My Dear Guardian (2021) 爱上特种兵 Review

Summary: Liang Mu Ze 梁牧泽 (Huang Jing Yu 黄景瑜) is a special forces captain who meets the young military doctor Xia Chu 夏初 (Li Qin 李沁) while both were abroad. Their initial meeting was unpleasant but fate places them together. Sparks fly as each does not back down but soon learn to respect each other’s passion for their chosen career. 

 

Overall rating: 7.5/10 

View this drama primarily for the cute romance between Li Qin and Johnny Huang and their dedication to their career.  Take this as a light-hearted drama only, not to be taken too seriously.

Premiering in June of 2021, I’ve been chasing this drama the last month and have been struck by how sweet Li Qin and Johnny Huang are both in the drama and outside of it. The show released soooo many behind the scenes/blooper clips many of which are on Youtube and it’s just too cute to watch the two interact.

DouBan, the popular Chinese drama ratings system, rates this drama rather poorly at only 4.4. I can see why people rate it this way but one cannot deny that this drama was incredibly popular this summer. It trended multiple times on Weibo (Chinese Twitter) and the stars, Li Qin and Johnny Huang also enjoyed a surge in popularity. The primary reason is because of the chemistry between Li Qin and Johnny Huang.

I’m a huge fan of Li Qin as I think she is gorgeous but Johnny Huang does a great job portraying a military captain. He is one of the few actors who is actually quite strong and does many of his own stunts. That adds to the believability of his role even though many of the conflicts that happen seem rather contrived. That does not detract from the fact that Li Qin and Johnny are great casting for these roles. 

 

Story: This is a rather classic story of two incredibly attractive people starting off hating each other, and then somehow ending up roommates, then pretending to be dating, and then actually falling in love. 

Episode 1 shows the resident military doctor Xia Chu getting experience abroad at a fictional place called Isaia. There, she runs into Liang Mu Ze and they get into a fight over something rather trivial. Once she returns to her hospital though, she is caught up in a terrorist attack and has to try to remain calm in this hostage situation. None other than Liang Mu Ze’s team comes into save the hostages but his good friend Tian Yong is injured. After this experience, the two develop disgust for each other as Liang Mu Ze does not think Xia Chu is a good soldier or a good doctor.

Once back in China, it just so happens that Xia Chu is stationed at a hospital and looking for a place to stay. Her mother says she has a friend who has an apartment she can stay at. Xia Chu happily agrees but once she walks into the apartment, bumps into none other than a shirtless Liang Mu Ze. They of course bicker but given Xia Chu has to head to the hospital, they let it go for the time being. Oh and Xia Chu randomly picked up a cute cat on the street so she’s moved in with her cat.

On Xia Chu’s side, she is focused on becoming an accomplished cardiothoracic surgeon but the sudden reappearance of a childhood friend, Zhuo Ran, starts creating tension in the drama.

On Liang Mu Ze’s side, he is a highly trained special ops soldier and spends most of his time at base but suffers from guilt over the death of his good friend 8 years ago. He and his team participate in uncovering the cause of the terrorist attack in Isaia as well as stopping a drug crime lord.

 

Thoughts:

Pros: This drama shines when it’s focused on the interactions between Xia Chu and Liang Mu Ze. Xia Chu is a hard working and intelligent doctor doing residency. She does not back down from a challenge particularly when it comes to her patients. She also is not afraid to tease Liang Mu Ze. Probably one of the funniest scenes in the show is when Liang Mu Ze bullies Xia Chu into helping him change his bedsheets and Xia Chu provides him with a full Sailor Moon set! HAHAHAHAHA.

As a Sailor Moon fan, I absolutely loved this and am quietly wondering where I can get this set for myself. Hehehe.

As the two spend more time together, they slowly develop more respect towards each other. Each is passionate about their careers as a doctor and a soldier in the Chinese military. Liang Mu Ze, in particular, trusts Xia Chu unconditionally and is always there to support her. This is probably every young woman’s dream boyfriend/husband material. Of course, though, they don’t shy away from the realities of what it means to date a soldier -lots of moving, uncertainty and even death. The first 12 episodes of this drama in particular are so sweet watching these two change their attitudes towards each other.

It is impressive to see the actors physically fit and doing real stunts in the show. It’s a different type of action compared to kungfu dramas I’ve watched and this military subject is not one I’m usually keen on viewing so it was a nice change of pace.

 

Cons: The show falls short in executing the conflict beyond the romance storylines between Xia Chu and Liang Mu Ze. Xia Chu’s childhood friend Zhuo Ran’s return to her life causes all sorts of issues as he is not simply a childhood friend anymore, but is involved in the criminal ring of a violent drug and crime lord. The show threads this story line into the show to try to create challenges that Liang Mu Ze’s team must face. Certainly, it gives a lot of rather cool scenes where Liang Mu Ze is a badass fighter but to me, that whole story line was annoying and a drag. There are incredibly heavy topics in this show which were quite odd to balance out with the super cute and bubbly interactions between Xia Chu and Liang Mu Ze.

I could not care less about Zhuo Ran’s relationship with Mi Gu, Xia Chu’s best friend. The entire time I was thinking to Mi Gu, girl, get some self respect. Same thing with the story line of Xiao Xue, Liang Mu Ze’s cousin. The drama tried to take itself too seriously which I understand. It’s a great way to showcase the sacrifices people make as doctors and military soldiers which is admirable no doubt, but because these storylines moved beyond what was available in the book, the drama fell short in landing the impact on viewers.

