#for contrast see the donghua

[random-mdzs-thoughts-dumpster]

Omg, LXC was so done with NHS during the entire present timeline

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group G Round 4: No Doubt in Us vs The Royal Tutor

#G6: No Doubt in Us (Liang Bu Yi)

Emperor and Empress bodyswap in ancient China

#G8: The Royal Tutor (Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine)

A tutor tries to teach eccentric princes for the throne

Details and poll under the cut!

#G6: No Doubt in Us (Liang Bu Yi)

Summary:

Within the Chinese imperial court, stern-faced Emperor Xiao Jinyun and spirited Empress Xu Yu are at constant odds with one another. But the universe has an interesting way to solve their issues: an accident causes the two to switch bodies, forcing them to put themselves in the other’s shoes—literally. Now responsible for unfamiliar duties and court dynamics, the Emperor and the Empress must navigate the maintenance of their identities, unruly concubines, and the nation itself. In doing so, Xiao Jinyun and Xu Yu’s personal qualities and unconventional skills find new purpose, and a sense of understanding and compassion grows between the two.

However, great threats loom within and outside the court. If the imperial astrologer cannot discover the key to switching them back in time, then internal strife and suspicion may lead to the duo's untimely demise.

Propaganda:

Liang Bu Yi/No Doubt in Us is one of the most interesting donghua I’ve ever watched. The characters have varying personalities and, because it’s set in ancient China, are rather unique. Considering that Emperors had to keep harems and the fact that this is a straight couple rom-com makes the drama rather spicy. Plus, the Empress is far more qualified in the things a woman in those times wouldn’t be interested in, like sword fighting, archery etc.

To be honest, the contrast between Xu Yu (the Empress) and Xiao Jinyun (the Emperor) results in the show being far more interesting than other ones with the same trope.

Trigger Warnings: None.

#G8: The Royal Tutor (Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine)

Summary:

Equally charming and stern, Heine Wittgenstein is a brilliant man who commands respect, despite his short, childlike stature. Thus, the king of Grannzreich has called upon Heine to undertake a daunting task that has driven away many before him—become the new royal tutor to four princes who are in line for the throne.

The four heirs each have very distinct and troublesome personalities: Licht, the flirtatious youngest prince; his immature older brother Leonhard; Bruno the studious third prince; and Kai, the oldest of the four and the most reserved. Hilarity ensues as Heine attempts to connect with each of the princes in order to groom them for the throne. However, Heine's mysterious past and dark undercurrents in the present may threaten the harmony within the kingdom.

Propaganda:

This is just such a feel good anime, and it teaches important life lessons through the daily struggles each of them princes go through. The princes each go through some kind of development, be it overcoming a weakness or feeling more sympathy for the common people. And despite it being much lighter in tone, it doesn’t shy away from sometimes delving into more serious topics, since of course one of them is supposed to run the country one day. They all have exaggerated personalities, and despite being seen as too posh or selfish at first, it develops so well.

And let’s not forget the glossy art style that’s just eye-candy or the comedy, which is a primary genre of the series. Just the way Heine structures his lesson, starting with more traditional methods and then delving more into each of their passions, makes me want to have him as a teacher. Despite being strict sometimes, tho.

Overall, it doesn’t present many new ideas, but it just makes you feel nice and warm inside, and maybe you can learn a lesson or two, even if you are not royalty.

Trigger Warnings: None.

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.

[revel-inbluehues]

Okay, too much to say, too little words.

Firstly, characters. Qi Rong's character design caught me very off guard, but it fit him perfectly. His robes are so different from everyone else; the brightly coloured stripes along the lining of his coat, the fur, the skull motifs, and the purple crystals are all setting him apart from most of the characters that tended to stick to geometric shapes, blocks of colour and a solid colour pallette (I know he's primarily green-coded but he has so many different colours overall). It's all VERY flamboyant, especially the bright cyan mask, which is fair for a guy who thinks himself above most and wants to stand out among and atop others. Also, the lavender lipstick killed me. I could go on about Qi Rong's character for a while, so I won't. The design fits, and I love it.

Also, XL looks fantastic in the new outfit, no, I will not be taking objections.

HC, of course, is the other main player in this episode; in the beginning, he was clearly enjoying the time he was having with XL, but with the full awareness of needing to deal with QR. By the end, he is enjoying the beating he's beginning to give, a sadistic glee in punishment, a complete contrast to the fairly tame way he's been presented so far, and it's made more effective by the fact that he was in the form of San Lang. Once again, I'm praising the donghua animators for the expressions. The use of shadows to obscure and/or highlight his face was great. We all know HC is ready to beat everyone there.

The other thing is the music. QR clearly has something of a leitmotif here. When entering the cave in the beginning and QR's appearance, it's a very similar rhythm that's playing. It's goofy at some parts while being somewhat ominous in others, again a good reflection QR. But the big point is the music that played in between these events, where we see XL being called a plague god, and it dwarfs QR's theme in terms of levels of ominous and worry. It's a good contrast between XL and QR; while QR's theme is more personal, XL's moment had a more grander feel, a buildup to something, intermingled with screams. It definitely makes the ominous parts of QR's theme feel much less threatening and significant, which is a good show of how QR is viewed in general.

