Vai, Cara de Lula! (2019)

I enjoyed this drama because I was in the mood for a light rom-com. I liked the show enough to binge thru 41 eps over 2-3 days, putting a few of my currently airing shows in a wait-state. I hadn't met this ML before, so I was pleasantly surprised and hooked base on him as an actor (and admittedly because of his handsomeness). I was familiar with & already grown accustomed to the FL based on a couple of other dramas, most popular being Ashes of Love. She plays a cutesy young college girl in this that falls for a guy 10 years older than her. I liked the storyline and a lot of the mishaps and misunderstandings that lead to these to being perceived as a couple b4 they actually are. I laughed out loud at least a handful of times. The chemistry is there on a slow-burn basis. It made sense, but to an inpatient viewer this could be troublesome.

The real negatives of this show were that there was an overuse of flashbacks used repetitively that became unnecessary filler to an episode here and there. I knock the writers for that. I also was very much aware throughout the show of the fact that they made him look great -- kudos to the clothing stylist and the hair stylist. But in contrast, the clothing stylist for the FL should be shot and the hair stylist right behind her. It was too much of a contrast between the two leads. She constantly looked like she was in a dressed up potato sack. I can count on on hand how many times/scenes they dressed her in something that made her look attractive. Sooo, while watching this show, it was just nagging me at the back of my brain from beginning to end.

There is a good supporting cast, most especially the team of young guys. They added a whole additional layer of comedy and relief to the show. Nicely done. I was surprised to see Hu Yi Tian after being in a successful/popular leading role in A Love So Beautiful. I thought his part, although not very verbal, was impactful and captured my attention with just his facial expressions throughout the whole show. I didn't know about the fact that he had recently gotten him self caught up in a mess of a scandal until I was almost done with the drama. I saw comments where many who are up on Chinese entertainment news didn't want to give him the time of day..slammed him in comments and so on. Me, however, I judged him solely based on his acting performance -- he brought something to the table and I can see why he has 4 other dramas already slated to come out where he is the male lead. Will I watch them, YEP.

Even with the negatives I raised, this show kept me entertained and engaged enough to rate it an 8.5/10. And I will be checking out the other dramas of the ML (Li Xian).

p.s. What took me so long to start this drama was that I thought the title was kinda lame. It makes sense, but I think the marketing people could have done a better job capturing more audience with a different name.

Leia Mais

heart-fluttering, nostalgic story!

Finally understood the hype for this show! It's a sweet romance between the main leads with a mix of nostalgic friendship memories!

First and foremost, chemistry between both leads are simply amazing. At first it was awkward, but I assume it was part of character development lol.

Male lead is cold, emotionless, serious man with a strong passion of leading his team to be a world champion and also fulfilling his own dreams when he was young. He might seem very cold, but he's the most sentimental dude i have ever seen. And the more mean he is, the more he cares about the person. He has a sad past and friendships breakup that turned him into this person, but eventually the female lead came into his life and warmed his icy heart!!

Female lead is bubbly, loving, likable, adorable woman who is a genius in programming. She fell in love with the male lead at first sight which seems unrealistic, but oh wells that's how the story progresses. She turns into stalker-mode and starts to pursue the male lead, but actually it would have been better if it went naturally 'cos there were many factors that could have led them to meet each other and fall in love instead.

Here comes the plot, at first it feels too much disturbing as she stalks him just to find out who he is and where he lives. After that, they were entangled in a relationship by accident and misunderstanding. The male lead gradually fell in love with her and the relationship turned real so it got better from here. Would have wished that the way the female lead pursued the male lead was different from the plot here as it felt unrealistic and impossible to happen in real life. Like they had common topic such as cybersecurity or they were related by families or the fact that her professor actually knew the male lead.

Aside from the main love story, the show focuses on the male lead's past friendship with his former teammates. He might have been holding a grudge for the past ten years, but eventually they managed to bury the hatchet and became close again. The pace felt just right and I felt the memories were useful in giving us a bigger picture as to why the male lead turned this way.

The side couple's story was sweet too, Yaya and Mi. The other one which the show didn't focus much on was Ai Qing and Wu Bai. Wu Bai is a very interesting character due to his mysterious vibes. Even though he had lesser scenes and little lines, but it was what made him mysterious. So, I was actually very fond of his character aside from the main leads.

