You Are My Glory (2021)

Charming and a bit more mature and nuanced than the average fluff drama, but still a fluff drama

This drama is pretty much a more mature Love O2O (and I'm not saying that as an insult; I actually enjoyed Love O2O), which I guess is essentially what I was expecting of it. There are a number of obvious similarities between the two beyond Yang Yang and the gaming premise, including many of the traits of the lead characters. However, it lacks the annoying side couple (actually one of the best things about this drama is that there are no filler side couples), and has better acting as well as higher production values. You Are My Glory tones down the tropes a bit and has more angst (but is still pretty low on drama). People who enjoyed Love O2O will likely enjoy this as well, and those who did not enjoy Love O2O may find some of their complaints rectified in You Are My Glory.

I must like Gu Man’s sense of humor, as I generally don’t find Chinese romcoms funny, but the humor in this one (as well as Love O2O) worked well for me. I also found both leads very charming and likable, which is really at least half of what makes a romcom work. Moreover, out of the 10-or-so Chinese romcoms I have completed or seen a significant portion of before dropping, this definitely has the most well-written romance. We get to watch them slowly fall for each other, support each other, and naturally grow from knowing one another. The roadblocks in their relationship are quite normal and don’t seem like manufactured contrivances. Is this the most grounded portrayal of a relationship I’ve seen in a drama? Certainly not, it’s still an idealized idol drama about too-perfect people with plenty of fluff, but it does have proper development, doesn't go in circles, and isn't heavily reliant on silly tropes like accidental kisses and all that jazz. The male lead’s personal conflict is also realistic, well-explored, and quite relatable, I think.

One aspect of this drama I felt was a bit atypical is that parts of it (arguably the most pivotable parts) seem to be told much more from the male perspective than the female one. Romance dramas (especially romcoms) are generally told from both perspectives equally or more from that of the female lead. There are actually certain episodes near the middle of this drama in which the female lead hardly appears. I think such a storytelling choice made sense for this particular story, as the male lead is the much more conflicted character and I’m not sure following the female lead in those moments would have revealed much to us. However, because she was given relatively less focus, until the last third of the drama, I felt like I didn’t know the female lead nearly as well as the male lead. By the end I no longer really felt that way, but overall I’d definitely say there was less emphasis on her characterization and development than his. Especially given the last couple episodes, it seemed like he was the protagonist and this was really his story.

This is also the most well-acted Chinese romcom I’ve seen to date (probably on par with an average Korean romcom). I generally give Yang Yang more credit for his face than his acting, but he’s really quite decent, even good here. Dilraba was definitely better than I expected. I really enjoyed the sweet personality she brought to her character, and I actually thought she did well in the dramatic scenes, something I was rather skeptical of her ability to do, given what I had seen from her past work. In the category of Chinese-idol-dramas-with-actors-under-30, the performances were well above average.

Now for some nitpicks …

My biggest complaint regarding this drama is that it had some issues with tonal consistency. This is not a major problem, since I think the tone always matched the content of the specific scene, but because there wasn’t a more focused tone throughout, there were times when it felt like I had suddenly started watching a different drama. Parts of this drama are your typical fluffy, cheesy idol drama. Then there are a few parts that are rather overdramatic. Like does running tests on a rover really merit such suspenseful music? And then there are parts that seem to be going for a moody, understated drama vibe with the slow-pacing, shadowy cinematography, and mellow, indie-style vocals against simple guitar instrumentation. I think you can accurately understand what this drama is like without watching it by imagining a combination of Love O2O (corny romance dialogue, humor, tropes and character types, gaming), Descendants of the Sun (corny romance dialogue, dramatic aerospace scenes, slow-mo of Yang Yang getting out of a Jeep in the middle of a desert), and One Spring Night (introspection, struggles with self-image and societal expectations, slow-burn romance). I enjoyed all three of those dramas, but I’m not sure the combination entirely works. The former two have overlapping aspects, thus combine quite seamlessly, but I think You Are My Glory’s attempt at the One Spring Night-type tone felt a little try-hard at points. Even though the emotional content of the male lead’s struggles are well-executed, the more “sophisticated” style of the scenes feels a bit out of place when poised against a cringe-y cute idol drama scene. It makes it feel like it’s trying to be something it’s not, because most of the drama isn’t that sophisticated. It’s especially obvious, because this more melancholic, understated style pretty much completely disappears about 2/3rds of the way through the drama, which means the earlier episodes feel quite different overall to the later ones. To state it very simply, the male lead feels like he belongs in a serious, realistic drama, the female lead feels like she belongs in an idol romcom (albeit a relatively grounded one), and their romance meets somewhere in the middle, though it definitely leans pretty hard towards the romcom tone in the last 1/3. To be clear, I’m not really saying anything about the story itself necessarily should have been changed, just that these aspects could have blended together more seamlessly had the style of their execution been a bit more consistent.