The episode is buildup for the next serious episode, but the funny scenes definitely landed. I burst out laughing when the ghost got beat by Pei Su, just the quiet 'hm?' followed by murder. QR's minions definitely lightened the mood, QR was ridiculous during most of the time, and HC looked like a deer caught in headlights when XL touched him.

Honestly, I love this episode, and I can barely wait for the next one.

[kanene-yaaay]

Headshaker (Tickletober Day 3)

Kanene's Notes: OK, I am like, fighting for my life with this one because I want to post it like immediately like right freaking now but I want to at least read it one more time to correct any absurd mistakes and. I don't know which part will win so rip me I guess. jhgfghjikolkijuhyg Writing this fic was so fun I am in looove <3 <3 Mingjue and Huaisang's interacting was a challenge since I only saw them on the donghua and Mingjue kind of uh dies v quickly so. ther's that. oijhgfuytrfghjuik

Day 3 - "Prank" (Tickletober) and "Starligh" (mxtxtober)

Warnings: Lots of tickling! Also some light angst sprinkled here and there, but nothing too complex. Ticklish!Huaisang and Ler!Mingjue. Around 2.500 words.

[~*~]

“HUAISANG!” The roar shook through the entire Unclean Realms and Nie Huisang yelped, hastily putting his paints on their place (he would never let those hanging around after all the trouble he had gone through to get them) and jumped through the window, running hastily away from the loud footsteps that sounded already so close to his room, under the amused gaze of the few guards that were on watching duty tonight. 

The stars looked so beautiful today, a sea of darkness and light dancing together in a lovely contrast that itched his soul to find a poem that talked about it, awaiting for a sharp mind to properly appreciate them. It was a pity it was the last time he would be able to see it before he died.

The footsteps turned the corner and suddenly got much closer. Huaisang let out a high pitched scream, no needing to look behind to see who was his pursuer.

“Brother! It wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t my fault!” He jumped to the side and scrambled when a large hand swiped to his right, his voice getting quicker and hysterical the more he got tired from the exercise. “Please, brother! Have pity, have mercy! It wasn’t my fault, I didn’t do anything!”

“Then who did?!” Came the roar.

Huaisang squeaked loudly, screaming more as another hand almost gripped his shoulder. 

“I don’t know! I really don’t, brother!” Where was Meng Yao with his always trustful back where he could hide behind? But no one but Mingjue and the stars heard his cries. “Maybe it was someone good! Someone who was worried about how much later you go to bed! Maybe they’re annoyed from dealing with your cranky mood from lack of sleep. Maybe they just want to help, brother!”

“HELP?! You locked me in my personal chambers after dinner where I had to spend an entire SICHEN to get free and had to call my guards to help me!!” Oh no, he was embarrassed. It took everything from the younger one to not snicker as he remembered the talisman he commissioned from his good friend Wei Wuxian for this sole purpose. “Do you think I have nothing to do, not a sect to run? Or do you think I also have all the time in the world to lay lazily around the house and ignore my chores?”

Ouch. Huaisang didn’t even have time to pretend offense as he was bodily crashed on the ground, screaming cutting off into grunts as he tried to squirm and free himself enough to scutter around and win a few more minutes of life. Being unsuccessful, he did what he does best.

He looked at his brother straight in his eyes and made his shine with glistering tears, hands holding Mingjue’s sleeves and hands before they could cuff him on the head. 

“Brother…” he whimpered.

Mingjue, knowing him since he was a kid and therefore plenty aware of his every tactic to escape trouble, looked entirely unimpressed and unwavered by one his best acts, face contorted in an angry sneer. “Where are those ridiculous books and fans of yours? I am going to lock them on my chambers and see how you like it when I throw them all into the fire.”

“No, brother, please!” As the older made a move as if to get up, Huaisang threw his arms around him in a hug, body completely slack like a dead weight to at least discourage him. Mingjue complained, but didn’t let him fall.

“Maybe they really did want the best for you. Maybe they just worried.” There was enough truth on it to make Mingjue deflate and huff, still annoyed, but less so.

“Then you should’ve come to me and said it, not run around with your schemes and expect me to suddenly understand it. Use your words, Huaisang. I know you have them.”

Huaisang didn’t hum in acknowledgement, simply continued with attentive eyes. “You’re going to sleep now?”

He saw the deny before it even existed, in the furrow of his brother’s eyebrows and the way his body twitched an inch away, mouth twisting downwards. When he opened his mouth, though, there was hesitation. 

“I still have paperwork to finish today. But tomorrow I will.” Huaisang still pouted, but his efforts weren’t really in it and the older one could see the smugness clear as water in his eyes. In a blink he sent his knuckles to rub on the top of his head. “And when I go to my quarters, tomorrow, I better not find any other talismans, am I clear?”

Huaisang quickly nodded, shouting and whining in despair. For the tune of his voice, one could think that Mingjue was full on throttling him. “You are, da-ge, you are! Stop, stop, you’re hurting me!”

