‘Out with a Bang’ is exactly what you get. A professional e-sport player is facing the end of his career, but he’s going out with a bang (referring to the type of game he’s playing). This drama brought to my attention how short of a career these e-sport guys/gals have. Unlike other sports, where an athlete can play for several years, the repetitive nature of e-sports and the harm done to hands/wrists can cause these guys/gals to retire while still in their 20s. The plot revolves around his journey to retirement, which includes reconnecting with his lost first love and learning how to be a part of a team. He also discovers a new purpose in life - that of mentoring new players to be their best.

I preferred this drama about e-sports better than the popular ‘Falling into Your Smile’ for the following reasons:

1) FL was much more likeable. She didn’t go around for most of the drama with a snobby look on her face. She was a nice, likeable girl who responded maturely to disappointments and obstacles. She did allow that wannabe love rival, Shi Ya, influence her too much, but ML quickly set her straight. Really, it’s ML’s decision what team he wants to play for, nobody else’s. Besides, he knew his career was nearing its end with his wrist issue so Shi Ya’s ‘help’ was a mote point. I also loved how he told mom point blank that FL was his girlfriend, not the nanny. Thumbs up to ML!

2) I liked ML’s character better than the ML on ‘Falling’. He was narcissistic, somewhat childish and prickly, but he was cute at the same time. I loved his ‘sisters’ and who gifts their girlfriend with a life-size picture of himself? LOL That’s not saying that Xu Kai didn’t do a good job with the role he had in ‘Falling’. I just think his acting talent was underused with the tsundere personality type. He was much, much better in ‘Arsenal Military Academy’ where he could display a wider range of emotion.

3) Gaming action was kept to a minimum until the final few episodes, but unlike 'Falling', the gaming action is easily understood by non-gamers. You knew what the objective of their game was - shoot the other players until your team is the last one standing. Simple concept. In 'Falling', you have to be a person who's played the game, otherwise, the terminology makes no sense. Mid-laners? Jugglers? Castles? A non-gamer, or someone who's never played this particular game, is lost. In 'Out with a Bang', that's not the case, which makes the gaming action more exciting since you know what the objective is. It's a great scene when Tian uses a Chaun's maneuver to move their team into qualifying position. Brought tears to my eyes.

4) And most importantly, there was much, much less focus on fans and internet netizens. I found that aspect of ‘Falling’ to be the worst. It just went on and on and on, and I think the reaction to unhappy fans and their comments was grossly exaggerated. How can you run a business, be it e-sports or whatever, if you going to totally overact to netizen comments? Everyone in your country isn't paying attention to these scandals, and the vast majority who do are silent so why overact like the company in ‘Falling’ (or any company in C-dramas, for that matter)? Also, these scandals don't last. A new scandal erupts and the old one is forgotten. These so-called financial losses to the company will not last, and it's ridiculous for the management to overact as they do in C-dramas. I was glad to see that the internet and its trolls were less of an issue in this drama.

Now, in many ways, this drama isn’t much different plot-wise than most C-dramas. Instead of competing corporations trying to underhandedly defeat the other, the e-sports managers/directors are attempting to put the other team out of business by influencing sponsors, etc. Is this really how things run in China? Is this how they view Capitalism? This kind of behavior went out of practice in the 1800s in the US as anti-trust laws went into effect. To compete, businesses need to have a better product, not undermine the other company with fake scandals and underhanded deals with suppliers. Besides, competition is good for the consumer so trying to create a monopoly as their companies do is detrimental to society.

I think it's fair to say that all Captain Qin’s troubles would have been solved if he'd just gotten rid of that fiancée and her harpy mother. She didn’t care what he was going through or what pressure she and her mom were placing on him; all she wanted was the house. This boy seriously needed to get rid of her, but at the end of the drama, he’s still with her! Do you honestly want to live with her and that mom forever, buddy? No wonder a lot of these dramas portray dad as henpecked. What an idiot!

I’ve also noticed a trend in C-dramas. We see the second couples getting married or engaged at the end while the MC’s relationship is either ambiguous or still just in the dating phase. Tell me – why am I watching this drama? It’s to see the MC get married at the end since I'm of the generation that still equates marriage as a happy ending. I could care less what happens with the 2nd or 3rd couples, ok? Same with this drama. I could care less about FL’s boss and her best friend, and I would have rather heard that MC was getting married/engaged, not these two. So, the ending for me was slightly disappointing.

But, overall, it's a solid drama with a plot that's going somewhere. It touches on your heart-strings as you watch the ML go from professional player to mentor/coach. You don't get that in 'Falling'.