The music is really pretty forgettable.

If you’re looking for a gaming drama, look somewhere else. Gaming is just a way to bring the leads together, not the focus of the drama, and the gaming element completely disappears in the later half. That being said, a significant amount of time is spent on the gaming scenes, such that even though I didn’t watch this drama for the gaming, I did find myself wishing they were more exciting. Despite all the time spent practicing, discussing strategy, etc., it’s quite difficult to actually follow what’s going on while the characters are playing, especially since the matches are often shown as fragmented montages. Even when they do show more extensive gameplay, you can’t really understand the strategy since the game has too many heroes and the viewer is only vaguely acquainted with a few. Honestly, it can be hard to even see what’s happening, due to the fact that the game visuals are generally portrayed as they would appear to an actual player, which is realistic, but not very legible. I think the aerospace engineering scenes were actually more comprehensible than the gameplay. Because this drama never intended to be about gaming, exciting gaming scenes weren’t necessarily a requirement, but in that case, I wish they had spent less time making me watch such scenes.

My final nitpick is that it’s rather slow-paced (especially in the first half). This didn’t bother me much, because I like slow-paced romances (if the gaming sequences had been fewer or more exciting, I might not have noticed this at all). There are points when it feels more like a slice-of-life drama than a romcom, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, because it doesn’t have any filler side plots, I don’t think it’s actually more tedious than the average C-drama. Personally, I found it less so.

All in all, I enjoyed this drama a lot. Though I don’t think it’s perfect, it certainly exceeds what I’ve come to expect of Chinese romcoms. I’ll almost certainly rewatch it at some point when I need a no-stress fluff drama.

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One of the best Cdrama

This drama literally brought a totally new vibe to it, it's nothing like another Rom-Com. The plot and the characters are more mature and deep with relatable human flaws. I am so happy to see how they made Yu Tu's character ordinary and realistic, I was really tired of watching male leads with an entirely perfectionist character that only exist in fantasies. The Aerospace concept was new and exciting, they made it so genuine.

The best part about this drama is it's realistic concept as I stated above. Now let's talk about the chemistry between the leads, let me tell you it's so pure and mature I can't even describe it (they have this unspoken understanding between them like I really thought they were dating in real life)
Those of you who were expecting something like Love 020 I am sorry it's very different but in a good way.
In the past couple of years I have seen a huge improvement in the chinese drama industry, the production and script writing has took a new turn and I am happy to say that I am quite satisfied with the content.

This drama has no break up or dramatic antagonist scenario, the new trend of having 24 to 31 episodes per drama is a great initiative that avoids unnecessary plot drags.

“People dream but not everyone has the capability of fulfilling it, we all have things we love to do but not all gets the opportunity or has the credibility to follow the path they love”

The stellar cast of the drama (Yang Yang and Dilruba) did better than I expected, having seen the experience they earned; their skills didn't disappoint me. I noticed a new growth in Yang Yang's acting.
I really really recommend this drama to all the binge watchers out there (I don't want to post any spoilers so mentioned about the plot very less) please go and watch. It's one of the best dramas of 2021 so far after Falling into your Smile and Unforgettable love created quite a hype.
It has all the fair share of romance and chemistry (but no cliche, over the top scenes I promise)
Give it a try, you're missing out good content.

