If Love o2o and Go Go Squid had a love child it would be called Falling Into Your Smile. This drama reminded me a lot of these two dramas. Just like Love o2o the main leads never doubt each other, they communicate well, and never have any issues in their romance. There are no messy breakups, no noble idiocy, no mean in-laws, and no love triangles. And it doesn’t have a lot of angst or heavy melodrama either. It also reminded me a lot of Go Go Squid with its riveting gaming competitions. I loved how the teams worked and lived together just like a family. The camaraderie and team spirit were quite touching. If you liked Love o2o and Go Go Squid then you’ll love this because they’re quite similar.

Most dramas first few episodes aren’t that interesting as they set up the storyline. Introducing a variety of characters and their backstories may be crucial to the plot but it can be quite tedious and uninteresting. But this drama is quite interesting right from the beginning. It takes us into the world of gaming with a live match right away. Then we get to meet some intriguing characters which will crack you up. This drama has some great comedy. There’s not really any slow moments and I didn’t have to fast forward at all. And it stays a romcom throughout the whole drama which was refreshing.

One thing that I like about this drama is that it’s about more than just romance and gaming. It delves into deeper subjects like how public figures deal with immense pressure from fans, the news media, their managers, and social media. They also have to deal with the disrespectful attitude most people have that e-sports is just a bunch of people sitting around playing games for fun. They don’t see it as a legitimate career worthy of respect. Then there are the gamers parents who want them to quit e-sports and get a ‘real job’. I also appreciated how hard the female lead works to help people see that women can be just as good at gaming as men are.

The gaming aspect of the drama was fun and made it more interesting. I wish that they made it a little easier to follow and understand. There are lots of different characters to choose from during the game and they seem to play a different character every time they compete. So it’s hard to know who is who when they’re playing. Plus, the games rules aren’t explained at all. So expect to get a bit lost and confused during the games.

Chinese dramas tend to have perky, upbeat, outgoing female leads that are often silly and naive but cute. But the female lead in this drama is different. She’s more reserved, serious and focused on her career. And she’s determined to prove to the male dominated gaming world that women can be just as good as men in e-sports. Therefore we don’t see a cute bubbly happy female lead like we usually do in cdramas. Instead we see a more aloof, reserved female lead that’s very focused on her career. Some have complained about her facial expressions, especially because she rarely smiles and her nickname in the gaming world is ‘Smiling’. She chose that name to honor a past gamer she admires, not because she smiles a lot. Her lack of smiles and cute or silly facial expressions is not poor acting, it’s how her character is written. If you understand that she is portraying a more soft spoken laidback type of character then you’ll enjoy her acting like I did.

I took off one star for a couple of reasons. Most of the actors in this drama are new and even though they did a great job, you can still tell the difference between them and the more seasoned veteran actors. The other reason would be because of how confusing the games are. It’s really hard to know what’s going on during the gaming competitions and that’s a big part of the drama. But don’t let those two things hold you back because the games are still fun to watch and they’re acting is still really good, especially for newbies.

I can’t end this without addressing the romance in the drama. The romance had amazing chemistry with lots of steamy kisses. And once they get together he just can’t seem to keep his hands off of her. Expect lots of kiss scenes, back hugs, princess carrying, and cuddling. They did an amazing job on the romance in this drama. There’s also a secondary couple that are fun to watch and added a lot to the drama.

In conclusion, this is one of those rare dramas that is low on angst but is still very interesting, which is hard to do. There are no breakups, no hateful parents, no scheming second leads, and no love triangles. Yet I couldn’t stop binge watching it. And that’s highly unusual for me. It’s not perfect but it’s definitely close. Don’t pass this one up, you’ll regret it.