My Unicorn Girl Review

My Unicorn Girl (穿盔甲的少女) is one of those dramas that you will watch if there is nothing else that catches your attention. It is a simple college romance drama. I believe some would find it incredibly cheesy with a story full of cliches while others would think it is sweet. Which side of the fence that you will fall on really depends on your acceptance level of youthful romance dramas and perhaps, your mood. My Unicorn Girl review below will spell out my opinion and verdict on this drama.

My rating: 6.5/10
Episodes: 24
Type: Romance
Aired: August 2020
Images Credit: iQIYI

The Cast Of My Unicorn Girl

• Darren Chen Kuan Hong as Wen Bing
• Sebrina Chen Yao as Sang Tian
• Li Jiu Lin as Shen Wei Lian
• Ao Zi Yi as Sang Zhan
• Miranda Ma Ze Han as Meng Na
• Dai Ya Qi as Fang Xiao Rou
• Rui Wei Hang as Cheng Min Jun
• Vivian Sung Yun Hua as Coach Ma Chen Chen
• Wang Xin Ting as Coach Xue
• Zhang Yu Xi as Chen Miao Miao
• Jason Hsu Xeng Zhe as Meng Qi
• Deng Zhi Yuan as Xiao Xiao
• Hu Bo Wen as Li He
• Elvis Ma Li as Huang Hao Ran
• Sheren Tang Shui Man as Cheng Min Li

Main Characters

Wen Bing

Wen Bing is a star ice hockey player who has just started his freshman year at Liuye University. He likes to act cool and uncaring but is warm at heart. Wen Bing also suffers from facial blindness but hides it from everybody. He comes from a wealthy family.

Sang Tian

Sang Tian is a figure skater but also dresses as a man to play ice hockey at the clubs to earn money. She is a kind and cheerful person. Her dream is to enter Liuye University to feel connected to her late mother who used to study there.

Supporting Characters

Shen Wei Lian

Wei Lian is a member of the ice hockey team and freshman at Liuye University. He is a loyal friend and counts Wen Bing and Sang Tian as his buddies. He also develops a crush on Sang Tian. Wei Lian has an elder brother, Shen Qiao Di, who is a star ice hockey player at Qianbei University.

Sang Zhan

Sang Zhan is Sang Tian’s younger brother. He is an avid online gamer and Meng Na’s enemy.

Meng Na

Meng Na is a figure skater at Liuye University. She is an impulsive and spoilt girl with a huge crush on Wen Bing.

Fang Xiao Rou

Xiao Rou is Sang Tian’s best friend. She works at a cafe near Liuye University. She often advises Sang Tian on her love issues.

Cheng Min Jun

Min Jun is Wen Bing’s maternal uncle and doubles up as his assistant and guardian at times. He also runs an art studio.

Coach Ma Chen Chen

Coach Ma is Liuye University’s ice hockey coach. She can be stern but also understanding. She has a tomboyish appearance due to her job and dressing.

Coach Xue

Coach Xue is Coach Ma’s junior. She is the coach for Liuye University’s figure skating team. She often likes to set up dates for Coach Ma to the latter’s annoyance.

Shen Miao Miao

Miao Miao is a senior at Liuye University and figure skater. She is also Wei Lian and Qiao Di’s sister. Miao Miao becomes Sang Tian’s friend after a chance encounter.

Meng Qi

Meng Qi is a senior at Liuye University and player in the ice hockey team. He is also Meng Na’s brother. He doesn’t like Wen Bing whom he thinks is after his sister. Meng Qi is surrounded by team mates such as Yan Wu Xu who likes to bully the juniors. He has feelings for Miao Miao.

Xiao Xiao, Li He, And Huang Hao Ran

These are freshmen and members of the Liuye University’s ice hockey team. Sang Tian and Wen Bing are their team mates and good friends.

