A Mai Cong Jun (2024)

Deserves better than 7.6

I enjoyed this drama and I liked all the characters and how they were portrayed. Not the greatest drama for sure but pretty much all the criticism that was voiced in other reviews applies to all recent Chinese historical dramas.

I'd say if you were attracted by the tags attached to this drama (Strong Female Lead, Disguised As A Man, Orphan Female Lead, Revenge, ... ) you may very well find, as I did, that this drama delivers some welcome little twists to what you've come to expect from similarly tagged dramas.

I particularly enjoyed the interactions between the FL and SML and would love to see the two actors paired up again in another drama. After finishing this drama I also feel inspired enough to check out some of Zhang Tian Ai's and Wang Rui Chang's other dramas in the near future.

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Could be a little more realistic!

“Fighting For Love”,

So this a story of two people on merging paths to each other. I am only a few episodes in but the story is well written so far. Some of it is not so much words but the expressions and actions of the actors are so believable. The drama is well written I find myself listening to the dialog and not fast forwarding a lot. So, for me there is some intrigue about where it is going.
Acting:
Now that I am at end of this drama it has been fairly good. There is no shortage of plots and palace intrigue. There is a large cast and what seems like a big production. The story is not new with a strong woman pretending to be a man. The FL handles her part well and her played down looks helps with the part. In the beginning episodes the acting was really good, and I take my hat off to the emperor he is superb. The ML could have been a little better with the acting. He plays an aloof playboy prince that is not mature and does not know anything about responsibility. So, it is up to the FL to guide him. Their relationship does not take long to develop as they become friends first.
This drama has a lot a battle scene a little more than I like, because they lack that wuxia element, but they move quickly. The production of the battles are done well. I would not call this a wuxia it is just more of a drama.
I have binged most of the drama it does draw you in with the curiosity of who, what why and where is this going in he end.
Story:
The story is not original but is written well and does draw you in to watch. It has a lot of twist and turns. The last three episodes are rushed so much so I thought it would be a second season. I don’t know if everyone will stick around for the end or even appreciate the ending. I for one did not like the ending. I did not like the direction the story went in for the final episodes. This I more on a personal level and observation. I am all for the independence of women and that being able to forge your own path. I liked that the writers kept her personality of women in that she always knew she was a woman. She was forced by her circumstances to act as a man. I also liked that she was not portrayed as a woman that was physically stronger than men but she did work at being smarter.
Rewatch:
In conclusion I would not re-watch this. However, being that I binged most of it would suggest that I like the drama overall. It could have had a better ending, but I think that is how most people feel about endings these days. (They suck).

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I loved the show until I didn’t

I expected a war drama centric to the FL and her journey from a commoner to grow into a general who marshals her troops. The synopsis and first few episodes pointed towards her being smart, savvy, daring and upright and while that remained until the end, somewhere along the line the center piece of the drama shifted from being about her to being about the ML.

*SPOILERS*
The ML who didn’t deserve to be one at all. He either couldn’t make a decision for himself or conveniently looked the other way when evil deeds were conducted in his name. His seemingly first interaction with a woman, one not his mother or masters, had him falling for her in the most shallow way. He laughed when he heard about her tragedy. He knew why she wanted revenge yet bound her to himself despite having being caught up in court politics and a marriage himself. He hid the truth and colluded with people. Despite this, he got everything along with glory and praise. I don’t mind a well-done evil ML or even a weak one but somebody who is praised from the starting to almost the end without lifting a finger or even engaging his brain for anything he achieves is not my cup of tea.
*SPOILERS END*

The under utilisation of the acting prowess this drama had is a travesty. In one scene, the FL walks into the palace to defend her people and that’s one of the only few glimpses in the latter half of the drama (except the last two episodes) of what we deserved to get througout. While we didn’t get a satisfactory journey from commoner to army marshal for the FL, as a marshal she was compelling and demanded respect. Even though most of us have trife with feminine looking leads being passed off as men and nobody expecting anything afoot, here the FL’s body language acted like a man despite looking petite enough to be a woman. She carried her scars like battle armour, prideful and always aware of the power she yield in the army. In my opinion, she had the most reason to misuse that, but she didn’t. Despite being driven by revenge throughout, not once did she hold back from saving somebody in need. Though she did use Zhu and Chang for her needs, she was loyal. She wasn’t without fault but she remained the most endearing and inspiring character in the show that was supposed to be about her.