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Worth the wait and the hype!

Been waiting for years for this novel to be made into a drama and was apprehensive to watch it upon learning that Reba will be Jing jing as I haven't had the chance to watch her drama, but my love for Yang yang and for the novel won me over, and I'm glad, I did it.
OMG!!!!! I love Reba's Jing jing and Yang yang's Yu Tu! Thank you for bringing these two characters into life from the novel. My heart is full just by ogling these two sweethearts! I just love how they brought the Jing jing and Yu Tu's characters into life. Sooo fluffy, sweet and just entirely worth the wait! Damn!!! Can't get enough of them.

It's my first time watching Reba, and I'm soo happy with her, she brought into life Jing Jing's character from the novel, she's playful, hardworking, funny, and dearly loves Yu Tu even after several years of being separated from each other.

Yang yang as always, knows how to act in my eyes, but clearly, how he brought Yu Tu into his own version is remarkable. He showed the struggle, pain, and self-doubt of Yu Tu upon his capabilities and worth not just a man for Jing jing, but as a person per se.

Also, I love the songs, they're remarkable and really suits the scenes. Will definitely watch it again as what I've been doing with the novel.

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A must watch

This drama really shows how people need not have the ideal qualities to be perfect, That the ML doesn't have to be extremely rich or arrogant, and the FL to be poor with zero self-esteem and not ambitious. This was a perfect casting both YY and DR really portrayed their characters and their intensity in the right amount. This drama has showed us that a series can go without the main couple breaking up, having a bad character, or family opposition. They were always and treated each other as an equal and with respect. I fell in love with this drama because unlike others the characters had their own insecurities, but they overcame it together and stronger. We don't need to always physically be there with our partner to show the show the support and motivate them.

It is by far one of the best C-drama I have watched, the storyline, cinematography, acting was great. The actors Yang Yang and Reba were incomparable I cannot imagine any other pairing who had the chemistry the did, not only that but they did complete justice to the script, the emotions really made me forget that it is not real life. Overall everything was great I 100% recommend you guys to give it a try. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

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A review-compelling, mature drama

Hands up everyone who have been waiting eagerly and patiently for this show to air! When I first found out YY and Reba were casted in a show, I had high high expectations and waited for a year for it to finally air. I’m glad to report that it did not disappoint despite my sky high expectations! So much so that I MUST review this for my own sake.

I think this is a rare piece in the cdrama arena — it’s mature, well paced and cute all at the same time. No stupid misunderstandings, pesky exes or frustrating in laws. Only exploding chemistry, so much love, cuteness and sweet nothings! I enjoyed the ride and found myself grinning from ear to ear for the most part.

(some tiny spoilers) I thought it would be an esports drama but that was only for the first part as the 2nd part of the show focused more on their relationship and careers. If you must know, it gets better from ep 20 onwards! I found the aerospace technicalities quite dry during their relationship down time, but it was only for ~2 to 3 episodes? I appreciate how realistic things panned out to be, how many times do you see a show depicting a couple’s everyday life? I loved seeing their simple and constant texts to each other while apart , I felt happiness radiating from the screen. YY’s acting improved so much circa love o2o… let’s not go there.

My only complaint would be… it’s too short I wanna see more of them! Each episode averaged at 35 mins and a total of 32 episodes for a gem like this is such a pity (although I’m not sure if it’ll be a good idea to drag anything out since this was well paced) and I know I can’t even complain cos we did get to see their relationship from start to end! Eg. it could’ve ended at ep 30 but we got a glimpse of their married life for 2 whole episodes — gotta say I’m satisfied!

YAMG lived up to expectations and definitely 100/10 would recommend, review and rewatch

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A feel good, comforting drama that felt unexpectedly relatable.

