You Are My Hero Review

You Are My Hero (你是我的城池营垒) is a 40-episode modern day romance drama that features a surgeon and a policeman. I saw many positive reviews on this drama and couldn’t resist giving it a try. While I don’t have any regrets watching it all the way till the end, I did consider dropping it at one stage because it was simply too boring for a number of episodes. I know some viewers consider this as one of the best Chinese productions in the last 12 months but I’m reluctant to categorize it as such. My You Are My Hero review below will detail some of my thoughts on this drama.

My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Romance
Aired: March 2021
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast Of You Are My Hero

• Sandra Ma Si Chun as Mi Ka
• Bai Jing Ting as Xing Ke Lei
• Chen Hao as Shu Wen Bo
• Jiang Pei Yao as Yuan Qing Xia
• Wayne Wang Yang as Dr. Shao Yu Han
• Zhang Yao as Xing Ke Yao
• Guo Yang as Xu Yan Shan
• Chen Mu Yi as Chen Tao
• Qin Xuan as Wei Lan
• Liu Pi Zhong as Commander Hao Yi Cheng
• Chai Jun Zhe as Luo Ting
• Wang Qun Shi as Li Nian
• Luo Yu Kun as Zhuo Wen Jing
• Jiang Peng as Lu Feng
• Zhang Xiao Ying as Shen Jia Ning
• Li Lin Fei as Shen Jia Nan
• Cao Su Su as Ye Xiao Man

Main Characters

Mi Ka

Mi Ka is a resident doctor at Ren Xin Hospital before being chosen to serve in the neurosurgery department. She is a soft-spoken and sincere lady but courageous and decisive during critical moments. Mi Ka cares for her patients and has a steely determination to save lives.

Xing Ke Lei

Ke Lei is the captain of the Tiger Assault Team which is a special police unit that handles difficult and dangerous missions from saving lives during natural disasters to freeing hostages. He is one of the top performers in the police force and a serious instructor during training. Ke Lei loves his job and has a strong sense of duty to serve and protect. But privately, he is a shy gentleman who lacks dating experience.

Shu Wen Bo

Wen Bo is Ke Lei’s deputy in the Tiger Assault Team. They are also good friends. While Wen Bo is capable and professional in his job, he is a simple-minded and reserved guy when it comes to love and relationships.

Yuan Qing Xia

Qing Xia is a reporter as well as Mi Ka’s best friend. She is a very sociable lady who seems to like having fun until she meets Wen Bo and falls for him. Qing Xia can be very straightforward and sure of what she wants.

Dr. Shao Yu Han

Dr. Shao is a renowned neurosurgeon who has just returned from abroad to join Ren Xin Hospital. He is also Mi Ka’s superior and mentor.

Xing Ke Yao

Ke Yao is Ke Lei’s elder sister. She is running the family business which is involved in medical equipment. Ke Yao appears as fierce and distant but cares a lot for those close to her. She and Dr. Shao are ex-lovers.

Supporting Characters

Xu Yan Shan

Yan Shan is Mi Ka’s colleague and ex-classmate in medical school. She has the best academic achievement among the resident doctors and chosen to serve under Dr. Shao in the neurosurgery department. But Yan Shan can be panicky and tends to consider her own interest ahead of patients. She is also interested to get closer to Dr. Shao and is jealous of Mi Ka.

Chen Tao

Chen Tao is a resident doctor chosen to serve in the ER department of Ren Xin Hospital. He is Mi Ka and Yan Shan’s colleague as well as good friend. Chen Tao has interest in Yan Shan but the feeling is one-sided.

Wei Lan

Wei Lan is the head of the ER department in Ren Xin Hospital. She is a fierce and no-nonsense superior who demands a very high standard from her subordinate doctors.

Commander Hao Yi Cheng

Commander Hao is Ke Lei’s immediate superior in the police force. He has a good relationship with Ke Lei. Commander Hao’s wife is also a doctor and director of Ren Xin Hospital.

Luo Ting, Li Nian & Zhuo Wen Jing

The 3 of them are members of the Tiger Assault Team and Ke Lei’s subordinates. Wen Jing is a latecomer and the only woman in the team.

Lu Feng

Lu Feng is a businessman. He used to be a police trainee and is friends with Ke Lei and Wen Bo. Lu Feng is sociable and seen as a playboy. But he has feelings for Qing Xia.