The SML, relegated to being a support cast, demanded attention in every single glimpse of his on-screen. We deserved so much more of him; this loyal, strong man who was brutal yet willing to go to any lengths for those he considered his own. I don’t understand why it was decided to reduce screen time for a lead that was nuanced and complex from what I have read until now in the novel.

I don’t mind directors and script writers deviating from the source novels as it gives them an opportunity to fill in plot holes and explain anything amiss. However, when a well-loved female centric novel gets adapted into a (at one point) harem drama and her love interest is modified into a support role, surely somebody needs to step in and question things. It’s a double shame as the show had immense potential in the first 2/3rds and had us hooked waiting for the next episode only to disappoint us in such a manner. The first 23 or so episodes are interesting and would hold your attention. Beyond that, I was left scratching my head at anything that transpired on screen. The pointless deaths and loose-ends would probably annoy me for months.

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Is the ending a hint for S2?

I watched in hope I will get to see a strong female lead and it did surpass my expectation on how Mai work really hard to got on her position now. She have a strong character and what i like the most is that she started from the bottom! So it’s not the “typical” Mary Sue story, if you want to watch the character development of the female lead, I would really recommend this drama.

But I cannot hide my disappointment on how the story only focus on the love interest rather than putting the whole plot together pieces by pieces, slowly. It seems that the love between Shang Yi Zhi and Mai seems to be forced to happen that fast. How do I get to this conclusion? Because Mai had been disguised as a male all these years, and catching feelings with a man (a himbo) she just met was so questioning to me.

All through the 34 episodes, I’ve been wondering if Yi Zhi is really the male lead. Why he didn’t have that heartthrob chemistry with Mai? And for the last two episodes my questions had been answered. It is sure a plot twist for me, and I would rate this drama 8.5 if they didn’t waste all the previous episodes just to make us feel things about Yi Zhi and Mai romance story.

There are some important parts of the story that prevent me from giving 8.5 rating too, some are how they try to fast forward some conflicts, they don’t even bother to retell the story on why would Qi Jing want all the children born that year dead (which I think was an important part of the story, because this was mentioned a few times), the story on how Chen Qi come to Beimo and obtained his high position after killing his godparents was never mentioned until the end of the episode, and we see some Beimo palace conflicts and how strong the Chang family but we never truly “see” them, again it was mentioned a few times but we didn’t get to see them again. ?

But there are some other things that made me truly disappointed about this drama is that there was supposed to be 3 male leads here. But I accept that one was supposed to have a brotherly bond to Mai. But Chang Yu Qing had a lot of potential to be the one with Mai. But he only had a few screen times even though he was titled as the “Main Role” here, along with Tang Shao Yi.

I don’t know if they will continue the relationship or not in S2 (if it ever happens though). How come that I see more chemistry between Mai and Yu Qing, than Mai with Yi Zhi? But I still hope that they will make a S2 to answer all my questions (again, if it ever happens).

Lastly, Mai is such a baddie and I don’t really think the male leads here deserve her. ?

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Rather it should be fight for family

When the story started, the characters of the female and male leads were quite engaging. I particularly liked the male lead's character. Initially, I thought he was a type of playboy, but he exhibited a certain innocence. He followed whatever the elders told him to do and never used his own judgment. I believed that as the story progressed, some tragedy would occur, transforming him into a rude, strong, stubborn, ruthless, and sensible person. However, nothing of the sort happened. Though he showed anger, it had no significant impact. He never got into a single fight, yet he became a king. Seriously, what direction did the story take?


Moreover, I enjoyed the chemistry between the leads, but they did not end up together in the end. The power of love and obsession was not evident. Although he married someone due to unavoidable circumstances, he did not return to his true love. On the wedding night, he went to the bride's chamber and apologized for being late. He then drowned his sorrows in drinks, and in his drunken state, his wife took advantage of him. I never expected the story to take such a turn. Usually, in similar stories, when a king marries out of helplessness, he remains genuine to his true love while fulfilling his responsibilities as a husband. He would typically reveal the truth about his love story to his wife.

Overall, this story was not worth watching.

