Jiro, I suspect, is one of those actors who usually ends up playing himself, really.

Dude, I hear ya. Ella's lack of girliness really worked against her in that outfit but then again I had a distinct feeling they weren't even trying to go for "hot". I mean, she was cosplaying Minnie Mouse!

Ella actually strikes me as extremely feminine, but not "Girly." It seemed odd that they were going to have her compete in that outfit, though.

Yeah, I thought of her as a boy for the first two or three episodes but as the drama progresses, everything about her appearance just becomes softer and her expressions and gestures very very girly.

I don't think her appearance changes so much as she does the role so well you don't notice those things.

I hated Shen Le at first but he becomes massively awesome in episode 6. I love it when he bickers with Rui Xi, and calls her hobbit and just, eee. Plus even with cornrows (something I thought Asian guys should NEVER have on their head), Ethan Ruan is hot.

I've liked him from the start both here and in the manga. I think because you can tell he really isn't that much of a jerk, he's just really pissed that the only guy to really be his rival has sunk so low. He also clearly thinks Rui Xi is about the cutest little thing ever, regardless of gender(rather like a larger, mouthier version of his baby sister.) He and Eddie Peng are the only ones I've seen make the cornrows look work, really.