
HIStory: My Hero is a Taiwanese BL drama with a supernatural twist. The protagonist is a female ghost who possesses her male classmate to spend more time with her grieving boyfriend. A unique love triangle forms as the romantic connection strengthens between the two men, but the boyfriend doesnāt know heās interacting with his ex-girlfriend in another body.
HIStory: My Hero Summary
HIStory ā My Hero
Taiwan
2017
Around 90 minutes
Supernatural
Cute and sweet
4 episodes
Around 20 minutes
Plot

Ying Hsiung used to date Lan Hsi, his rich and privileged girlfriend from a powerful family. Tragically, she dies at a young age. Although he tries to adjust to normal life afterwards, it pains him to even bring her up in conversation.
Unbeknownst to Ying Hsiung, his girlfriend has turned into a ghost. Even though he canāt see her, she can monitor his every move in the afterlife. Accompanying Lan Hsi is a quirky deity named Chang Chang, responsible for guiding her spirit after death. With some coercion, Lan Hsi manages to talk Chang Chang into giving her a second chance at life.
However, Chang Chang has transferred Lan Hsiās ghost into Sse Jenās body. Sse Jen is one of her nerdy university classmates, who recently died in a slip-and-fall accident. Lan Hsi is horrified to take over his body, and she has a tough time getting used to being a guy at first. Chang Chang tells her this is a trial period. The condition is that Lan Hsi can come back to life, if she secures a kiss from her boyfriend as Sse Jen.
A seemingly impossible task, Lan Hsi tries her best to get closer to Ying Hsiung under the new persona. Surprisingly, Ying Hsiung warms up to Sse Jen quickly, even offering him a place to stay at his apartment. Lan Hsi uses this opportunity to get closer to her ex-boyfriend, even though she canāt tell him her actual identity. As a result, Ying Hsiung believes heās developing a connection with Sse Jen, a fellow male classmate.
Lan Hsi discovers a set of diaries that Sse Jen kept back when he was alive. Curious about the type of person he was, Lan Hsi reads a few of the entries. She discovers that he was massively bullied due to his nerdy appearance. She also learns that he had a secret crush on somebody, and he was just about to confess until his untimely death. Inspired by his tale, Lan Hsi becomes determined for her love to implicitly reach Ying Hsiung. She wants to get a kiss from him, even if it means heās kissing another guy.
HIStory: My Hero Trailer
HIStory: My Hero Cast
Characters
Ying Hsiung Aaron Lai (賓ę±č³¢) Aaron Lai Instagram

Ying Hsiung is a university student recently in mourning over his deceased girlfriend. Although Lan Hsi doted on him, Ying Hsiang later admits that he had doubts about their relationship. Ying Hsiung used to live with his girlfriend, but lets Ssu Jen crash with him after his injury.
Ssu Jen Yun Lin Chiang (č£ęé) Yun Lin Chiang Instagram

Ssu Jen is a nerdy university student who gets bullied and picked on by his peers. When he dies during a freak accident, Lan Hsi possesses his body to stay close to her boyfriend. Before he died, Ssu Jen kept secret diary entries on all his thoughts and feelings.
Supporting Cast

Lan Hsi
Patricia Lin (ęę åÆ)

Chang Chang
Da-her Lin (ęé¶“č»)

Ya Chin
Cason Chiang (ę±å±č»)
Cast highlights
- Years later in 2021, the lead actor (Aaron Lai) stars in another Taiwanese BL drama called Be Loved in House. The BL romance is more prominent in that series than HIStory 1: My Hero. Youāll see the actor in plenty of steamy exchanges, along with many shirtless scenes as well!
- Aaron also featured in another 2021 BL drama called See You After Quarantine, where he plays another gay character. Bonus: he speaks Japanese too!
HIStory: My Hero Review
Review
Drama Review Score: 6.6