Considering that the novel this drama was based on was very short, 32 chapters might feel like too much for some viewers. There's little conflict in this story, it's just the journey of Jing Jing and Yu Tu, two very different people who have been walking very different paths, meeting again through a game and going from acquaintances to friends to lovers. From episode 23 onwards we just have the epilogue stories, so maybe the drama would have benefited with fewer episodes, but I personally enjoyed the eye candy and the heart-warming scenes.

Some have compared this drama to Love Scenery, but besides the initial premise of science guy and celebrity, there is little in common. The main characters in You Are My Glory are both very mature, and while our lady Jing Jing doesn't go through much change (she seems to have her life figured out from the start of the drama), Yu Tu feels so real and it's easy to sympathize with him, especially if you are or have been through that moment in life where you have to choose between following your passion or giving up to the expectations society have for you in terms of money and status. I love Yang Yang, but comparing his performance in previous works and this drama, he's improved a lot here!

The chemistry between the two leads was also the stuff of dreams! Every time they look at each other you can see the sparks! Their interactions are so natural to the point I, as a viewer, felt like I was trespassing into a very private moment of a couple, and this is something that rarely happens even in this genre.

If you are looking for something that will leave a permanent smile on your face long after you've stopped looking at the screen, this might be it for you!

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Full of flying butterflies in my belly

For the first few minutes, the settings of the show were too serious that I thought the series would be boring. I almost ended dropping the show. Thankfully, I did not.

The show was like a butterfly. You would need to wait for some time so it could fully transform into a beautiful butterfly. If I may say, the first half and second half of the show each have a difference in color.

The first half offered us the reality of life (especially through Yu Tu's life); how we sometimes waver in choosing between living our dream and living the life that other people expected us to live. Though, in between of those, we still had some ice breaker where the two leads would play games which gamers can relate to. As someone who plays games, the victory and defeat sound really made me familiar with the show. BTW, the live game where JingJing and Yu Tu played side by side was one of my faves. I was so excited all throughout that episode.

The second half, on the other, was full of colors. The show flew a lot of butterflies in my stomach enough for me to feel full. I was smiling all throughout each episode from EP21. There are shows that make me lose interest when the leads started their relationship as it was too cringy for me. This show isn't one of those shows. One of the best things for me on the show was the chemistry of the leads. They look so natural together and it was so comfortable to watch them. I even replay some of the scenes because I super duper like their interactions. I love how playful they are. I can't help but giggle every time they do something mischievous. I also love how there are not many hindrances to their relationship and I love how they are so low-key yet they still manage to be so proud of their relationship. I'll also commend how the show gave us a glimpse of aerospace engineer's life.

AND TO GIVE EMPHASIS, EPISODES 21-32 are the best. ♥
Kudos to everyone who contributed to the show.

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Someone said YAMG is a drama that’s “far from drama, but close to reality”

THIS DRAMA NEEDS 10/10 RATINGS!!!

Words can’t describe how much of a masterpiece this drama is! I cried so bad at the final episode, part of me felt so proud of the entire production team especially the novelist/scriptwriter. Another part of me felt like I’d be missing something big in my life after this drama ends.

“How do I move on from this drama?”
“What should I watch next?”
“Where else can I find a drama that’s as good as this?”
^ My thoughts during the finale.

I kinda regret that I decided to watch this drama late (because it’d be better if I watched it while it was ongoing, so I could suffer from waiting for new episodes LOL), but also grateful because I started watching it nonetheless.

The only disadvantages of YAMG are:
1. 32 episodes are really not enough for me. I need more! I need to witness their future as a family.
2. It’ll be so hard for me to get out of this hole YAMG has thrown me into. :’)
3. YAMG, amongst other Asian romance dramas that I’ve watched since 2010, has successfully made me feel single af! LOL!
4. My standard for romance genre AND my type of guy have went up to a new higher level (as if they weren’t already high). Now I don’t know if I could get me a boyfriend—ahem—a HUSBAND like Yu Tu who has flaws but perfect in my eyes. I don’t know if I could find a partner as supportive as Jing Jing, who would look at me like I’m the brightest star in his life, who would tell me that I’m “his GLORY”. :’D

This is it. Without second thoughts, I rate You Are My Glory a solid 10/10, more than that if I could! I’d definitely rewatch it in the future. <3

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Breath of Fresh Air

I love me a drama with no unnecessary angst. Also, can I get a f*ck yea for realistic relationship progression? I'm so over the whole fall in love at first sight or for silly reasons schtick that you see in so many other dramas. I love how You Are My Glory simply shows a beautiful story of two adults falling in love, making and learning from mistakes, and maturing. No annoying, meddling second leads, no crazy makjang do or die situations.