He kept trying to squirm away from his hold, being as unsuccessful as the first time. It was Mingjue’s turn to feel smug. If his little brother ever bothered training or even showing up with his saber to his classes he would have enough strength to put up a fight. 

Wait.

Nie Mingjue stopped and Huaisang quickly pushed his hand away, protecting his head with his palms as he turned to the other, about to complain. 

When he saw the other’s calculating eyes, he froze, mind running. 

He noticed it, he noticed it. Shit, shit, shit-

“What are you doing awake, Huaisang?! You have saber practice right earlier in the morning!” At the younger’s wide stare, Mingjue only scolded further, irritation flaring hot in his veins. His words grew louder, quicker. “Or are you planning on running away from it again? Should I go to your room to drag you by your robes in the morning to it and watch the class myself to make sure you won’t run? That you even will be there for once?”

“I am going to the practice, brother, I really will! I just need to find my saber first…”

“You lost it again? We are warriors, your saber is a part of you. It should be by your side all the time-”

“But it’s so heavy! I just need to find where I put it before class, nothing more.”

It was their same fight. Like every day.

Mingjue took a breath and prepared to shout his thoughts and…

And he deflated, tired. Suddenly very, very tired. 

Maybe those days without sleep really were getting to him. He pictured Xichen’s calming songs and Meng Yao’s kind smile and thought twice, shallowed the words, gritted his teeth and tried.

(You have your words, A-Jue, use and mean them.)

“I won’t always be here for you, Huaisang. We were in a war. If that didn’t convince you how much you need to make your core stronger I don’t know how I can-”

Huaisang squeaked, then gasped, then pressed his hands firmly on his mouth. Mingjue looked down, to his finger that was poking the other’s stomach, right above where his golden core should be.

Then he remembered.

“Brother…”

That is right. His didi was horribly ticklish. Memories of their childhood began running across his mind and he could help but smirk. It’s been so long. He really had forgotten.

Their eyes found each other and Huaisang felt a bolt of electricity run across his spine, hands automatically coming in a poor attempt of covering his torso, his traitor mouth already trying to curl up in a wobbly smile. It was too late for him.

“Da-ge! Please, da-ge!” Mingjue simply smirked bigger, a clawing hand slowly descending towards his belly. “You can’t, please da-ge! I will train! I will strengthen my core! It’s true, da-ge, I really will!” His words were coming out faster, stumbling on each other as his brain spit every card in his hand, anything that could lead to him getting out of this tickle attack. The giddy sensation inside was too strong for him to even think before more and more words just kept falling. “It will be the strongest golden core you’ve ever seen! Our tutors will be out of things to teach me. I will cultivate straight to immortality if only you don’t kill me right now, it’s true! Please, please, da-GEEE!”

“I am not even touching you yet!” 

“You’re going to!” Nie Huaisang felt his face prickle with heat, but his hands were the only thing between Mingjue’s offending wiggling fingers and his poor unprotected tummy. And he was plenty aware that his “protection” was simply an illusion, one that at any time that his brother decided that he wanted to go straight to the point he would, no matter the obstacle. Besides, Mingjue wasn’t known for his infinite patience, or procrastinating. So, yes, he was already giggling. “And you know I can’t stand it, I really can’t. Please, brother, I won't survive this attack! I am dying, I am dying!”

Mingjue snorted, then scoffed to hide it. “You love being tickled, stop being so dramatic! Don’t you remember running after me everywhere, pulling on my hands when I was heading training or laying on my lap when I had to take care of the sect correspondence and asking to play tickle fight every single time?”

Why must Mingjue torture him like this with all the memories of his childhood? His brother was really merciless, just as ruthless as everyone painted him to be. To remind him of when he would throw himself in his arms and get tickled only to shriek “again! again!” as the older complained about needing to work! Nie Huaisang couldn’t even hide his face from this embarrassment.

Thankfully (or not), before he could turn himself into a bird and fly directly into the sun by the sheer will of his mind, his wrists were snatched away and the hand collided on his belly. Everything else exploded in a white light, unimportant and infinitesimal in the face of the feeling of those clawing fingers, scribbling and skittering anywhere they could reach, sneaking to his sides and drumming on them, spidering to his hips and squeezing until there was not even a hint of hope of Huaisang holding back any of his reactions, much less his laughter.

“NAHAHAHAHA B-BROHOHTHER! LEHEHET GO!”

“Not until your golden core gets stronger. Since you’re not going to practice, let’s see if this training interests you better.”

Nie Huaisang shook his head, trashing and curling to his side only for those offending hands to keep spidering and finding his back, running tickles across his spine and drilling on his back ribs until he was arching and crackling, unable to turn back and protect the new attacked ticklish spots. Laughter rang loud and strident across the yard, childish screeches and squeaks escaping from his mouth every time a wave of pokes hit his skin or wiggling fingers found a good spot to focus on. 

It was interesting, really, how much he looked like Mingjue when he was being tickled. His voice was loud and unashamed, clear in his words, thoughts getting out from their usual place behind his fans and spilling from him in an honest message, arms, legs and entire body gesturing, flailing around, not caring about how much attention or space it would claim. It was endearing to see. Maybe Mingjue really had spent too much time without properly tormenting his little brother, to feel so fond of seeing it again. He should catch up.

