#You Yao

[cheerkyuuu]

NO SVSSS ART, IVE BEEN BINGING

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group E Round 4: Are You Ok vs Moriarty the Patriot

#E1: Are You Ok (You Yao)

Transmigrators modernize ancient China. Chaos ensues.

#E4: Moriarty the Patriot (Yuukoku no Moriarty)

Gay found family criminals versus corrupt nobility

#E1: Are You Ok (You Yao)

Summary:

People from the modern world transmigrating into the ancient Chinese fantasy world has become a common and everyday occurrence that the royal court in the latter has decided to moderate them. If you’re a transmigrator, you must report your existence to Lou Zhu, the master of Best Tower. Once you pass his test and prove that you are indeed a modern person, you can then be assigned to work in different areas of the government and be given a high salary.

Because of this promised benefit, many impostors have showed up before Lou Zhu. And one day, Zuo Yunqi takes this test as well. Is he an impostor, or is he an actual modern person?

But some transmigrators also choose to hide their existence out of distrust in the government. Where are they? And with their advanced knowledge on science and technology, what are they planning in the dark?

Elsewhere, other transmigrators find themselves in all sorts of situations—an art student is detained and forced to come up with a recipe for a poisonous meal, while another is stuck sharing a body with the original soul and fighting for its control. Meanwhile, unrest rises in the Jianghu and a storm brews in the palace. Can our transmigrators’ modern knowledge save the day? Or will their lack of understanding in the current world lead to their downfall?

Propaganda:

As someone who is in the You Yao and YuuMori fandoms and adores both for being very gay while still having a good plot, I’d say these two stories are tied in terms of quality. They both execute their respective genres well and really shouldn’t be pitted against each other. But since I absolutely have to choose, then I’m siding with You Yao for this round. The YuuMori anime is a bit lacking compared to its manga, whereas the You Yao donghua elevates the original novel and breathes new life into it.

I started both shows as an anime-only. While watching YuuMori, there was always this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I was missing out on something. There were so many instances that seemed odd or abrupt. The “found family” gang felt forced, and Sherlock’s attachment and dedication to William seemed excessive in the episodes leading to the climax and even at the climax. It turns out the anime had cut out a chapter in the manga where Sherlock visited William at the college where he teaches. This was such a let-down for me because that chapter showed how the two interact outside of a crime scene and still be friends.

In contrast, the You Yao donghua was able to stand on its own. You don’t even have to read the novel anymore, which is surprising coming from someone like me who always advocates on experiencing the source material.

In the novel, arcs seem disconnected from each other that, while reading, you don’t get the feeling that there’s an overarching plot. It is only later in the story that everything starts slowly coming together.

Somehow, the You Yao donghua was able to take the scattered puzzle pieces of the novel and connect them all together to deliver a coherent story all the while still keeping the spirit of the original—a suckerpunching emotional rollercoaster ride masquerading as yet another comedy. Characters were also given more emotional depth, which is a plus because the novel only portrayed it subtly. Even the donghua-original characters were so likable that I had to double-check if they were canon.

The YuuMori anime has its good parts of course, but overall I think it could’ve done a lot better in terms of character relationships and pacing.

So yeah, both stories are equally good in each of their own genres. But on being an animated adaptation? You Yao takes the win. Vote You Yao.

Trigger warnings: Guns, kidnapping, and imprisonment. Nothing too dark, though.

#E4: Moriarty the Patriot (Yuukoku no Moriarty)

Summary:

During the late 19th century, Great Britain has become the greatest empire the world has ever known. Hidden within its success, the nation's rigid economic hierarchy dictates the value of one's life solely on status and wealth. To no surprise, the system favors the aristocracy at the top and renders it impossible for the working class to ascend the ranks.

William James Moriarty, the second son of the Moriarty household, lives as a regular noble while also being a consultant for the common folk to give them a hand and solve their problems. However, deep inside him lies a desire to destroy the current structure that dominates British society and those who benefit from it.