Surprisingly, I enjoyed HIStory: My Hero more during a rewatch. Compared to how I first felt about the drama from a few years ago, my opinion improved in a second viewing. Maybe the story works better when I already know whatās gonna happen, so I can anticipate all the twists and turns. I also think the series aged considerably well. Now that thereāre hundreds of new BL series, HIStory: My Hero still stands out with a quirky premise, unlike the usual love story in this genre.
Despite the positive feedback, HIStory: My Hero gets a mixed reception from me. Thereās a lot of plot to unfold in less than 80 minutes, so the story feels rushed and isnāt executed too smoothly. It doesnāt have time to expand upon the interesting moments, which means the series never goes deep enough in the romance or the emotional impact. Plus, some of the scenes feel clunky and couldāve benefited from better writing.
At times, HIStory: My Hero dances a fine line between BL and BG. Since Ssu Jen is controlled by the ex-girlfriendās ghost, you can almost argue itās a love story about a straight couple. However, Ying Hsiung isnāt aware of her presence and genuinely believes heās developing an attraction for a man. While the series addresses the spectrum of sexuality and gender identity briefly, those moments arenāt substantial enough. Thereās a missed opportunity here, making me wish these themes are explored in greater depth.
Without going into heavy spoilers, the ending comes with a plot twist, putting HIStory: My Hero into solid BL territory. The story might begin with a romance between a mourning boyfriend and his deceased girlfriend, but it doesnāt necessarily end that way. Unlike some of the steamier HIStory installments, there isnāt that much physical intimacy between the main characters. Instead, their emotional connection is emphasized. Just in case thereās any concern, rest assured the two male characters do kiss in the end.
Although HIStory: My Hero deals with deaths and ghosts, itās a pretty lighthearted supernatural romance. The tone never feels too heavy, thanks to the offbeat sense of humour throughout the episodes. With a plot that moves along at a brisk pace, this series is easy and comfortable to watch. However, the narrative is kinda lacklustre, the relationship doesnāt satisfy my BL cravings, and the overall quality falls short of satisfying. In my opinion, HIStory: My Hero is just an okay series that canāt overcome its various shortcomings.
Story
Okay story

Iām going to make some allowances for HIStory: My Hero, considering it only had an hour to tell a high-concept love story involving ghosts and the afterlife. The series establishes the premise as quickly as possible, which does feel rather rushed, but I understand why they wouldnāt want to spend too much time setting up the plot either. If the series was longer, Iād love to see the story pace itself better. Unfortunately, the time constraints limit the effectiveness of the storytelling.
The premise of a ghost girlfriend coming back to life isnāt entirely unique, but it seems uncommon enough that thereās some novelty to the idea. I was excited to see how the romance would unfold, especially with a clear BL twist in the mix. While HIStory: My Hero doesnāt execute the storyline perfectly, it gets some points for creativity and ambition. Overall, the story is cute and quirky enough as long as you donāt scrutinize the plot holes too closely.
My hero

Ying Hsiungās name (éŗ„č±é) literally translates to āheroā in Traditional Chinese, which explains why this series is named āMy Heroā. In addition, the title also refers to the reason why Sse Jin fell in love with Ying Hsiung in the first place.
From Sse Jinās perspective, Ying Hsiung is his hero who rescued him from the school bullies. It was the bullying incident that brought Sse Jin and Ying Hsiung closer together. They had an opportunity to know each other better, where they developed a connection from there. However, neither of them would act upon their feelings, unsure if the other person would reciprocate.
It was only after Ying Hsiung read Sse Jinās journal that he realized they both feel the same way about each other. Once Ying Hsiung knows the attraction is mutual, heās prompted into confessing his love. At the end of the series, the two of them happily get together. Itās almost like a fairytale ending, as the damsel in distress gets swept off his feet by his knight in shining armour.
Romance
BL romance

Yes, History: My Hero is a BL series. Thereās a covert romance between the two male characters, particularly towards the end. I feel the need to clarify this point because the lines get blurred with a female love interest in the mix. The definition of whatās considered BL tends to be up for interpretation, but we have to draw the line somewhere. If this drama was strictly about a ghost girlfriend reconnecting with her boyfriend in a manās body, I wouldnāt consider it as a BL.
However, the twist in HIStory: My Hero is that Ying Hsiung and the real Ssu Jen already had feelings for each other before Lan Hsi possessed his body. In the diary entries, Ssu Jen reveals that he had a crush on Ying Hsiung, believing these feelings are reciprocated. Thatās why Ying Hsiung seemed so receptive to Ssu Jenās advances during the series. Not because he could āfeelā his ex-girlfriendās presence, but Ying Hsiung already had these budding feelings for the actual Ssu Jen long ago.
Thereās a tragic irony to Lan Hsiās journey. All along, the poor girl thought she was connecting with her boyfriend on a romantic level, transcending through the boundaries of gender. It turns out that no, heās actually attracted to the guy instead of her. If anything, her actions only pushed the two of them closer together, making her boyfriend accept that heās in love with another man.
BG romance