“IHIHIHIHI CAN’T BRHEHEATHE!” A hand scrambled to take over the opportunity and pinch and scratch at the skin behind his knee, pulling a loud snort that would’ve mortified the smaller if he had a clearer mind. HIs laughter slowed from a loud shrieking to a hysterical snickering, legs kicking in protest, as if demanding attention. At this, Mingjue chuckled. Well, no one could really blame him as he stopped scribbling his fingers over his shoulderblades (his didi was truly ticklish everywhere) and held one of them so he could focus on squeezing and clawing all the way from his calves to his kneecaps over and over again. 

“I ahahahaham DYIHIHIHIHING, brohohohother! You’rehehehehe kiliHIHIHIHIING MEHEHEHEHE, you reheheheahahahaha arehEHEHEHEHE! STOHOHOHOHOP going theHEHERE!”

Ah, there was the squeals, he was starting to wonder when they would come. 

“Tickling Here? Right here?” He kneaded the thigh with energy at the last word, huffing in amusement when Huaisang threw his head back, laughter rising once again uncontrollably only to dim into never-ending, high pitched giggles when he went back to spidering his hands under his knee. “No moving. If you can still be dramatic, then I can still tickle you even more.”

Huaisang seemed to have registered only half of his words, shaking his head, squeaks and snorts mingling with his words. “Gehehehet out of theheheREHEHEHE, GEHEHHEHET ohohut!” A hand came and began swatting down on his. Mingjue grabbed it and pulled until it was above the other’s head. Wide, teary eyes and a giant, wobbling smile found his face. He drummed on his unprotected armpit before Huaisang could protest.

“There! Should I stay here, then?”

Huaisang felt like his every nerve was under attack, shaking and sending tiny ticklish shocks all across his skin, following each touch, tingling in ghost sensations where he already had been tickled, where he was currently being tickled and even where he thought his brother would attack next, his mind running on top speed, squirming with all his might to escape the wiggling fingers and the silly sensation only to be completely overtaken by it, freeing all his most childish reactions and sounds straight to the wild. There was laughter, there were yelps, shrieks, snorts, squeals and giggles running and escaping everywhere.

Tears fell from his eyes and hiccups began taking over his cracking when Mingjue finally decided to stop. 

Huaisang continued laying there, hugging himself and almost becoming a ball with this, the rest of his giggling coming muffled as his big, way too telling smile was hidden in a pretense of hidding. Mingjue laid a firm hand on his head, fondly, and looked up at the sky, watching the stars twinkling as if they were sharing the same amusement, the same joy between them, and the high point the moon was currently at.

“Perhaps I will actually head over to my bed, when we get inside. It’s already way too late to work.”

And the betrayed, absolutely in disbelief expression that Huaisang sent in his direction made him snort, then fall in loud, booming laughter.

What a beautiful night.

[extraordinarilyextreme]

on yeqing, opposites and equals.

contains yrzx manhua/donghua spoilers!!!

in an interview, Mi Er said the following:

虽然看上去两个人很迥异，但是会投脾气。

Although these two seem wholly different at first glance, their temperaments are compatible.

and that's something i really like about this ship, which is how complementary they are.

ZGQ explicitly spells out their differences in manhua ch. 228 (donghua s4, ep. 5):

and a wikia page further expands on this idea:

诸葛青不同于王也的“先天下之忧而忧”，他是一个凡事会先从自己和家族的角度出发，做事会以此为优先的人，但也有正常的道德底线，是一个很现实的角色。

Zhuge Qing is unlike Wang Ye, who "is concerned for everyone beneath the heavens before they themselves are worried¹." He is someone whose starting point [of consideration] regarding all things will be from the perspective of himself and his family clan, and he will prioritize this when taking action. But [he] also possesses a normal moral bottom line. [As such, he] is a very realistic character.

half of a famous line from 《岳阳楼记》 Memorial to Yueyang Tower by Song dynasty politician and poet 范仲淹 Fan Zhongyan. the second part goes “后天下之乐而乐” / to be happy only after everyone beneath the heavens is happy.

furthermore, at the end of Biyou Village arc (donghua s5, ep. 12; manhua chs. 307-311), we learn that, since young, ZGQ has been expected to revitalize his family clan and sect.

(yes, Zhuge Bai reveals in manhua ch. 249 that...)

so, with that kind of pressure, is it any wonder that ZGQ would develop a 心魔 / inner demon? ZGQ is just like any other "ordinary" person with desires; it's just that his desire became an all-consuming obsession.

on the other hand, WY is "extra-ordinary." WY considers things like money and wealth or fame and profit as external; even the allure of Feng-hou Qimen, one of the legendary Eight Supremes, can't tempt him—and that's why only he can be its master.

in fact, when WY returns to Wudang, we learn that he's seemingly always had this "other-worldly" personality (manhua chs. 405-410). unlike his same-age peers, he's always concerned himself with things "beyond" the ordinary (or, secular).