Alongside his brothers Albert and Louis, William will do anything it takes to change the filthy world he lives in—even if blood must be spilled.

Propaganda:

The story isn’t quite on par with the manga (solely due to there being not enough episodes to cover full character arcs), but the ‘eat the rich’ vibes are immaculate, the plot is complex and interesting, the queercoding and subtext are both wonderfully done, AND there is a CANON TRANS CHARACTER !!!!

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Gender Identity/Sexuality Discrimination, Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Rape/Non-Con, Self-Harm, Suicide

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form with your revisions, and I’ll consider adapting those changes.

New: Starting round 5, screenshots will be included in the poll post. You can submit screenshots through the form linked above, or through here, via ask or dm.

Guidelines in submitting screenshots:

No NSFW or spoilery images.

Pick some good images please. Don’t send any blurry or pixelated ones.

You may send up to 9 screenshots, but not all may be used.

[teleportbooks]

Fanbinding: the webnovel "Are You OK?" (You Yao)

Without getting too spoilery, this novel features a great number of transmigrators who have irreparably altered the historical fantasy setting they landed in. I wanted to play with anachronism in my binding but I thought "if I do some sort of mock stab binding that's not going to read as anachronism, that's just going to read as low effort." With a proper stab binding, I couldn't put the whole thing in a single volume, but fortunately the novel is comprised of interconnected short stories so it was easy to split up.

Each volume contains two stories (the sixth volume is the extras) and they're bound tête-bêche style, meaning that they start at opposite ends meet in the middle, flip it over to read. I lined the inside of the covers with rainbow marbled paper and bound each volume with matching colors of thread. The slipcase (my first, and easier than expected) is edged with the same marbled paper and lined with a promo image from the donghua. So, this is kind of all over the place, design wise, but I hope like... coherently so.

Obligatory disclaimer that this is a personal project which can be considered a form of fan art, and I am not making any money from it.

[an-avost]

Based on a rather old Russian joke, originally about mushrooms for the mother-in-law (such a lamest joke).

My friend and I were accidentally remembering stupid jokes while watching You Yao and I accidentally made this joke about Prince Yu and Li Ke, so... (sorry not sorry)

[miaoyea]

You Yao (有药) Weibo Extra: Lou Zhu x Zuo Yunqi 🕊️

“By the time Zuo Yunqi saw Lou Zhu again, it had already been five years since the battle of the imperial capital.”

---

This is the now-deleted LouZuo extra from 七英俊's Weibo, set a few years after their separation in the main story :')

Link to full translation

[minsarasarahair]

If there's something I'm thankful in 2024, its You Yao (Are You OK). Just like what the old donghua lover Cuchallain had says about this show, its truly a perfect medicine. After learning the bittertaste of Word of Honor then my favorite anticipating shows, Liu Yao and Feng Huo Liu Jin aka Sha Po Lang will suffer in jail. I'm so glad to see that You Yao donghua manage to finish the story with 2 seasons despite the strict restriction. This is the only danmei donghua not related to MXTX's TGCF that managed to be on screen during the BL ban. It ended in February 2024 with light-hearted satisfying end, more hopeful than the novel version. It just remained underappreciated because the romance have to steps back and became subplot but it didn't really destroyed the tragicomedy image from the original material, that most of the pairings have either bittersweet or ambiguous open ending in canon. Its even more sad that Cheng He Ti Tong viewers overlooked this one despite having same author and animation team for some reason. If I'm right, You Yao s1 won an animation award so its strange that season 2 didn't make any noise in donghua or danmei community.

[web-novel-polls]

Have You Read This Web Novel?