 

Book differences and thoughts:

So when the drama first aired the first 8 or so episodes, I was like, OK, this drama seems super cute, let me read the book the drama was based on so I binged that. The book is actually much simpler than the story lines in the drama and it’s primarily focused on the romance between Liang Mu Ze and Xia Chu. The book I felt was a romanticized view of what a military doctor and a special force’s romance would be like.

While I just commented on how I think the added conflict in the drama could have been done better, I do think it was needed to round out the characters. In the book, I couldn’t tell why Xia Chu was a particularly good doctor which the drama actually emphasizes through her actions. I’m actually glad they gave Xia Chu more independence and the ability to hold her own, rather than being primarily focused on her relationship with Liang Mu Ze. The book also I don’t think did enough to highlight some of the true conflicts involved in being a military doctor and solider which the drama helped supplement. 

Some last thoughts – watch this drama if you want something super cute between two very attractive people where the man is actually fit enough to pick up his girlfriend. Sometimes you know it’s cliche but you just like it and that’s how I feel about this drama. There are WAY too many coincidences for this drama to work in real life but Xia Chu and Liang Mu Ze are adorable together. 

 

 

-Karen

 

 

 

The Wolf (2020) 狼殿下 Review 

The Wolf premiered in late 2020 staring Wang Da Lu 王大陆 as Prince Bo 渤王, Li Qin 李沁 as Ma Zhai Xing 马摘星 and Xiao Zhan 肖战 as Ji Chong 疾冲.

Summary: The story revolves around a young boy raised by wolves who befriends the young girl, Ma Zhai Xing, in the mountains. The two promise to trust and care for each other but a false murder accusation leads to the two young friends to separate. 

Eight years later, the young wolf boy emerges as the powerful Prince Bo, adopted son of the Emperor. The Prince and Ma Zhai Xing meet once again and try to capture magic of their childhood but kingdom rivalries and family allegiances complicate this reunion. 

 

 

Overall rating: 7.5/10 

Exceeded non-existent expectations by Wang DaLu and his chemistry with Li Qin. The soundtrack is an added bonus but be prepared with tissues and for some cliches.

There was actually quite a lot of drama surrounding this drama as it was filmed in 2017 with the now astronomically popular Xiao Zhan as the secondary love interest for Li Qin. Due to an event in early 2020 where Xiao Zhan was essentially blacklisted for a while, this drama captured its opportunity to air in late 2020 and instead of airing episode by episode as we are used to, all 49 episodes dropped at once on QQ.

Many people watched this drama because they were fans of Xiao Zhan thanks to his performance in The Untamed. I personally watched The Untamed after this drama so was not fully aware of his immense fan following and watched The Wolf because I’m a fan of Li Qin. 

I would say most people agree with me that though they watched this drama for other people, they became pleasantly surprised by Wang Da Lu’s performance as Prince Bo or Bo Wang. Ratings were mixed but viewership was quite high for the show. Wang Da Lu became an instant darling and garnered many invitations to performances and reality shows. This was certainly a highlight of his career.

Why you should watch this:

  • Chemistry between Wang Da Lu’s Prince Bo and Li Qin’s Ma Zhai Xing. 
    • Wang Da Lu in particular does a phenomenal job portraying a harden young man with the wild side of being raised by wolves but softens when he’s with his love, Ma Zhai Xing
  • You’re into cute romance tropes with a sprinkle of betrayal and country allegiances
    • The episodes where Ma Zhai Xing and Prince Bo spend time together as a couple are incredibly sweet. But then that also means when truths are revealed, it can be devastating. There’s lots of tears shed by Ma Zhai Xing.
  • Prince Bo, the Wolf Prince, is powerful in every sense of the word and leads a  loyal team. It’s a pleasure watching him go to battle for his team and adopted siblings.
  • Great secondary character in Xiao Zhan’s Ji Chong
    • First introduced in ep 11, Ji Chong soon becomes fast friends with Ma Zhai Xing and is attracted to her resolute nature. He does his best to protect Ma Zhai Xing and truly respects her.
  • The Soundtrack is a banger. THE Jolin Tsai offers her voice for the drama’s opening theme, This is quite rare but the moment I heard this song, I knew it was Jolin. It adds a rather wild flair to the atmosphere which pairs well with the wolf prince. 
  • High production value

Why You May Want to Pass

  • I’ll be the first to admit, there are many idol drama tropes in this drama. Of course, you have a powerful Prince in Prince Bo in love with the female lead, and they just so happen to meet another capable young man, Ji Chong, who then falls in love with the female lead as well. 
    • But, I’m a sucker for this type of drama especially with this intriguing lead.
  • The drama tries to portray the female lead as strong and independent, but she ultimately still has to rely on her male love interests.
  • You also can’t think too hard about some of the conflicts that happen. As with many dramas of this nature, I feel like many conflicts could have resolved themselves if people just talked to each other.
  • Lots of tears are shed after the brief moments of sweetness. 

Overall, I personally adored this drama and was really glad I decided to take a shot. It was my drama obsession at the end of 2020. If you can get past some of the basic tropes and not think too hard about the history of the show, it’s a fun and emotional ride. It tugs at your heartstrings in all the right places but perhaps be ready with a box of tissues. 

Li Qin and Wang Da Lu were on Happy Camp and Day Day Up at the end of 2020/beginning of 2021 and you can tell they’ve become good friends. Their weibo interactions were also super cute while promoting the drama.  Li Qin and Xiao Zhan have worked together on many projects and it shows as they’re very comfortable together in the drama as well. I’d say, give it a shot.

-Karen