(manhua ch. 407)

so it's with these two completely differing mindsets that the two then clash upon Longhu-shan.

the initial contrast between them is especially stark. we have WY who is attending for some greater, world-altering reason that is nearly impossible to fathom in full. and then we have ZGQ who is willing to throw away his life in pursuit of something "material" (the truth of Feng-hou Qimen). and when one considers how WY tries to dissuade ZCL from pursuing the truth in the next match-up, ZGQ's desire seems even more "vulgar."

(LA s1, ep. 14; see also manhua ch. 120)

indeed, upon first glance, the distance between WY and ZGQ seems insurmountable. the peerless little Daoist, who selflessly relinquished his own chance at enlightenment to throw himself headfirst into the chaos of the mortals... and the genius sorcerer, whose pride turned him into nothing more than a foolish frog at the bottom of a well.

(LA s1, ep. 13; see also manhua ch. 110)

of course, we'll soon see that they actually are not so different after all. but the problem lies in the fact that the two of them—for a not insignificant duration—both also believe the distance between them to be real. or, in other words, they fall prey to a self-fulfilling prophecy.

it's not that WY has ever looked down on ZGQ; rather, because he's had such "smooth" life experiences (compared to BaoLan, for example), he admits he wrongly developed a sense of superiority.

(donghua s3, ep. 7; see also manhua ch. 196, LA s1, ep. 23)

and that's why "Beijing arc" is so important. the official title of that storyline is 入世篇 / Entering the [Secular] World arc. it's where WY discovers, for the first time, that he may have been overestimating his abilities. he's not "beyond" the secular or "extra-ordinary" at all. he's not "above" anyone, he's just been privileged and fortunate to have been able to lead such an "easy" life so far—where every aspect of his life has felt as simple and routine as clearing enemies in a dungeon crawl game. that's why he ultimately decides to become a 行者 / traveler and “看看自己到底几斤几两” / "see just what exactly I'm capable of."

HOWEVER. aware WY may be of his limits, the combination of his sense of responsibility, 怜悯之心 / heart of compassion, and fundamental goodness trumps that humility.

as 清虚舟湫 on lofter put it:

老王他……太好了。我现实里其实可能不太愿意和这类人相处，没别的，就是太好了。站在这种人身边你会自愧不如，这人实在太好了；你想劝他别搅和这些事呢，他嘴上好好好然后一如既往的去做；你想帮他呢，他就拒绝，根本不给你能帮他的机会。王也骨子里就是会把自己放在上位，认为自己有能力去改变一些东西，是哪怕会牺牲自我，也要渡众生的好神仙。

lao-Wang, he... is too good. I actually might not be very willing to interact with this kind of person in real-life; nothing personal, [he's] just too good. Standing beside this type of person, you will feel ashamed and inadequate, [because] this person is simply far too good. You may want to advise him to not get mixed up in these matters, but he'll say "OK, OK, OK" and then still [get involved] just as before. You may want to help him, but he'll just reject [you] and not leave any chance at all for you to help him. In Wang Ye's bones is [the instinct] to [naturally] elevate himself, to believe that he has the ability to change some things. Even if he [ends up] sacrificing himself, he will still redeem every living being—this is the "good deity" that he is.

plus, one of the core principles of the 全真 Quanzhen denomination of Daoism is 清修自苦 / cultivating with purity and seeking out hardship. this means WY is meant to live a troubled and bitter life. it's his duty to intervene.

as for ZGQ: like most others, he also puts WY upon a pedestal—but unlike most others, it's not for WY's abilities. it's for WY's character.

when ZGQ spills his heart to Fu Rong in manhua chs. 308-309, we learn that the source of his angst is not just the fact he was unable to master the Zhuge family's True Fire of Samadhi, or that WY possesses a skill more powerful.

(manhua ch. 308)

it's because, for just an instant, ZGQ harbored the venomous thought: if only WY did not exist.

(manhua ch. 309)

that ZGQ feels so tortured actually demonstrates how his character and temperament matches WY's so well. ZGQ claims to be someone completely opposite WY—someone who, for himself, will do anything—but their bottom lines are the same. their 道 / life paths are the same. and not only the same, but equal.

WY began to recognize that as early as their first meeting. the idea of 逆大势而行 / behaving in a manner that opposes the momentum of the times applies not only to their predecessor Zhuge Liang, but to both WY and ZGQ. neither sorcerer made the choice most "beneficial" to them: WY gave up his sole chance at peace to try and stop ZCL (to no avail), and ZGQ was willing to risk his life to understand WY's secrets.

WY understood that they shared this trait, which is why ZGQ's parting promise outside Longhu-shan was even more special.

“我这人不爱被卷进麻烦, 但你有麻烦的话我管。”

"The person that I am doesn't like to be involved in trouble, but if it's you who has troubles - I'll take care of them."

(manhua ch. 131)

despite WY's annoyed reaction, he was secretly very touched by those words. even if ZGQ's true goal was the Feng-hou Qimen, no one had ever offered such a thing to someone like WY before; it's likely, even, that WY had never considered such a thing possible prior to this moment.

