Sugar Baby’s Review Corner: Skate Into Love

Skate Into Love

A speed skating girl crosses paths with the ice hockey god of their school. Despite starting off on the wrong foot, they start on a journey to chase after their dreams.

During elementary school, the timid and cowardly Li Yubing (Steven Zhang) had to endure his seat mate Tang Xue’s (Janice Wu) constant bullying. Even so, they share one thing in common, a dream on the ice. When they meet again at Lin Da University, Li Yubing has become the school’s ice god while Tang Xue’s future remains hazy.

Li Yubing pulls a few strings to turn Tang Xue into his helper with the goal of getting payback for everything that she did. The more they spend time together, the more Li Yubing notices Tang Xue’s good qualities. He realizes that his courage on ice is inspired by Tang Xue herself. In turn, he helps Tang Xue rediscover her dream in speed skating

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Well…. Here I am at last writing this review. I have allowed this drama time to marinate in my thoughts as your girl was just dumb lazy. Now, I have read the web novel obviously and so I am trying to objectively rate the drama as a piece itself and not alongside the novel. It is harder than it seems to do this. I really really loved the novel and I loved the characters Tang Xue and Yubing so much. I was even more excited that two people I liked got casted as the leads as well.

Skate Into Love is a simple story that tackles youth and growing up, following our dreams, etc. It is applicable to see that the college setting very much captures the heart of the drama. Here we have two individuals who knew each other from they were children and have met again in a different setting with a little animosity that they’re working through. The story was essentially the same as the novel with a few differences sprinkled in between. I enjoyed seeing the characters work through things as individuals and then again as a couple. However, the main issue that this drama had was that it was perhaps fifteen episodes too many. It really could’ve and should’ve ended at episode 25. It felt like there was just too much filler and focus on the side characters which is funny because I actually liked the side characters in the novel. Getting through the second half of episodes began to feel like work for me and I didn’t enjoy that.

Yubing and Tang Xue. I love Janice and I love Steven.I think they did a great job at portraying their characters as individuals. I enjoyed the chemistry that was there because they are both excellent actors, but I do feel like it could’ve been more. It felt comfortable and comforting, but not explosive. I know I keep saying I won’t compare it to the novel, but while reading the novel I felt the chemistry so deep within the characters. I just really felt like if we had a stronger chemistry there it could’ve elevated the story for me. The other issue with the romance was that THERE WERE TOO FUCKING MANY. I already don’t care about the side characters, why are we bogging the story down with their stories? Every. Fucking. Person. Had. A. Love. Line. It was not needed. Maybe if they cut their excessive scenes and filled it with Tang Xue and Yubing, I would’ve fallen head over heels with their chemistry.

Something I did enjoy though was their use and incorporation of ice sports. It was nice to see the arena and ice rink. I think this was one of the few, if not only, dramas I have seen tackle ice sports. I also liked the overall production of the different sets for this drama, which should not surprise me at all because this is Ashes of Love’s team and even though I didn’t really like that drama, THE VISUALS WERE ON POINT. Speaking of sets, one of my favorite scenes from the novel was adapted perfectly and it was amazing. It was the scene of her in the coffee shop and Yu Yan’s mother was trying to confront her and giving her shit and she stomped that shit down. I remembered when I read that scene, I was yelling to myself so it was nice seeing Janice deliver it with such conviction in the drama.

I genuinely liked this drama, I just really don’t think it should’ve been 40 episodes. The length really harmed the drama, in my opinion. A nice concise story with less side character filler nonsense would’ve been better (aka just straight novel to screen). I don’t think I would rewatch this one any time soon, but I definitely recommend it to anyone as a nice, easy and simple drama to watch.

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