People from the modern world transmigrating into the ancient Chinese fantasy world has become a common and everyday occurrence that the royal court in the latter has decided to moderate them. If you’re a transmigrator, you must report your existence to Lou Zhu, the master of Best Tower. Once you pass his test and prove that you are indeed a modern person, you can then be assigned to work in different areas of the government and be given a high salary. Because of this promised benefit, many impostors have appeared before Lou Zhu. And one day, Zuo Yunqi takes this test as well. Is he an impostor, or is he an actual modern person? But some transmigrators also choose to hide their existence out of distrust in the government. Where are they? And with their advanced knowledge on science and technology, what are they planning in the dark? Elsewhere, other transmigrators find themselves in all sorts of situations—an art student is detained and forced to come up with a recipe for a poisonous meal, while another is stuck sharing a body with the original soul and fighting for its control. Meanwhile, unrest rises in the Jianghu and a storm brews in the palace. Can our transmigrators’ modern knowledge save the day? Or will their lack of understanding in the current world lead to their downfall? - Novel Updates

If you’re in the process of reading this web novel, please choose whichever option best fits your situation. You do not have to be completely finished with it to answer “yes.”

[miyamiwu]

It is criminal for me to mention the musical segment in my propaganda for You Yao without sharing it, so here ya go

This show is NOT a musical. It’s just really wacky. And perhaps to prevent the BL from being censored, they had to highlight the love story of the only straight character in this show (it was barely mentioned in the original novel). Lin Kai’s character had fewer appearances in the novel, but because of this adaptation, he is now one of my favorites haha

VOTE FOR YOU YAO (#E1) IN @best-underrated-anime

[alkanedaunted]

I don't know why but for some reason global/international version of iqiyi cut out the last 50-ish seconds of episode 24. But hey, here's the clip

[i-go-brrr]

You Yao (Are You Okay) Nation, quick question!

I'm planning on writing a college au and I want to ask what majors do you think the cast would take

[yznerpoo]

Did something to this scene💀🙏 (show: You Yao 2)

[best-underrated-anime]

Are many of the animes here on crunchyroll? Or netflix? I know a bunch are but I also wonder if it's a good suggestion list ^^

Considering the numerous times I had to find alternate trailers because a lot of Crunchroll’s YouTube videos are blocked in my country… yes, a lot of the shows are on Crunchyroll. A few are on Netflix, and some are on Funimation.

As for donghua (Chinese anime), most can only be watched legally through Iqiyi or Bilibili. For the latter, it might be hard to access when you don’t understand Chinese. But fret not, these two also have official YouTube channels, so you can try checking there too.

While I’m at this, I might as well just list the sites where you can watch certain donghua...

Are You Ok - Iqiyi

Beryl and Saphire - Bilibili

God Troubles Me - Bilibili. I think some seasons are also on the official Bilibili YouTube channel

Legend of Luo Xiaohei - There are no official subs, but there are numerous fansubs on YouTube. The Legend of Hei prequel movie is on Crunchyroll, though. (Please watch the movie in Chinese… They literally translated the characters’ names to English in the dub, and it’s so cringe 😭)

Link Click - Funimation (S1 only), and Crunchyroll and Bilibili (both seasons). Link Click S1 official subs were awful, though, so I suggest looking into fansubbed versions. I think there are 2-3 different fansubs for it.

No Doubt in Us - Bilibili, Netflix

White Cat Legend - Bilibili, and I think YouTube too. @whitecatlegend also made some good fansubs for S2

Wo Jia Dashixiong Naozi You Keng - Bilibili

This is not a comprehensive list, btw. Just listing what I know off the top of my head.

As for aeni (Korean anime)… I’m not as familiar. There doesn’t seem to be any legal way to watch Mignon at the moment because of issues the creator had with Vimeo, but I could be wrong… Another aeni is Flowering Heart, and a quick search says it’s officially available on YouTube.

Trese, the lone Filipino anime on the list, is available on Netflix.