ZGQ's sincerity, coupled with WY's own guilt over changing ZGQ's fate without permission (see manhua ch. 222), led WY to open his heart up to this friendship in earnest.

in summary, as a bilibili bullet comment put it: 两个人都问心有愧 / the two of them both have a guilty conscience. in spite of that, they are both putting in the effort to be true friends.

when WY realizes ZGQ might be in danger at Biyou Village, he chases him there without hesitation (manhua ch. 222). because ZGQ wants to “用对等的身姿和他站在一起” / "stand together with [WY] in equal bearing" (manhua ch. 309), he faces his own fears and conquers his obsession (manhua chs. 310-311). worried about how the company is using ZGQ to lure out Ma Xianhong, WY goes so far as to divine the answer (manhua ch. 373). and when the company targets WY, ZGQ tries to lie and downplay their relationship to protect him (manhua ch. 630).

this, then, brings us to the most recent chapters (manhua chs. 675-676).

WY—who can't be contacted by anyone, and has shaken off every person sent to tail him—agrees to meet in-person with ZGQ with just one phone call.

as 昂 on lofter suggested:

大家应该包括张楚岚也联系不上他，有点猜想是王也还没想好怎么处理，不确定张楚岚的态度才不联系，他想找个人商量一下，张楚岚为了自己的目的不一定会给出什么答案，不一定能站在王也的角度，张楚岚这个时候公司那边的，狗头.jpg 我滴天，所以王也一直在等诸葛青联系他吗？

"Everyone" should also include Zhang Chulan who can't contact him. Somewhat guessing that it's Wang Ye who hasn't figured out yet how to deal with [Chen Jinkui's matter]; he's unsure of Zhang Chulan's attitude [on the matter], so that's why he hasn't contacted [him]. He wants to find someone to discuss it over with. For his own purposes, Zhang Chulan may not be [willing] to come up with any solutions; [he] may not be able to [consider] from Wang Ye's perspective. At this time, Zhang Chulan is on the company's side. [doge.jpg] Oh My God, so has Wang Ye been waiting for Zhuge Qing to contact him all along?

shipping aside, i think this is a very reasonable conjecture. 薏仁椰青很美味的！on lofter lays it out very nicely:

梦回北京篇一些月下谈心啊…… “道长你赢得了一个 可以倾心相交的好友” 七年了身边能够倾诉的 还是他

Dreaming back to some of Beijing arc's heart-to-hearts beneath the moon... "Daozhang, what you've won is a good friend that you can exchange hearts with completely." (Ma Xianhong's words from manhua ch. 228) Seven years have passed, the only one beside him he can pour his heart out to—is still him.

in spite of the "distance" between them, the only one who fully understands them—and, in turn, the only one they wholly trust—is each other.

i really like this analysis by sisal on lofter:

怎么说呢，不能只说是爱情，我更喜欢说是宿命。 这张图其实把他们俩想要的都表达了。一个是像内寻“我到底是谁”，而另一个背负着振兴诸葛家的使命。但从现在看，他们都南辕北辙。一个，最寻清净的，折了清净；另一个，心魔缠了许久。他们欣赏对方，理解对方。他们都是极好的人，所以他们的宿命纠缠，反复缠绕，但不会因为利益成为宿敌，而是战友，知己，灵魂伴侣。 而里面的一个石子，穿越了时空，将两个人物命运纽带联系。

How should I put it? You can't only say it's love, I prefer to say it's 'fate.' This image actually has portrayed what both of want. One wants to figure out "who exactly am I" from within himself, while the other shoulders the duty of revitalizing the Zhuge family. But as things are, they've both acted in ways that have thwarted their intentions. One of them seeks peace the most, yet broke [his] peace; the other was haunted by his inner demon for a long time. They admire each other, understand each other. They are both extremely good people, which is why their fates are entangled, and continue to intertwine, yet they won't become mortal enemies for the sake of their interests, but rather brothers-in-arms, zhiji, and soulmates. As for the little stone within [this chapter], it traveled across space and time to connect and link together the fates of these two characters.

the little stone being, of course, not unlike the one WY used during their match to demonstrate Feng-hou Qimen.

(LA s1, ep. 13; see also manhua ch. 110)

but whereas that first stone clearly demonstrated the difference between them, WY uses this one to bridge their disparity.

(manhua ch. 110 / ch. 675)

ZGQ doesn't disappoint either. many readers (including me) were worried about ZGQ's reaction following the ending of manhua ch. 675; seeing WY's Feng-hou Qimen reach new heights, would ZGQ be shocked? envious? unreconciled?

NO! the answer is revealed in the next chapter, as ZGQ delivers a mighty slap across WY's face.

(manhua ch. 676)

who gives a damn about whatever Supreme! what ZGQ cares about is getting revenge for 王也踏青图.jpg (ch. 269) and whether WY is here in-person!

ZGQ has set down his obsession for good, and now he really can stand (sit) shoulder-to-shoulder beside WY—and make good on his promise.