There comes the typical parents not liking the male lead and trying to separate them which the male lead eventually convinced them in the end and they managed to accept him. And also, his grandfather, his stepmother, his K&K kids who were on his side that got him and the female lead together was simply fun to watch. They were the ones who made this relationship happened so kudos to them!

The love rivals were not powerful enough to separate the main leads, but thanks to them, they made the main leads grew to love and understand each other even more lol.

Now comes my favorite part, the soundtracks! I love their main OST, its super addictive and they have many great soundtracks!

Production seem high-cost, seeing that they had to film in hotels, different houses and a club. There were quite a lot of product placements so this show must have been highly raved.

Female lead's wardrobe collection was cute which fits her personality. I love the male lead's choice of clothes, just full black which made him so handsome and stylish.

Other than that, I would actually recommend this show to anyone who wants to watch. It got me quite hooked after I was trying to move on from a previous show. Now, I'm actually hyped to watch the spin-off of this show so that I could get a glimpse of Wu Bai and Ai Qing's love story as well as snippets of the main leads getting married. I would definitely re-watch again if I could!

Leia Mais

'Cutesy' story with lots of flashbacks.

Overall, the whole is cutesy romance with the usual pinch of breakup and 2nd lead, clingy FL and stoic ML. The actress tries to play the 'cutesy' FL but somehow for me, she doesn't fit that image. FL's character is a genius but lacks a lot in life experience, which given her age is true. This was my first cdrama which did bring me into watching cdramas back in 2019 but rewatching it again now makes me point out stuff which the younger me would have ignored. The FL gets stalkerish in the start and God trying to be 'cutesy' is so frustrating to watch. Plus I don't know who was her stylist but her clothes almost look like a 4 year old dressed her up. The flashbacks also made it a bit boring. The flashbacks were too long and frequent. I get that it helps understand the ML and his old team, but their frequency and length made me skip those, as they had the same story overall. My favourite parts were those which had the whole team together and Wu Bai. Wu Bai's interactions with TN were sweet and with HS were comedic. Overall not a bad series, but the 'too cute' FL was a bummer for me.

Leia Mais

Life is too short for stressful drama.

Life is too short for stressful drama. Why spend all that time watching and be stressed? Don’t our lives already provide enough of that?

Summary of the series:
- Light hearted rom/com; series had great flow
- there was some miscommunication, but it was negligible for the story to move forward
- amazing sound track
- FL acting carries the whole series; amazing surrounding casts and very likable
- great story on friendship
- simpatico characters
- villains are kept at bay easily, no long struggles, calamity or miscommunications to cause more drama and stress
- love how the series dont stop when the ML/FL get together. The series continues. We seldom find this where you get to enjoy the happiness for a few more episodes after they become a couple.
- ending was not done succinctly, so glad no rush endings like lots over series


By far one of my fav of all time since I like joyful, stressless series: recommended to watch for sure

If you are looking for gratuitous stress/drama, frequent miscommunications, abrupt ending, insipid side stories, then this is not for you.

Leia Mais

A (slightly exaggerated) c-drama about romance, ambition and friendship

Don't get me wrong, Go Go Squid wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't as good as I wished it was.
I jumped in when many reviews said that the female lead was a cosplay singer and the male lead was a pro e-sports gamer. As someone interested in both I was disappointed to find out that Tong Nian wasn't actually cosplaying but is really more of "popular singer that covers anime songs"

The casts looked good and were quite suited to their role in the drama - e.g. looking like their intended age in the show. The main leads were cute and their interaction on screen made my heart flutter a lot, HOWEVER story-wise it was slightly hard to believe due to their big age gap and how the female lead mostly felt very clingy to the male lead and generally passive throughout the series.

One big thing that drives the drama is the ambition that the e-sport casts have. I like that the story also includes many scenes of the gamers training and struggling to prove themselves to be the best. It also includes light-hearted interactions like bantering with Han Shang Yan DESPITE him being the "scary boss", I found that refreshing to watch.

Unfortunately some things just don't sit right with me when watching this drama, for example the styling for the female lead - Tong Nian is constantly wearing really baggy outfits that are weirdly put together (e.g. bright yellow knee length shirts, white shoes complemented with a denim jacket). It was most likely put together because they wanted to give Tong Nian that youthful demeanor in contrast to Han Shang Yan but it looked horrible. I don't think I wanna sit through 41 episodes of that ever again.