[dango-daikazoku]

the sound he makes here had me laughing so hard

[swdgf]

有药 (are you ok) audio drama theme song

[an-avost]

[miaoyea]

You Yao (有药) Novel Extra: The Spring Breeze Brush 🍃

“The Spring Breeze Brush wasn’t called the Spring Breeze Brush from the very beginning.”

【1】

The Spring Breeze Brush wasn’t called the Spring Breeze Brush from the very beginning.

But it had been a dagger since the very beginning.

Back when the capital of the great Liang Dynasty was still just a marsh, before time turned vast oceans into fields, this dagger had already killed countless people.

【2】

“Antiquity” was a broad concept. It seemed like anything could happen during this time.

Somehow, the dagger that had drunk the blood of too many became sentient.

It still had no name then.

The first person that it killed after it started forming memories shouted before they died, “Fuck, this thing’s a demon!”

The dagger didn’t know what a demon was, but it sounded pretty flashy.

It named itself Little Demon.

【3】

At that time, the young universe was in a state of chaos. The tribes had been at war for who knew how many centuries.

The dagger’s master changed again and again. Countless hands grasped it, plunging it into countless other warm, pulsing hearts.

As a divine ancient weapon, it had personally been through many battles that would become legends to later generations, and knew many juicy tales that future generations could never even dream of.

For example, a certain person remembered as a brilliant warrior for beheading the enemy’s chief had actually just tripped and stabbed his dagger into the enemy’s back in a stroke of stupid luck.

Or for example, a certain emperor whose cause of death was shrouded in so much mystery that he became the subject of endless speculation had actually died from dehydration via diarrhea after eating something bad.

It truly was lonely knowing so much gossip but having no one to share it with.

【4】

After killing hundreds or thousands more people, the dagger unlocked a new ability.

It discovered that its consciousness led to a dark and vast emptiness. The souls of those who had been killed by it would automatically be swallowed up and imprisoned in that patch of emptiness.

Ordinary souls would dissipate not long after arriving, but the ones who especially didn’t want to depart yet would try to break out and return to the world of the living.

Its reputation as a “soul-devouring weapon” spread. But the dagger was quite happy. Now that it had these dead souls to keep it company, it wasn’t lonely anymore. Every day, in that empty space, it told them all the gossip it knew.

【5】

Exactly what would it have felt like to be sealed in the dagger that killed you, while it chattered away in your ear about gossip from the ancient times day after day?

In any case, the resentment of those souls grew thicker and thicker. They’d often throw themselves against the barrier so hard that the dagger would tremble incessantly.

The stars shifted above; the world was always changing. For the dagger, the new change was that it got picked up by an old monk.

The kindly old monk weighed it in his hand and said, “What crime did innocent iron commit to deserve such a heavy burden of bloodshed? This object cannot be left to wreak havoc in the world anymore. This old monk shall help these poor souls find peace.”

【6】 

From then on, the dagger was enshrined in a rundown little temple. Day after day, it listened as the old monk chanted sutras.

The old monk died, and his disciple diligently took over his important duty, and so on and so forth for generation after generation.

A century passed, then two centuries. The resentment of the dead was gradually appeased, and one by one, they disappeared without a trace.

Having lost its companions, the dagger felt like it was on the verge of turning back into a lifeless object too.

Suddenly one day, the earth trembled. The old temple, which had withstood several centuries of wind and rain, collapsed in that earthquake, crushing all the monks inside to death.

The dagger fell beneath the ruins.

Until the crumbling temple above it turned to dust. It lay in a vast and empty valley, grass growing freely over its body. Exposed to the elements, it slowly rusted.

Just when it thought that it might be nice if it just faded away here, a hand picked it up.

【7】

The owner of the hand was a radiant, bright-eyed youth.

Over the endless years, the dagger had seen generation after generation of great beauties turn to bleached white bones. It would no longer be amazed by anyone’s face.

What did amaze it was that someone had made the difficult journey over land and water to explore this wild, remote place that hadn’t seen humans in a very long time—and they seemed to be having a very good time.

