Arsenal Military Academy was on my to-watch list for some time. This is one quality drama among countless other cross-dressing dramas. However what sets this apart is the era which it is set in and the premise of 1930s/40s China. One of its key attractions was the cast - Bai Lu and Xu Kai who both happen to be my favourites. I came for Bai Lu and stayed for Xu Kai and Toby Lee.

PLOT:
Initially it was challenging for me to get invested in the drama. I have no prior knowledge of Chinese history nor had any interest in it before I watched this drama. The set-up was a huge bore for me but with good storytelling and a compelling cast, it managed to lure me in and I am glad I stuck with it. The premise is a little basic and in some ways - senseless. However, being a weakling for cross-dressing plots, I wanted to watch it. I usually forgo of my intelligence when it comes watching such dramas. With this drama I found myself relating to these characters who were fighting for the independence / against an enemy ruler as it was very similar to some incidents from my home country's struggle in the past. I also appreciated that the drama was really funny and didn't bore me of with independence/revolt talks all the time. The action / violence was well-balanced and only towards the end did it become a little bloody and messy.

CHARACTERS:
The characters are all their own individuals and very well-rounded. What also stands out in this drama is the friendship and bond between our main characters. Gu Yanzhen, Liancheng, Huang Song, Qu Man Ting, Xiaojun and Shen Junshuan will always remain memorable to me. They were excellent characters and their friendship was very deep. It was really nice to see strong females who stood up for themselves and the free-spirited attitude of Qu Man Ting really stole the show for me. Apart from this Gu Yanzhen was unbelievably funny and cute - he was mostly playful but displayed a badass side when it came to protecting his loved ones in the need of the hour. Plus,Xu Kai is pure eye candy which helps. Junshuan was the typical uptight guy but I loved his portrayal by Toby Lee. He was very handsome. I had a hard time connecting with Liang Chen because there were times her actions made sense and at times she frustrated me. In fact the weakest part of the story was her. There's also a few villains who were okay but Xianrong was nicely done on her part.

ROMANCE + ACTING:
Now let me get to the ranting. Xu Kai and Toby Lee steal the show. I can't decide who was better because they were both that good and convincing. However as I am a Xu Kai fangirl, I'll just praise him some more. I couldn't get enough of his cute moments. He was the typical playful yet jealous boyfriend who is ready to do anything to get the attention of the girl. There was moments which had me laughing like crazy and some where I was sad when his heart was breaking. What frustrated me here was the lack of reciprocation from our female lead. The love triangle/quadrangle is long drawn and I am not sure if I am fully in agreement with it. Liang Chen seemed more invested in the 2nd ML and frankly, they were better suited. I also felt super bad for Qu Man Ting as I believe that she sincerely loved our ML and they also good chemistry with each other. It's just my heart kept breaking for Yanzhen (thanks to Xu Kai) repeatedly and I honestly would have written a hate review if the FL handn't woken up. Thankfully I knew of its happy ending, else my patience would have run out. She doesn't show much emotion towards him till the last few episodes which was frankly a long wait (although she did show some feelings in the middle). I wonder if it was the script or Bai Lu's weak sides of acting showing through as she was outperformed by her other cast members. I was sad to know that most of the romance was edited out and the slight LGBTQ+ tones were also smoothed out.

OST:
The opening theme is quite cool.

REWATCH VALUE:
Maybe one day I'll watch it again. The funny Xu Kai scenes are 100% rewatchable lol.

OVERALL:
In its essence, this drama is about people- friendship and love really does endure all. It also has some great messages about appreciating the sacrifices of our older generation and being loyal to one's own country. The cast did a solid job and this drama is one of the best C-dramas I have watched till date. It was well made with the only lacking things being the editing of some romance scenes and Bai Lu's acting not being at par with the others, which was forgivable. At least we get a female lead who can fight and hold her own. She didn't need to be rescued at every step. The cast is quite nice and the story fits in as well. The ending was a bit average but I was glad to see most of my favourites make it through.

I recommend watching this drama if you can get past the era it is set in. The cast will compel you to stay and the moments of frienship and humour won't make you regret picking it up.