Leia Mais

Honestly, I started watching this drama because of Hu YiTian who I've been a huge fan of since the drama "A Love So Beautiful" which is why I was rather disappointed when I realized that he didn't have a big role in the story. In spite of that, I really enjoyed watching this drama.
First, I really enjoyed the romance:
- Han ShangYan and Tong Nian: These 2 were a very pleasant couple, the perfect example of the expression "opposites attract". Han ShangYan was a workaholic who didn't care about anything else aside from getting the championship, he's seen as someone rude, spoiled brat who has suffered a lot growing up but in reality, he's just misunderstood by most. That is until he crosses paths with Tong Nian who's the "perfect child", she's smart, has talent, she's extremely nice and sweet. Even though Han ShangYan seems cold, Tong Nian falls in love with him at first sight, she's able to see through him, through all his lies. And through all her support, Han ShangYan slowly starts falling for Tong Nian as well which is nuts since he's always been uninterested in girls and because to the outsiders they can't be a match due to their differences although in the end, they overcome this.
- Xiao Mi and Sun YaYa: I found this "couple" very cute. I really admired that Sun YaYa was able to show Xiao Mi that he has a lot of fans supporting him when he was at his lowest. I loved to see their relationship developing into a romantic relationship (which only happens in the end). She was always supporting him and he fell for her pretty quickly.
Second, the friendships and bonds:
- Solo team: The Solo team was a great example of the friendship and bond most of us would dream of having in our lives. Solo acted as more of a father who took care of the rest of the members of the team with the help of Han ShangYan. Unfortunately, this team had to disband, and each went its way where every single person got hurt and didn't really stay in touch with the rest. After 10 years of not seeing each other, Han ShangYan with the help of Tong Nian finally forgives Solo for what happened in the past and this friendship and bond get back on track.
- KK team: The KK team was so adorable. I loved them so much, how they behaved with Han ShangYan, and how they "made fun" of his relationship with Tong Nian. Also, they looked so cool in the CTF competitions!
The fourth and most likely the most important thing about this drama is that these characters went all-in after a dream that most people don't even consider a "serious job" but just a hobby. It showed us that you should only give up on your dreams when there's no way to achieve them. If you work to achieve your dreams, you'll achieve them!

Although this drama was really good, I felt like there could be more development on the DT and Appledog relationship but that might have happened this way because there's another drama that is around their relationship.
In conclusion, this is a very sweet and funny drama that I would definitely recommend to anyone.

Please, don't forget to leave your opinion about this drama after you watch it!

Leia Mais

I must preface this review with the fact that I don't watch too many modern Chinese dramas. I tend to watch the ancient Chinese dramas with good fighting, beautiful costumes and some political intrigue. But there's really something appealing about this show and it gives you a break from the more melodramatic shows out there.

Story: The storyline is pretty coherent and consistent. Chinese dramas tend to cut scenes to the point where it can cause major confusion, but I gladly found that I didn't have that issue here. Though the central theme of this drama is the romance between the main leads, it doesn't consume every minute of the 41 episodes, which I can appreciate. It has a nice "follow your dreams" message but the overt patriotism would ruin it for me sometimes. I must say that I like the relationship between the two main leads, though the beginnings of it was sketchy it eventually evolved into something more mature and healthy. Was the storyline spectacular? I wouldn't say so, but it kept me entertained for the most part and definitely had some good laughs while watching it.

Acting/Cast: Overall the cast was pretty solid, no one's acting made me cringe or ruined any scenes. Yang Zi (though doesn't look like the character's age) and Li Xian did really well as the young innocent Tong Nian and the overly serious Han Shang Yan. Though I felt for some scenes Li Xian looked stiff and his posture looked strange and forced. Their chemistry as the main couple was so cute sometimes it made you squeal. I don't think you'll be let down in this department. I only wish they gave more screen time for Mi Shao Fei and YaYa's relationship to develop. They were also very cute and fun.

Music: The main theme, "A Nameless Person" pretty much brainwashed me. I've been playing it non-stop since finishing this drama. The ending theme "Milk Bread" and the rest of the music in between is also nice to listen to, but "A Nameless Person" really takes the cake for me.