Cheng Min Li

Min Li is Wen Bing’s mother. She runs the family’s business and expects Wen Bing to study business management rather than indulge in ice hockey. She is a stern and no-nonsense woman.

Synopsis

Sang Tian is a figure skater and part-time ice hockey player. Wen Bing suffers from facial blindness. In a chance encounter with Sang Tian, he could see her face clearly. But they started off on the wrong footing especially when it ended with an accidental kiss. Wen Bing also thought that Sang Tian is a male as she was dressed as one. That encounter convinced Sang Tian that it had brought her bad luck as predicted by a tarot-reading granny. The granny advised her to steal back a kiss from Wen Bing to erase her misfortune.

Sang Tian’s attempt to get that kiss resulted in her following Wen Bing to Liuye University’s ice hockey team member selection. She was surprisingly selected and ended up carrying on the ruse of being a man to get admitted to the university. Thus, Sang Tian and Wen Bing become team mates. But they are still playing pranks and bullying each other.

Wen Bing then finds out that Sang Tian is a girl. He keeps quiet about it while Sang Tian has no idea that he knows her secret. Gradually, they fall in love with each other but hide their true feelings. Sang Tian has to guard her secret as exposure will result in her expulsion from the university.

My Unicorn Girl Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

My Unicorn Girl has a happy ending as expected. Wen Bing and Sang Tian are shown kissing in snowy weather at the same place where their first accidental kiss happened. Everyone already knew that Sang Tian is a girl and she also gets to stay at Liuye University as the dean has agreed to have a female ice hockey team. The details of the last episode can be found in the My Unicorn Girl episode summary.

When Did Everyone Find Out That Sang Tian Is A Girl?

Wen Bing finds out that Sang Tian is a girl very early on in the drama. This is on Episode 3. But he keeps quiet about it and even Sang Tian is clueless that he knows. Miao Miao also knows Sang Tian’s gender in their first meeting in Episode 5. But viewers are not told that Miao Miao knows the truth until much later in the drama.

Coach Ma finds out the truth through Coach Xue in Episode 7. This is because Coach Xue has seen Sang Tian before when the latter attended the figure skating selection. Both the coaches choose to keep quiet about it out of pity and understanding. Wei Lian is the next person to know when he sees Sang Tian coming out of the shower. He also pretends not to know to protect her.

Meng Na learns about it at the end of Episode 22 when she overhears Sang Zhan’s conversation with his sister and Wen Bing. Sang Tian’s secret is fully exposed in Episode 23 when Wu Xu hears Meng Na and Sang Zhan talking about it. The news then becomes viral.

On the other hand, Sang Tian finally learns in Episode 22 that Wen Bing already knows that she is a girl not long after their first meeting. This is during the meeting with his mother when he declares his love for Sang Tian.

Why Wen Bing Could Only See Sang Tian’s Face?

Wen Bing was involved in a car accident when he was a boy. Sang Tian was beside him by the roadside as she tried to keep him awake. She was the last person he saw before falling into a coma. From then on, he suffered from facial blindness.

Wen Bing is cured when he got a concussion after a mishap in Episode 23. He was trying to save Sang Tian from being hit by an on-coming vehicle and knocked his head on the kerb.

Who Is The Granny?

The granny with the tarot cards is Wen Bing’s grandmother. She has been looking for the girl who stayed with Wen Bing when he was involved in the accident. When she found out it is Sang Tian, she tricked her to steal a kiss from Wen Bing to get them together.

Other Couples

Coach Ma ends up with Min Jun. Everyone finds out that they are already engaged in the last episode. Min Jun exposed the scoundrel she had been dating and also proclaimed that he loves her as she is. This made her fall in love with him.

Wei Lian has moved on from his crush on Sang Tian. He never did manage to confess his feelings as Wen Bing was always there to stop him. Eventually, he just feels happy for them as Xiao Rou helps him to overcome his disappointment with her practical advice. Wei Lian and Xiao Rou also become closer.