Shen Jia Ning & Shen Jia Nan

The Shen sisters are daughters of the late Captain Shen and Ke Lei’s childhood friends. Captain Shen was Ke Lei’s mentor and had helped him a lot in the past.

Ye Xiao Man

Xiao Man is Mi Ka’s good friend and flatmate who is stricken with brain tumor.

Synopsis

Mi Ka was taken hostage during a robbery at a jewelry store. She was saved by Ke Lei who is a policeman and the captain of a SWAT team. However, he was masked up and she could only see his eyes.

2 years later, Mi Ka is a doctor at Ren Xin Hospital and has to undergo a fitness and emergency course led by Ke Lei and his team. While he could recognize her, she has no idea that he was her savior. Ke Lei begins to find himself being attracted to Mi Ka but she has the impression that he is strict and unapproachable instead. After a series of events, Mi Ka also starts to fall for Ke Lei.

As Ke Lei tries to date Mi Ka and deepen their relationship, their progress is hindered by the nature of their jobs which demands irregular hours and sudden calls of duty. Then, a major earthquake hits another city and both of them are sent to the disaster zone to help save lives.

You Are My Hero Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

You Are My Hero has a happy ending with Mi Ka and Ke Lei still together as a couple although they have been apart for close to 2 years. Mi Ka was selected to train abroad at a prestigious medical center. She was reluctant to leave when she saw the ring that Ke Lei had bought to propose to her. But Ke Lei was supportive of her dream and told her to go. Mi Ka asked Ke Lei if he would be willing to marry her later and they made an agreement that he would propose to her after 2 years.

When Mi Ka returned home for a forum, she took a bus ride to Ke Lei’s training camp in the hope of giving him a surprise. But she and the rest of the passengers ended up being held hostage by drug dealers. It was a harrowing experience and Ke Lei nearly got killed while saving her. They survived the ordeal and were grateful for having each other. Ke Lei then proposed to Mi Ka at the police camp where she once attended his training. She accepted and also understood that the nature of his job requires him to protect the people apart from her.

Wen Bo & Qing Xia

Wen Bo proposed to Qing Xia after dating her for a short period. He has loved her for a long time but didn’t think he was the best person for her initially. Wen Bo thought that Lu Feng was a better man for Qing Xia. But he realized that he was wrong and confessed to Qing Xia in Episode 33. By the end of the drama, they have been happily married for 2 years and Qing Xia has shown signs of pregnancy.

Dr. Shao & Ke Yao

Dr. Shao and Ke Yao got back together after having split up 7 years ago while they were abroad. They broke up because Ke Yao’s father was ill and she was unsure if she should go back to help the family business. She was hoping Dr. Shao would ask her to stay but he told her to go home instead. Both were too rational and proud to tell the other their true feelings. So, they ended up breaking up.

However, they have not been able to forget each other. When they meet again 7 years later, Mi Ka and Ke Lei try to play matchmaker. But it became a little awkward. Instead, Dr. Shao and Ke Yao slowly rebuild their relationship at their own pace. He then asked her to move in with him and by the end of the drama, he had suggested that they register their marriage.

Chen Tao & Yan Shan

Chen Tao has always been interested in Yan Shan. But she took him for granted as she preferred to try to get close to Dr. Shao. Her jealousy towards Mi Ka and obsession to be the best eventually caused her to resort to underhanded tactics to win. When she was found out, she quit. But her shortcomings were a result of a very demanding mother which gave her a lot of pressure. Mi Ka felt sorry for her and was willing to forgive her.

Yan Shan then went abroad to further her studies after making peace with her mother. Chen Tao remained supportive of her. She returned after 2 years and met up with Mi Ka again whereby they resumed their close friendship. Chen Tao was also happy to see Yan Shan again and delighted that she had re-applied to join Ren Xin Hospital.

You Are My Hero Review – A Very Slow Start

You Are My Hero leaves me the impression that it is not the typical romance drama that is full of fluff and sweetness à la Love Is Sweet and My Little Happiness. Instead, it is like a slice-of-life kind of storytelling with a great theme song thrown in at the right moments. The drama depicts the lives of our protagonists which revolve mainly around their work followed by their romance. Both of these aspects are intertwined as their work gets in the way of their romance but also helps it along as the nature of their jobs allows them to understand one another and become supportive of each other.

