I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
The story is simple. At a military school, goofy Maiding has a chance encounter with recluse Ah Ziyan. Post this meeting, Maiding becomes persistent in his pursuit of Ah Ziyan, since the latter is a popular student because of good looks, but his reputation is that of a jerk. Maiding's persistence pays off as this conflict soon turns into a reluctant friendship between the two polar opposites. Before you know the two are spending time with each other turning their friendship to love. But resistance comes from Ah Ziyan's sister who is very opposed to the match because of their social status and Maiding's parents who just want a suitable girl for their son. Thankfully Ah Ziyan's ex-girlfriend is very supportive of their relationship and eventually love wins.
The story is simple. But I saw the uncut version which at a duration of over 3.5 hours really tests your patience to the core. It takes almost over 1.5 hours for the duo to pursue friendship and love and then their courtship just continues. The rocks thrown their way by the sister and parents lastly barely few minutes. Ideally more opposition would have helped in the perception of their love getting stronger but all of that turned out to be just a fizzle. The only things that keeps this film from falling apart are the two leads who really are polar opposites. Ah Ziyan, is a guy who just likes his own company. Many girls want him but he portrays this arrogant demeanor. Opposite to him, Maiding is clingy bordering on annoyance. He literally forces his friendship on Ah Xiyan, but in a cute way. You can see that even though it irritates Ah Ziyan, there is something so real about mailing that he doesn't mind being dragged to lunches and movies. But once their love is established, then clearly Ah Ziyan goes to length to be there for his love. He opposes his family, his sister and even comes clean to his ex-girlfriend, who thankfully is a positive character and not a bitch ex who wants her boyfriend back. Back to the leads duo, a lot of their interactions are aww-worthy. I loved how Ah Ziyan keeps teasing Maiding with different ideas and how he keeps falling fo rit. You would think that his personality doesn't suit those but he has his own ways of showing love and somehow it works well with Maiding's goofy reactions. They both complement each other beautifully. Their relationship gets established very early in the film and hence we spend a lot of time just watching their love grow.
I would have liked this series a lot more had this film had some good editing and slightly better screenplay. Yes, the moments between the leads are adorable, at least a few of them, but there is only so much you can watch. Some serious trimming of the film needs to happen to make this more palatable. At the current version that I saw, I think its a decent effort to start. It's a simple and basic cute love story which has its moments occasionally. There is also a sequel to this which I should hopefully watch soon. (5/10)
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