Sang Zhan and Meng Na become a couple. Although they bickered a lot throughout the drama, they also realized they have developed feelings for each other. Miao Miao is willing to go out with Meng Qi after the latter shows maturity to let Sang Tian play in the match against Qianbei University.

My Unicorn Girl Review – Full Of Cliches

My Unicorn Girl is the type of drama that is not to be taken seriously. Think of it as a fairy tale and you will enjoy it better as the story is hardly realistic. For instance, it defies logic that a girl can enroll into university using a different gender and no one realizes that she is a girl. So, it is not a very down-to-earth kind of story unlike other college romance dramas such as The Love Equations and Put Your Head On My Shoulder.

Cliches

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with being fairy tale-like if they get the formula right. Intense Love is one such example with its fluffiness and sweetness. However, I think how well you can accept My Unicorn Girl will depend on your tolerance for cliches. Personally, I find that there is just one too many accidental kisses. The trip, fall, and hug or kiss routine is played again and again throughout the drama. If you don’t mind this kind of set-up, then you might find it sweet. But if you do, it gets kind of old after a few episodes.

Plot

The plot is simple with the bulk of the drama focusing on the relationship of the main couple. There is little angst throughout the 24 episodes. Although there is a third party and a bit of jealousy, the overall negative effect on the viewers’ emotions is mild. There is no elaborate scheming like the villain in Dating In The Kitchen to give us a character to hate in My Unicorn Girl. So, if you want a relaxing watch, this drama would fit the bill.

The cross-dressing theme is also nothing new in terms of plot although it is more common for costume dramas such as In A Class Of Her Own. But there are a few unique characteristics in the romance such as the facial blindness and the guy’s pretense of not knowing about the girl’s gender. Put together, they do offer some refreshing feel to the drama. But to me, they are still not enough to make My Unicorn Girl a memorable production.

Acting And Chemistry

The acting and chemistry are the 2 things that make this drama watchable for me overall. There are no over the top scenes and exaggerated acting. The leads look good together. Darren Chen successfully portrays a rich kid and star player with a dash of smugness and flamboyance. I guess his expressive eyes and good looks help to give him the required charm to play the male lead here.

Sebrina Chen is adorable in her short hair. I think she got the balance right in her portrayal of Sang Tian as the character doesn’t appear too feminine or masculine. If Sang Tian looks too feminine, then the cross-dressing effect would be diminished. On the other hand, if she is too manly, viewers may not feel invested in the couple. I guess the stylist also did a great job with her character on top of her ability to inject life into the role. Sebrina Chen is also the lead in Maiden Holmes and it would be interesting to see how she tackles her role in a costume drama.

In My Unicorn Girl, Darren Chen and Sebrina Chen have great chemistry together as a romantic couple. They display a level of sweetness and cuteness that is sufficient to make viewers swoon for a rom-com.

My Verdict

My Unicorn Girl is an average drama and a very typical rom-com. It is watchable if you don’t mind cliches. It is also suitable if you are after something lighthearted to pass your time. But if you want a story with more depths and character growth, then you are looking at the wrong title. For that, you will need to watch Skate Into Love which shares the same sports theme with My Unicorn Girl.

In addition, this drama will resonate more with the younger crowd. It is a first love kind of romance after all. Hence, there are no steamy kisses in contrast to more mature romance dramas like Well Dominated Love and Love Designer. All the kisses are just light pecks on the lips except for the one long kiss right at the end of the drama.

Being a college romance, the antics of the main couple can also seem juvenile to some. The long stretch of the couple pretending that there is nothing between them might cause some to feel bored halfway through too. Therefore, whether this drama suits your taste will depend on your tolerance level for youthful innocence and immaturity in the romance.

For this My Unicorn Girl review, I think a 6.5/10 score would be fair. It is nothing great to warrant a high rating. While I won’t say that you should skip, it is not one that deserves a priority either. Somehow, it still lacks that special magical feeling of a perfect romance despite the sweetness.