A Boring First Half

Personally, I find the first half of the drama to be incredibly slow. I was tempted to drop it around Episode 7 to 10 but soldiered on with a heavy dose of fast-forwarding. It is boring because many of the scenes are about the main characters’ daily work as a special police officer and surgeon. It alternates between the two characters’ work life with some romance thrown in between.

Hence, it is not entirely a police drama with lots of action or a medical drama with more interesting patient cases. You get bits and pieces of both worlds and I think this is where it falters as it becomes neither here nor there. While you do get surgery scenes in You Are My Hero, these do not have the same standard as a medical-themed drama which is much more focused such as TVB’s Big White Duel.

I guess one might argue that this is a romance drama in essence which is true as well. In a way, they need to set the foundation on the importance and selfless nature of the couple’s different professions to build up the romance. So, if you like this kind of little chunks of the daily life of the characters, then You Are My Hero would be a great drama to watch from start to finish. Otherwise, the drama only starts to get more interesting after the halfway mark as the characters grow on you.

A Different Feel To The Romance

It is hard to describe the romance between Ke Lei and Mi Ka. Perhaps it is apt to say that they have a very unique relationship dynamics between them. There is a lot of shyness in the beginning although they are both around mid to late 20’s in age. It is not like Love Scenery whereby the man is bold and there is not much awkwardness when it comes to physical intimacy. Ke Lei and Mi Ka’s interactions are respectful and innocent-like in contrast.

If you like to watch a step-by-step progress of a relationship from meeting to a wedding proposal, You Are My Hero would fit the bill. It details out the wooing stage and the experience of holding hands for the first time as well as the first kiss. The shyness and blushes give the romance between them a dose of innocence. After the couple get together, their interactions are cute and they like to joke with one another which is very different from the usual bickering like in Hello Mr. Gu or an overdose of fluff like in Perfect And Casual.

Basically, you don’t watch You Are My Hero for an intense romance. Ke Lei and Mi Ka’s relationship isn’t over-dramatic and it doesn’t give viewers fairy tale vibes all round. Instead, the romance feels more grounded and solid which is very different from pure fluff just to pump up the sweetness level.

Good Casting

I think whoever did the casting deserves a round of applause. Both Sandra Ma and Bai Jing Ting fit their characters really well. Sandra Ma gives Mi Ka a soft-spoken demeanor but steely determination as a surgeon. She shows toughness when she needs to be while changing into all smiles and cuteness when she is with the man she loves. The change in expressions is very natural when you watch her on-screen.

Bai Jing Ting also gives Ke Lei a very charming but shy persona despite being a tough man at work. It is satisfying to watch the contrast with the good acting skills displayed. When the leads are put together, they have their own kind of chemistry to project an easy-going and loving couple. Their facial expressions and body language show that they are very comfortable with each other as a pair of lovers.

My Verdict – Superb For Some But Not Others

I can understand why You Are My Hero is a superb drama for some viewers. This is a very positive romance drama with no silly misunderstandings and breakups which is similar to Sunshine Of My Life and Forever Love. The female character is strong and independent. There is communication between the lovers and they are supportive of each other when times are tough. The romance progresses at a realistic pace and the screenwriters build a strong foundation for the love to grow.

On the flip side, some may find it boring and draggy like I did. You really need to be patient for the romance to progress and grow on you if you are not really interested to watch the characters at work in the beginning. Furthermore, this is not a drama whereby you can expect lots of passion and kisses. It is a relatively clean drama and I guess they need to keep it that way to pass the censorship board given that the main character is a police officer. Personally, I think it is better that way because it gives the relationship a different feel from the usual romance dramas. But if you prefer hotter and more passionate scenes like in Love Designer, you won’t find that same feel in You Are My Hero.

Overall, I would give this You Are My Hero review a score of 7.5/10. It is a watchable production for those who like simple storylines and clean plots with a slice-of-life feel to the protagonists’ story. Despite my own personal take that it has long boring stretches, it is only fair to also highlight the positives which lead the drama to a strong finish. Give it a try if you want a realistic and positive feel to your love story but drop it if you are looking for an intense romance drama.