The beautiful youth gave it a flick with his finger. Hearing the dagger’s low, resonant hum, he looked a little surprised, then smiled and said, “Incredible. If we take this thing and polish it up, it’d probably be a divine weapon.”

As he spoke, he grasped it and casually ran through a few forms, the blade’s edge piercing through the air, swift as a shooting star.

The youth said boyishly, “Dagger, oh, dagger, it seems you were fated to be picked up by me, so why don’t you come with me from now on? What would be a good name for it?”

The last part was directed at the companion beside him.

His companion knit his brow and said, “Um……the Evil God of Flaming Clouds?”

【8】

The youth said, “……Sounds pretty impressive, but this dagger looks ancient. It should have a name that has seen the changes of the world, the kind of name that makes you feel like it has a lot of history as soon as you hear it.”

After racking his brains, his companion said, “Now that you mention it, I’m reminded of a line of poetry that someone wrote back in my original world.”

【9】

Now, He Xun has grown old. His brush, once like the spring breeze, has been entirely forgotten.[1]

From then on, Little Demon had a new name.

It wasn’t particularly fond of this name—it thought “Evil God of Flaming Clouds” was much better. But it had no way to object.

Moreover, the name “Spring Breeze Brush” very quickly spread across the land, alongside its master’s.

It was only later that it learned that the youth who had picked it up was the number one martial arts prodigy in the world.

His name was Gu Jiu.

【10】

The man asked, “What happened after that?”

“Well, after that, I became Gu Jiu’s favoured dagger.”

“Was he good?”

“He was undefeated when it came to fighting, and he was very good-looking. Everyone wanted to be his friend. But those days didn’t last long. People discovered that some of his friends were strange beings that had come from another world. They were immediately attacked.”

“There were transmigrators even then?”

“There were, but they were scattered and had no real power. Gu Jiu was too sharp, too brilliant, so the others had long since grown wary of him. Falling for a trick to drive a wedge between him and his friends, he ended up fighting with them. He had no other choice—he killed his friends with his own hands, then destroyed all the meridians in his body and left. Everyone thought he was dead…… In my opinion, he was as good as dead.”

The man asked, “And then?”

“And then he found his way to a small village and lived out the rest of his life as a nameless bamboo weaver. He even took in a stupid little boy and raised him to adulthood. The foolish boy loved him, and he loved the boy back. But he was even more of a fool than the boy. He never revealed his true feelings to him, just tossed me in a bundle and gave it to him. Heaven knows what he meant by that.”

“Later, the foolish boy died after serving as the sect leader of Pangmen for several decades. Because he had to be buried in the mountains behind Pangmen, he couldn’t be buried with Gu Jiu. So he brought me into his tomb.”

“Later, a guy named Zuo Dao replaced him as the head of Pangmen. That fellow was quite the cunning character—he knew I was a great weapon, so he forced the tomb open and dug me out to present me as a gift. That’s how I came into your hands.”

“And later, you were killed by me.”

【11】

The Spring Breeze Brush let out a contented sigh in the dark and vast emptiness. “It’s been so long since I’ve told someone this much gossip. What a satisfying feeling! You’re a pretty good listener—I like that a lot.”

The man who was its only audience smiled. He had long, slender eyes, and a beautiful face that was cold and ruthless.

The Spring Breeze Brush told him earnestly, “Your lifespan has already come to an end, but please don’t let your regrets dissipate too soon. Once they’re gone, you’ll leave, and if you leave, I won’t have anyone to gossip with anymore.”

“I won’t leave,” the man said quietly.

【12】

“I’ll always be here, by your new master’s side.”

---

[1] From the poem 《暗香》 by Jiang Kui. The poet likens himself to He Xun (a poet from an earlier dynasty who liked writing poems about plum blossoms), who is now too old to appreciate the flowers and write his once-beautiful verses