I was not expecting anything from this drama and I was not even interested at first since the plot about a girl in a military academy looked quite unrealistic and not interesting to me. I was very surprised in the end because it revealed itself to be very entertaining with nice characters to follow.

Story : the story follows a group of military trainees from admission to graduation. They evolve through adventures and hardships which are well told and entertaining for the action parts and cute and funny for the other parts. Main focus is put on 3 characters who are very interesting in their personality and their development throughout the drama. You really understand them and feel close to them. The love triangle was very well handled as you could not know how it will unfold for a long time. Other secondary characters have also nice or sad or bittersweet stories well told and this brings complexity and good density to the overall plot line.

Acting : I thought most of the cast did a tremendous job here. I have seen the two main lead in the Legends and the are very good in this drama too. Bai Lu acting is on spot portraying a strong character but less funny more calm but also daring. You totally believe her tomboyish female character as a girl and the pretty boy soldier as a man. Xu Kai was great too. He portrayed nicely a fun character quite immature but finally reliable. He was good while bickering or nagging or playing cute with Xie Xiang. Many commented he had something of Leonardo Dicaprio. I kinda agree. Toby Lee was great also. He portrayed a very serious heir of a rich family. You totally believe his character and the nature he shows in his relationships. He overshadowed the main lead some times as his chemistry with the female lead was so good. Others actors did well too specially the guy portraying soldier Song, the Shen brother but the also the Academy staff. The female friends were well portrayed.

Music : I found the intro music very surprising but contrasting with the genre of the drama and it gave it an originality. I loved the love song at the romantic moments. Overall the music was ok for me.

Re-watch: Not sure I would re-watch it since it is so long but this drama has many fun or heartbreaking scenes I will gladly re-watch just for the feeling of it and I seldom have the chance to do that with Chinese dramas.

Overall : despite some usual clichés regarding the vilains it's a very entertaining and recommended drama.