It's so refreshing to see the FL and ML actually take the time to think and reflect on their relationship instead of spewing flowery promises at each other. I can't even think of the last time I actually FELT it when the leads say I love you to each other, but holy Jesus you can bet I felt it in this drama. I cried like a big baby, I was so touched.

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Best Modern romantic drama

Very rarely do you come across a drama that is absolute perfection in it’s entirety. This one is one of them. The storyline , dialogue, chemistry, and even wardrobe is absolutely perfect. Most cdrama consists of clumsy female leads that’s dressed either like 14 yr old girls or grandmas in their oversized sweaters and skirts but yet the male leads are usually cold, rich, and very handsome. But in this one the FL is just as beautiful and captivating as her ML. They are both incredibly smart in different ways. Truth be told you can dress Dilreba in a burlap sack and she would still be stunning. As for Yang yang he is the epitome of sexy elegance. So let’s talk about acting. Both leads are phenomal. You can totally feel their emotions through it. Yang yang with his micro expressions and Dilreba with her expressive eyes will make your heart ache. Even when they were sitting in silence, they were able to convey the wealth of emotions between them. Their chemistry is so incredibly natural and hot as hell. I absolutely love the dialogue between these two. They are so open and honest with each other with their love and passion. It is so refreshing. There’s no wide eye stare when the ML kisses the FL. I’ve read the novel and they did such a great job following the author’s storyline. This is probably my all time favorite modern Cdrama.

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A realistic modern love story

AHHH, I can't believe this is over. There are love stories, and then there's You are My Glory. Where do I start?

THE STORY
Absolutely love that the storyline was more mature and more realistic. The story of unrequited love in high school and then the chances of meeting again years later, it's not new, but it's realistic which therefore makes it more relatable. The debate of having to choose your dream career or choosing a path that earns you stability is also another great and relatable side story. But overall, I love that it wasn't all about the female lead, in fact, I love that they put more focus on the ML and it was about his career path and journey and she was really his support. I'm not saying he wasn't there for her either especially during the initial gaming sessions and following her on those work trips, but it was definitely a lot more to do with her belief in him since in high school and helping him realise that which I love! They say "behind a great man is always a greater woman" and this was exactly what I felt in this story.

THEIR CHARACTERS
I loved all the small details about their relationship, like how witty she is and how attentive he was. There are full of CP moments in this. It was the small details like the way he hugs her and embraces her with his hands holding her head, like OMG, my heart couldn't stop fluttering. All the forehead kisses and actual kisses — there was no shortage of that. It just showed how much care went into filming these scenes. But I love how frank QJJ was, she wasn't always afraid to say what she felt and wasn't afraid of what others would think. Even in real life, I think YY and DR had such good off-screen chemistry which is what made their relationship on-screen that much more desirable. You can't help but ship them!

THE PRODUCTION
Superb production! The scenes flowed really well and I heard even Yang Yang directed a few of those scenes. You can tell they put a lot of effort and thought into putting this film together.

Overall it's a great story, Funnily enough, my favourite scenes aren't all the sweet CP moments, it would have to be Episode 15 - when QJJ professes her love again and gets rejected and 16 - when Yu Tu finally realises he made the mistake of letting her go and they way he breaks down and tells Zhai Liang 'not to blame her, cause it was his fault', ohhh that pulled my heart strings. But Episode 30 when he re-proposes to her and episode 32 when he calls her at the end to say thank you for all her sacrifices—you can see so much heart and soul go into his words. I think Yang Yang is a great actor and I must say I absolutely loved Dilireba in this, it was far beyond her kid-like, squeaky voiced characters she'd play in the past. I think from her roles in The Long Ballad and now this, has really shown what she's capable of.