If you're looking for a nice, lighthearted, comedic, and romantic drama to watch then this is the one for you. The acting is on point (for the most part) and the storyline makes sense and doesn't try to be more than what it is (sometimes you have dramas out there that try to cram every genre possible into the 40 some odd episodes which makes you forget the what the central plotline is supposed to be - this doesn't do that, yah!). This is the first modern Chinese Drama I was able to finish from beginning to end in a long time (for some odd reason I couldn't for the life of me finish Love O2O) and glad I picked it up, though much later than most folks.

Leia Mais

Cringe but still so cute

Age gap had me all kinds of weirded out and Tong Nian's outfits were absolutely tragic, but God, this drama is so freaking cute. Yes, I cried. I think the romance between Mi and Yaya was absolutely adorable, but I was really turned off by the way Tong Nian acted like a 4 year old for most of the drama. She makes really mature decisions but acts so immaturely at the same time. The CTF aspect of the show was really well done. I would overall recommend this even though the main romance was kinda meh.

Edit because I rewatched 4 years later:
Age gap still a lil off-putting but I'm still super convinced it's less the age gap and more the fact that Tong Nian acts quite childish. We don't see the same issue with Little Mi and Yaya. Her outfits are still tragic lmao, and yes this drama is still very freaking cute. I think I have a higher opinion of Tong Nian after the second rewatch versus after the first, but I also kind of flip flopped and didn't quite like Han Shangyan as much the second time because of some of the crap that happened around the middle of the drama (you know...). I upped my rating because this drama has turned out to be my guilty pleasure lol, I've been meaning to rewatch it for so long!

Leia Mais

The story reminds me of "The King's Avatar". The male lead in Go Go Squid, Han Shangyan, a.k.a Gun, is also a computer genius and the best player in CTF. The only difference is there is more romance in this drama than in King's Avatar. Although the story revolves around Han Shangyan and Tong Nian, I still love the fact that it highlights their passion for reaching their dreams. I also love how it emphasizes friendship and loyalty.

As for the characters, I really love Han Shangyan and the K&K members. I love how Li Xian is able to portray the cold but soft-hearted Han Shangyan. I've become a big fan of Li Xian because of this drama. He's so handsome even in his frowning face.

I think both Li Xian and Yang Zi portrayed their characters well, especially when the scene involves the both of them. They really have good chemistry. I also love the K&K members, especially Grunt. It doesn't show but Wen Yifan who plays Grunt is actually much older than Li Xian. But in Go Go Squid, he jives really well with the other K&K members like they're all in the same age.

Their music gets a 9.5/10 from me. I could have given a 10 but I did not like some of them, although their OSTs fit every scene. My favorite is Glory by Lara.

This drama is definitely a recommend especially to those who love The King's Avatar.

Leia Mais

Go Go Squid what can I say....They did a fantastic job. The acting was done well by all the characters and I enjoyed the storylines of not just the main characters but the secondary characters as well. The story revolves around gaming competitions and I really liked how there was a contrast between the elder generation and the younger. Gaming competitively is relatively a new thing and making money at it definitely is a foreign concept for some and not seen as a traditional job. The growth of the main character was enjoyable to watch and how he slowly sees how amazing she is. The only thing I did not like is that the Tong Nian is supposed to be extremely smart and accomplished but rarely in the show does she have a chance to shine. It is often centered around him and his accomplishments. It would be nice to see a second season. Overall I'd recommend it.

Leia Mais

THIS DRAMA REALLY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION WHEN I WATCHED THE FIRST EPISODE AND MADE ME WANT TO WATCH MORE. TONG NIAN AND HAN SHANGYAN WERE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN, THEY WENT THROUGH MANY CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY BUT STILL CAME BACK TOGETHER STRONGER THAN EVER. I LOVED THIS DRAMA BECAUSE IT DIDN'T HAVE A LOVE TRIANGLE AND BECAUSE IT SHOWED US THAT EVEN THE MOST COLD HEARTED AND UNINTERESTED IN WOMAN TYPE OF MEN STILL KNOW HOW TO FIND LOVE. THIS FILM IS DEFINITELY BY FAR THE BEST DRAMA I HAVE EVER WATCHED AND I AM NOT KIDDING.



CAUTION: you will cry when watching all 41 episodes.

Leia Mais