(manhua ch. 181 / ch. 186 / ch. 222 / ch. 676)

if WY is in trouble, ZGQ will face it together beside him.

i've unfortunately lost track of the OP on lofter, but someone also pointed out the significance of YeQing's positions in the little pavilion:

ZGQ faces "life," whereas WY sits behind him at "death." i don't think this is only about WY's failing health, but rather another demonstration of their dynamic.

time and time again, ZGQ turns to face WY head-on—WY who has 出世 / gone beyond and left the secular world, WY who is the enlightened Daoist up on a lofty perch, WY who is untouchable—and grounds him in the land of the living.

"you don't have to be alone," ZGQ is saying. "you aren't alone." at Longhu-shan, in Beijing, at Biyou Village, and now here in this little pavilion.

"you are human," ZGQ is saying. "you are fallible." and, most importantly, "you are still alive." he says this, then sits down at "death" beside WY.

"so," ZGQ is saying, "live with me."

清虚舟湫 on lofter concludes:

所以这更显得老青的重要性了。咱们这位小神仙可主动求救了。

As such, this even more so demonstrates lao-Qing's importance. This little deity of ours is taking the initiative to ask to be saved.

to turn a god into a man: 明知不可为而为 / to do something knowing full well of its impossible nature.

this is the practice WY reveres and admires most.

on the topic of "death" and "life," i also want to highlight the similarity in YeQing's responses to being defeated (by a fellow sorcerer, no less):

(manhua ch. 109 / ch. 377)

see? ZGQ's desire-turned-obsession was never so "vulgar" as it first appeared. it's "secular," it's "ordinary." WY himself—despite his attempts to dissuade ZGQ, BaoLan, and Ma Xianhong—desires his own form of "truth."

(manhua ch. 410)

as expected of a sorcerer (see manhua ch. 108; LA s1, ep. 13).

as expected of a cultivator (see manhua ch. 196; LA s1, ep. 23).

as expected of a human. to want to lead a life with meaning; to want to understand one's true self.

and this is where it gets interesting, right? because at Biyou Village, Ma Xianhong says this (manhua ch. 229):

and what were each of YeQing's decisions?

WY, who prioritizes the world, chose ZGQ.

ZGQ, who prioritizes himself, chose WY.

yet again, neither sorcerer made the "best" choice. but the choice they did make—fully cemented the place the other holds in their heart.

indeed, 飞蛾扑火 / moth to a flame, fatal and fated. each other's moth, each other's flame.

indeed, 冤家 / foes, and also destined lovers.

indeed, returning to the fundamental principle of Daoism: 阴阳和合 / the harmony between Yin and Yang. two beings that appear antithetical and distinct, but truthfully are complementary, interconnected, and transform the other. a false dichotomy; instead, parts of a unified whole.

opposites and equals: one cannot exist without the other.

Moth to a flame, forever altered by the other, buffeted by the winds – such is the share of fated affinity that belongs only to them. (from 水中月，镜中花 | moon in the water, blossoms in the mirror)

[all-hallows-street]

Theory: Who was conspiring with Nick?

In season 2 of the All Saints Street donghua Nick's goal is to take the Demon King's powers from Neil. His first attempt by making a deal with Demon King directly fails (S2E02) and he would later get a call from a shadow figure (S02E04). That is how we learn that he was not working alone; someone was helping him find a method to absorb the Demon King's power.

As of now (Season 4) nothing has been revealed about this figure even if they still appear in the opening and Nick has turned 'good'. Because the Demong King story line is wholly original to the adaptation, there is no hint as to who this person might be in the manhua either. That can't stop me from speculating. I have three theories right now as it who could it be. Spoilers for two yet to be introduced manghua characters.

First Suspect: Will Bovil

First, I'll start with my least likely suspect. Will was introduced in Chapter 386; his black horns indicate that he is from a noble lineage of demons. He is very powerful, probably the most powerful out of all the demons in the series right now. He and his family could easily be rewritten to be connected to the Demon King (who coincidentally has a black color scheme) in the adaptation.

Outside of this tenuous connection there is also the note that Nick receives being written in ochre yellow. The eye color in the official illustrations is flexible. Most of the time all demons will have a yellow eye color, but in the most recent 7th anniversary illustration Will and his brother have the most intense yellow shade eye color that matches with the note. An even weaker connection is that the scheme for the clubs line (The one with Will as king) in the 6th anniversary deck is yellow, admittedly for the 7th anniversary the color scheme is now purple.

The weakest point of this theory is that none of the actions taken by the shadow figure fit Will's apathetic character at all. He isn't one to seek power, or anything outside of being with Sasha really. It would be too OOC and while the adaptation has significantly changed some characters (Damao being the biggest example) I think it could be a step too far to make Will a villain.

Second Suspect: Witt 'Iron Fang'

Iron Fang is a commoner vampire introduced in Chapter 412. He befriends Lynn online to scam him, but Ira stops him and turns him in to the police because Iron Fang is an international smuggler. Iron Fang is the closest that we have to a straight up 'bad guy' in 1031 WSJ. One of the most recent fantasy AU comics (Ch 780) makes him a confidant that betrayed the king Lynn to usurp his throne. If anyone could be a villain in the adaptation is him.