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A misleading title that has no justification in the drama

The title of the drama had nothing to do with the fight for love, looking at the main leads who, in my opinion, sorry, had no chemistry or development in their love...
The promising first episode made me start watching this drama, but as the episodes passed I had the impression that FL's pretense of being a man and excessively changing himself into masculine poses did not bode well for this character... she wanted to be forcefully masculine... she was supposedly looking for the culprits of her parents, but Cora was more immersed in, as usual, too exalted heroism to defend the country and people... Of course, she forgot herself to such an extent that she forgot about her femininity... the FL and ML romance began to smolder and there was some it was funny, but it quickly faded away and there was actually no chemistry between them and that discouraged me because already in episode 24 I saw that it was only going to FL's friendly treatment of ML, not their love and... this FL character started to piss me off and irritate me, because I can't stand long episodes where a woman (a woman) strives to be a strong man and a hero of the nation, these themes are already tired of me in these dramas, especially since it was obvious that bread won't be made from flour, as the proverb says... that's why I saw the last episode and the shitty ending, so I decided to quit this drama, because it's a waste of my time for such an irritating lack of character and plot development... I don't recommend it...

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Bad storyline, bad acting, and overall boring.

Fighting for Love is a historical drama about a female general disguised as a man seeking revenge against Chen Qi. I watched 9 episodes, which was so boring, so I am dropping it.

The Synopsis:
The story follows A Mai, a female general of the founding era of the Southern Xia dynasty, who discards her feminine attire and dons battle armor, enduring hardships to become a legendary female warrior. A Mai, the daughter of the Duke of Jingguo in Southern Xia, witnesses her entire family being killed by her childhood friend Chen Qi. Years later, A Mai, now a young woman, disguises herself as a man and roams the martial world, seeking revenge against Chen Qi.

Through a series of coincidences, A Mai saves Shang Yi Zhi, the son of the Grand Princess. Subsequently, she helps him escape dangerous situations multiple times, intertwining their destinies. As war breaks out, A Mai sheds her feminine attire and joins the military, becoming an infantry soldier. With her exceptional military talents, she achieves remarkable feats and rises to the rank of General Mai. Alongside this, she assists Shang Yi Zhi, who is hunted and faces difficulties, in finding his true self and accomplishing great deeds.

A Mai repeatedly clashes with General Chang Yu Qing from the enemy forces on the battlefield. Despite their confrontations, they unintentionally go through life-and-death situations together, developing a mutual understanding and respect. However, faced with the brutality of war, A Mai willingly sets aside personal attachments
and uses her youth and fervor to defend her army.

My Reviews:
1. The drama didn't lure me after 9 episodes. I don't have much review to say about it.

I am dropping it and giving it a 5.0 rating.

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A sleeper hit! Female Lead is a badass!

I love this series. I thought it was going to be boring but I was surprised by the acting and the storyline.

The script was well written and the flow of the drama is surprisingly smooth. No silly or cutie acts from the female casts.

The story is about A Mai who searched for her adoptive brother/ fiance, Chen Qi, so that she could find out from him why he killed her parents and let her live. During this journey, she encountered the love of her life, Shang Yi Zhi and her battleground enemy, from the Beimo State, General Chang Yu Qing.

She joined the army after she had found out CQ had become the Marshall of the Beimo State so that she could kill him in the battle. She won admiration from her brothers in the army. She also helped SYZ to become an emperor.

This story is about a female's fearless determination to defend her country even though she had to sacrifice her love and her life.

An entertaining drama to watch. I don't know why some netizens prefer to see silly romantic dramas. This is the one for audience who enjoy good C-dramas.

Acting wise: Zhang Tian Ai as A Mai was a good choice. She was able to deliver the emotions that A Mai encountered throughout her search for Chen Qi and her romance and disappointment in Shang Yi Zhi.

Zhang Hao Wei as Shang Yi Zhi? Many commentators find this actor lack of experience playing the role but I personally think he was a good choice. I love SYZ's response to his ministers in Episode 34 where they threatened to boycott his court. He executed the ministers without hesitation to install fear in his court. A good emperor knows when and how to exert his authority.

Other supporting casts also deserve my praises especially the actress who played SYZ's mother/ aunt and the actor playing Chen Qi. The emotional flashbacks by Chen Qi hit the audience all the time.

I enjoyed this series. Therefore, it deserves a perfect 10.

Watch and rate it yourself.

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