Would definitely recommend it!

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Gu Man gives us another amazing drama & Yang Yang & Reba bring it to life

Novelist Gu Man has written yet another novel (You Are My Glory) that was turned into an amazing drama. If you haven’t watched her dramas or read her novels you’re missing out. Two of her dramas, Boss & Me and Love o2o will forever be in my top ten all time favorite cdramas. I love how endearing and touching her novels are. This drama is deep and very emotional so most actors would struggle with it. But not Yang Yang and Reba. Their acting blew me away and made this drama what it is.

I expected this to be a cute romcom but was pleasantly surprised to find a rather deep drama with a unique story to tell. Even though it had a few cute and funny moments, it wasn’t something that made me laugh a lot. The drama mainly focuses on the leads and their struggles to achieve success in both their careers and in their private lives. In keeping with her other stellar dramas, Gu Man gives us a mature drama about adults working together to build a healthy relationship without all of the noble idiocy, stupid misunderstandings, love triangles, and unnecessary breakups. There are no second leads causing trouble nor is there anyone plotting against the leads at their workplace. This is more of a slice of life drama that has an underlying message and a lesson to teach.

I appreciate how much effort went into this drama. This is definitely a big budget drama. The set designs were elaborate, the wardrobe was gorgeous and many scenes were filmed in exotic locations. I especially loved the beautiful desert area they filmed in several times. The CGI for the games was really good too. They obviously went all out for this drama.

Some will say that this drama is not unique since the designer and gamer storylines have been done a lot lately. What makes this drama unique is not the setting the characters are put in. It’s how Gu Man wrote their characters and how those characters interact with others. This is a unique drama where the leads actually have a healthy relationship and communicate. And yet it’s not boring at all. She proves that you don’t have to have ridiculous misunderstandings, breakups, or obsessed second leads to make a drama interesting. That’s why this drama is so unique. And it’s why I like Gu Mans dramas so much.

There are no tripping and falling into the male leads arms, no accidental kisses, or drunk confessions. Everything is very normal and realistic so the drama was very relatable. The leads gradually fall in love over time and the issues they face aren’t silly misunderstandings but normal things many couples face in the real world. Their romance is very realistic and their chemistry is some of the best I’ve seen. If you prefer your romance dramas to have lots of kisses and skinship then you won’t be disappointed here. There’s lots of kisses, hugs, princess carrying, and cuddling. But it’s not cheesy at all, it’s very mature and realistic. The romance is what truly shines in this drama.

If I had a complaint, it would be that I wished there was a bit more tension and action in the drama. But slice of life dramas like this one don’t rely on evil antagonists or fast paced action scenes to move the plot along. They rely on well developed characters and the emotional journey they take to move us and get us invested in the drama. And this drama does that extremely well. Seeing the male lead work hard his whole life to achieve a dream he had since high school then reluctantly decide to give it up was heart wrenching. So when he decides to make one last effort to pursue his dreams, I won’t lie, I was out of my seat and cheering him on. And seeing both leads grow and mature in both their personal and professional lives was very satisfying. Their journey in life was quite endearing.

I’ve enjoyed watching Yang Yang and Reba mature and grow as actors over the years. I’ve watched many of their movies and dramas but this was probably the best I’ve seen from both of them. Their acting was amazing and their facial expressions blew me away. The whole cast did well but the main leads were spectacular.

Overall I’d say this was an amazing drama. It’s not cliche nor is it cheesy and the acting is incredible. The storyline is interesting as it delves into the world of online gaming, then we learn about aerospace engineering, and then we see what professional actors have to deal with. So it’s never boring or uninteresting. It’s one of the best slice of life dramas I’ve ever watched. If you don’t watch this drama then you’re missing out, I highly recommend it.

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