Plagiarism and Reality: Fall Into Your Smile TV Review
originally from The Battle for Glory: esports, TV, and media I like (and don’t)
Fall Into Your Smile is a Chinese Drama. The show follows Tong Yao and her adventures in the professional esports industry. The show has a romantic plot and is less about playing video games and more about finding love while playing video games. I think that this show is fun and engaging. I am also just a sucker for Asian dramas, and I think that all the melodrama and wackiness that is often associated with them is fun. Like, they are not for everyone, but I think they make great entertainment.
When the star player on the world’s best esports team, ZGDX OPL, suffers a hand injury there is an urgent need to fill his seat. There comes in Tong Yao, when ZGDX team manager learns of her skills she becomes the first female player in the league. This is somewhat of a divisive move as the newly crowned captain Lu Si Cheng also known as the “Chessman” is dismissive of her talents. Additionally, the team’s fan base is also weary of having a woman on the team and sees it as a downgrade for what is the best team. Can she win over the fans? Will her relationship with the Chessman get better?
The answer to both of those questions is yes, this is also where the C-Drama slow burn romance also comes into play. I think the dynamic between the characters is great, and like any Asian drama, the tropes are played up for both character development but also vibes. I think that the plot moves at a good pace, and I think that show is overall pretty good. The show is for all intents and purposes good, I like it and I think if people are interested in both the genre, topics, and general vibe they should give it a shot. Do I think this show is particularly groundbreaking and the best thing ever made, um no, but it’s cute, well-made, and fun. Despite my opinions on the show, I think the most interesting parts of it are the many controversies that surround it.
Controversies you may say, what kind of controversies could a rom-com C-Drama have? Well, before we even get into the C-Drama we have to go back to the original web novel. Like the next show on this list, it is adapted for TV from a webnovel. These are often serialized books that are published online. I haven’t read the webnovel so I can’t speak to how good it is, but it has enough fans that it got developed into a TV show. The controversy surrounding the web novel is centred around fanfiction and the ethics of writing fanfiction about real people. In my last essay about fan fiction, this was a topic that I wanted to avoid, mostly because I have no opinions about it. I am very neutral when it comes to the topic, but I also think that there is a difference between fan fiction and real life. These two things should remain separate and it’s when the line blurs that we run into troubles. You run into problems like this, this, and this, and these are cans of worms I have no desire to crack open. However, for the sake of this post, I’ll explain the first red flag when it comes to this show.
Readers of the web novel discovered that there was a connection between the events in the book and real-life pro-gamers Weixiao and Su Xiaoyan. They broke up, so you can imagine how awkward it must be to have a TV show that is oddly similar to the relationship you had with your ex. Additionally, many of the matches in the game are near copies of real-life professional League of Legends matches that happened. Another controversy that surrounds this webnovel is the idea that this Fall Into Your Smile is plagiarized from a different web novel written by Qing Mei. But again, I have read neither of these so I can’t validate the plagiarism. If you want more info on both, you can read this! There is also a really interesting Reddit thread that breaks down more of the drama and how it reflects real life. You can read it here if you want more information about it.
The show itself also holds different controversies. Many of them are the same complaints seen in the comments for the webnovel, but the show does have its own unique sets of criticism. This time they have more to do with what a pro-gamer looks like and how they are allowed to act. I think that this controversy is regional and lies in what is considered a pro-gamer in China specifically. I think this also displays the difference between esports in the West and esports in Asia, and I think these differences have become cultural phenomena and justifying a professional esports career in America is much different than doing it in a country like China.
When it comes to Asia, computer-based, PC, games were central to the participation in esports. Their success is largely due to the prevalence of computer cafes and general access to things like the internet. China is now the largest esports market in the world, and that is largely attributed to its attitudes towards the players and the sport as a whole. With the facilitation of training centres and esports academies, China is one of the only countries to formally recognize esports players as a legitimate profession and actively works to create and grow their position within the sector. Developing the best talent in the world when it comes to video game players. A similar mindset is also seen in countries like South Korea where thousands of young Koreans compete to break into the professional esports community. According to the South Korean Education Ministry, E-sports is now the fifth-most popular future job among South Korean students, after athletes, doctors, teachers and digital content creators. [1]
Because the space is so competitive in Asia, there is a certain degree of seriousness that comes along with it. This isn’t to say that American pro-gamers don’t take their job seriously, but rather to expose the differences in perception and attitudes seen in the different spaces. I think the perception of esports is different between the two countries and when it comes to esports in Canada or America it is taken with more skepticism. This is why the shows that do exist in these places are either niche pieces of content with a loyal fan base or are mass-produced and seem to miss the point. I think the lack of proper awareness and the want to expand the sport, there is a degree of leniency when it comes to the content that gets made in the West. This is a generalization, but I think that it is important to keep in mind when looking at Fall Into Your Smile and the reception of the TV show in both China and the West. The main controversy of the Drama is how the show handled esports, and whether or not the characters portrayed it accurately and properly.
I think the dichotomy between attitudes can be illustrated in the ratings of the show in China and English-speaking countries. The Chinese website Douban is an online website and social networking service that allows people to record ratings and reviews on things like films, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese cities. The rating for Fall Into Your Smile on Douban is a measly 3.2 stars. I don’t speak Chinese, but looking at the comments using Google Translate you can see the pure hatred that some people seem to have for the show. This is to the point that people are sending threats to the cast, producers, and the author of the original novel. If you compare these comments to the ones seen on My Drama List. My Drama List has the show sitting at an 8.6-star rating. The show is ranked 301st with a popularity rating of 133. This is a pretty high rating, and the comments place the show in pretty high regard. I assume that the main reason for the difference can lie in the first controversy and the idea that plagiarism and stealing are going to be picked up by the audience in the country where this happened. Like, I assume that many of the people on My Drama List are not familiar with the intricacies of Chinese professional League of Legends drama. Although an important footnote to consider, I think that the people reviewing these shows have different perceptions of what TV about esports should look like and their expectations are proportionate to that.
I think this point is shown in this article about the controversy of the show. The article reads as follows:
The story of “Falling Into Your Smile” is ostensibly about two esports athletes, but viewers lament that the protagonists seem to care more about flirting with each other than about winning matches. Many gamers have also complained the show violates the competitive spirit of esports
I think this quote is especially telling when it comes to the perception of the show because I think that many of the viewers in the West are looking for flirting over the intricacies of esports and the games found in it. I think this can be corroborated in the comment and review section of the My Drama List listing. Like, many of the reviews praise the drama and romance part of the show and sought it out because of it.
This difference in responses might be due to the different demographics seen in viewership of the show. I’m assuming that the difference in reception is found in the idea that this show was likely received by a more general audience in China than it was in the West. The people who reviewed the show in My Drama List are likely the types of people who seek out shows like this, drama-filled, melodramatic, full of flirting, etc. The people who watched this show in China were likely just members of the general public who viewed this show within the context of it being a show that’s just on TV. This would contribute to a more skeptical audience watching, leading to more negative reviews being presented.
[1] There are a lot of interesting things happening in these countries about video games and how they are regulated and dealt with in society. I think that these issues, policies, and ideas would contribute to an interesting paper and is something I’d like to look into for a future post. In the meantime, here are some articles that kind of sum up the situation and could provide further context for those interested in falling down a rabbit hole.
China’s Video Gaming Ban: CNN, The China Project, Washington Post
Chinese Licencing: Reuters
Internet/Net Cafes in China: Wired
Why Korean Athletes Dominate in esports: Wired
Korea’s Gaming Ban: Reuters
Originally published at http://rebeccasthoughts3.com on October 12, 2023.
