ML ex-girlfriend. So sometimes I skipped her part.
The rest off the story was really good!
A shame that this drama is still not really populair.

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How Xiangkong handled the whole Miya thing ruined the show

I loved both our leads at first. They're beautiful and sweet. Their relationship started off as rocky because of misunderstandings, but once they cleared them, the sweet friendship and love story began. That is, until Miya, the ex-girlfriend appeared. I truly loved Xiangkong at first. He was sweet and caring towards Qiu Ying and the adoration they felt for each other can be seen clearly from their clear eyes. But when Miya returned and wants Xiangkong back, I didn't like how Xiangkong handled the whole love triangle thing. He was too rash to declare ownership to Qiu Ying infront of Miya instead of facing it head on with her. Totally mishandled. When that thing got resolved, we finally got to see our couple finally together. We had our brief dose of fluff then the undying ex girlfriend appeared yet again. I mean, c'mon! There should be enough cliche in a few episodes! At this point I began to despise Xiangkong. He was kind to everybody except to the person whom he loved. That was total bullshit. I am a person who is very clear between love and hate. So him neglecting his girlfriend because he felt he was responsible for the ex was bullcrap. And worst of all, the showrunners let the girl give up first instead of the guy realizing his priorities and actually choosing his love. It was aggravating to be honest.

But despite my hate to the way they handled the love story, I liked the e-sports part. Xiangkong was not the best player but he was the best tactician. His skills wasn't god-like, unlike Gun god and he relies on his team for victory, but that was his strength.

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