Although thereās a BL romance in HIStory: My Hero, it focuses mainly on the BG relationship instead. Ying Hsiung may be attracted to the real Ssu Jen, but he spends most of his scenes with the fake Ssu Jen, whoās his dead girlfriend in disguise. As a result, any of the cute couple scenes that we see between Ying Hsiung and Ssu Jen arenāt really BL. While we see the two male actors interacting, their romantic moments are actually between a female character and her boyfriend.
Not that thereās anything wrong with Lan Hsi and Ying Hsiung having a romance, but understandably you donāt want the BG relationship to be the bulk of a BL drama. Iām left with mixed feelings about the complicated love triangle in HIStory: My Hero. On one hand, I do think itās an interesting angle to approach a romance. Itās interesting to see the POV of the dead girlfriend as she tries to recapture her boyfriendās love.
On the other hand, BL Watcher just wants to watch BL content, dammit! At the end of the day, I donāt care about the girlfriend, not when thereās a much more urgent BL romance that needs development. Give me some guy-on-guy action now! š¤
Acting
Decent acting

The acting in HIStory: My Hero is decent. I think the actress playing the ex-girlfriend (Lan Hsi) is good in the few scenes where she appears. I also think the actor playing Ssu Jen (Yun Lin Chaing) has a versatility to him as well. However, heās limited by the story, which doesnāt give him enough materials to work with.
In a longer series, all the actors would have more opportunities to showcase their acting capabilities. Iāll give them the benefit of the doubt and believe they carried their roles pretty well. Overall. I have no problems with their performances.
Ending
Both happy & sad ending

HIStory: My Hero has both a happy ending or a sad ending, depending on whose perspective you prioritize. From a BL perspective, the ending is a joyous occasion. Both Ying Hsiung and Sse Jin confess their love for each other, resulting in a kiss during the final moments of the episode. The real Sse Jin also returns back to his body after the kiss. Heās the real winner here, getting both the man and his mortality back.
On the other hand, HIStory: My Hero has a tragically sad ending if you view the story from the girlfriendās perspective. Other than the glaring fact that sheās DEAD, Lan Hsi also realizes that her boyfriend is in love with another man. He was her raison dāĆŖtre, the main driving force of why she wanted to come back to life instead of moving to the afterlife. She assumed they had some epic love story, one that could defy gender and sexuality.
Instead, it must be devastating to know that Ying Hsiung had developed feelings for someone else. She was still clutching onto the old romance between them, while he moved on to a new relationship already. Her hopeless expression in the end was actually a pretty sad moment. It dampened the happiness that I felt about the BL couple getting together. š„ Of course sheās also kinda homophobic, so my sympathy for her character is very limited. š
Ending explained

The love triangle is resolved by the end of HIStory: My Hero. The ending reveals that Ying Hsiungās love for Sse Jen overpowers any lingering feelings for his girlfriend. Even though Lan Hsi succeeds in getting a kiss from her boyfriend, she isnāt the one who comes back to life. Thatās because whom Ying Hsiung loves isnāt actually *her*. He has feelings for the real Sse Jin, not the fake Sse Jin with Lan Hsui controlling him.
When the two of them kiss, Lan Hsui gets ejected from the body and Sse Jin returns to life. The magic spell worked exactly as Chang Chang said it would, except it applied for Lan Hsuiās love rival instead of herself. With true loveās kiss, the deceased is supposed to come back to life. Sadly for Lan Hsui, she is not Ying Hsiungās true love.
Lan Hsuiās last line is a bitter acceptance of her cruel fate: āIn relationships, the one who is not loved is the third wheel.ā Even though Lan Hsui used to be the girlfriend, sheās now considered the third wheel in their relationship. Seeing them kiss in front of her is a pretty solid confirmation that Ying Hsiung doesnāt love her as much as he loves Sse Jin.
HIStory: My Hero Episodes
Episode Guide
HIStory: My Hero has a total of 4 episodes. Each episode is around 20 minutes long. This is a short BL drama, and you can finish the entire series in around 80 minutes. HIStory: My Hero aired its first episode on February 14, 2017 and ended on February 17, 2017.
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Episode 4

The final episode is probably my favourite in HIStory: My Hero because itās the most explicitly BL. All series, Iāve been waiting to see some romance between the two male characters (as opposed to the male lead and his ex-girlfriend). This episode finally gives me what I want. Granted, the BL moment only happened in the final few minutes of the episode, but Iām easily satisfied. š
HIStory: My Hero Information
Links
- Instagram HIStory Instagram
- MyDramaList HIStory: My Hero MyDramaList
- Viki HIStory: My Hero Viki
- Wikipedia HIStory Wikipedia
- Wikipedia HIStory: My Hero Wikipedia
- YouTube HIStory: My Hero YouTube