As he is a smuggler it would also explain how he got the book and later on the 'wand' to extract the Demon King's powers. Iron Fang also displayed a disdain towards angels, giving him a motive for why he would want to awaken the Demon King: destroy the current peace between evil beings and angels.

The biggest point against it being Iron fang, is that he was introduced too close to when the anime was being released. March/April 2020 was the first strip where he appears. Season 1 was released in April 2020 with season 2 releasing in October, but obviously the donghua was being worked on way before that. However, Iron Fang could easily retroactively be made to be this shadowy figure even if back then they had no idea who this character would be. Which leads me to...

Third Suspect: New character

The dongua has created a few, admittedly nameless, characters. Mostly the supernatural league leaders are all original and of course the Demon King himself. I can see out suspect being a new character, maybe someone to contrast with the Demon King. Previously I was rambling about the demons' yellow eye color matching a note, but you know what group is also associated with yellow/gold?

I think an angel villain would be an interesting twist, but I'm just a humble reader and this is just my opinion. Right now, anything is possible, and I trust the team behind the adaptation to cook up something good.

Thanks for reading my insane ramblings and if all my theorizing turns out to be MatPat levels of wrong you are free to make fun of me for like a month.

[miyamiwu]

Ngl, seeing new Link Click videos was what made me finally drop Blue Lock season 2.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Blue Lock. But after seeing the stunning animation for Link Click’s promotional videos (not even the actual show yet), I realized I didn’t have to put myself through the ordeal of watching a literal slideshow with occasional fancy effects and CGI feet.

I admit BLLK S2 has its moments, but on a whole it’s still 70-80% sliding frames with mere moving hair and special effects. The remaining 30% that’s actually good is not even that good compared to how the show was in season 1, compared to other anime that mix CGI and 2D animation (e.g. Trigun Stampede, Sabikui Bisco, You Yao, and many donghua, as that style is quite common in China), and compared to the peak moments of Haikyuu, which we once thought that Blue Lock would beat.

Yes, yes, I know it’s not the animators’ fault.

But you also can’t blame the audience for being disappointed.

On one hand, we have a show that’s carefully made with love, having frames looking like literal paintings. On the other, we have a ppt file with CGI on the side that’s being milked for money by greedy executives by forcing animators to work on tight deadlines.

I think it should be obvious which one is worth watching more.

If I want more Blue Lock, I’ll just read the manga. I’m done scrambling for the scraps 8Bit has been throwing us.

----

Addendum

Link Click s2 finished airing in September 2023, and the next season comes out in 3 days. Staff had only 15 months to work on it, but during this year they also released several high quality music videos and promotional videos (I have about 10 downloaded, but I’m sure there’s more)

In contrast, Blue Lock s1 finished airing in March 2023 and season 2 came out in October 2024. Staff had 19 months to work on it. They lost a lot of time due to having to animate Episode Nagi, but the animation quality for that movie was also inconsistent and mid at best. So, it’s not just a problem of time here. There’s a deep structural problem going on in 8Bit studio, and I’m never trusting them again for future adaptations.

[dramatea88]

Thousand Autumns - guess I found a BL I can root for 🤭

Enjoying the Thousand Autumns donghua.

I tried reading Moxiang Tongxiu's books but just couldn't get into them. Heaven's Official Blessings and even the book that inspired the famous Untamed drama, just made me nod off. I am going to say something sacrilegious but the main characters were sooooooo annoying and I found the stories chaotic.

So, I decided to start the Thousand Autumns donghua because I like the enemies to lovers trope. I had zero expectations but am curious to see how the author pulled it off.

Ended up suuuper impressed with the quality of the donghua. The art, voice acting, storytelling. Top notch!

But anyway it looks like I just like Meng Xi Shi's writing style better because Thousand Autumns feels like a very classic wuxia tale and the characters are nuanced and developed.

I found Yan Wushi fascinating.

Yan Wushi, to quote someone from Goodreads, 100% "deserves a beating, but is still bae."

Shen Qiao, however, is hugely annoying for his boy scout ways, but I have to admit he makes such a compelling contrast to our "evil" lord.

I guess I like bad boys 🤭

[tedcruzisthezodiackiller]

watching the mdzs donghua and it’s really good, I think I might even like it better than the live action. I just wish the adaptations could stick to the split timeline. I understand it can be confusing but I really do think it adds so much tension to the narrative, the audience seeing wei wuxians relationships with everyone in the present contrasted with the past, seeing the type of person he was and wondering how he could have turned out so “evil” and why everyone he was close with in his youth are his enemies in the present day. I don’t even think it would be that confusing to switch timelines in the show, if it’s possible for book readers to be able to follow along im sure it would be even easier to understand in a visual medium

[feng-huli]

“I remember many years ago when I was just an unpopular prince, I didn’t really get to drink good tea. But your grandfather only loved liquor. He threw a lot of tea away, so I got to taste some good tea. I loved drinking tea since then. Tea is great stuff. I don’t want to drink it alone. I want the world to know how wonderful it is. All the strife in this world is caused by the loss of oneself, which is caused by ignorance. I will set the world right by cleaning up evil.”

I love this scene so much. The way it gives meaning to the time Zhuo Qing brought him tea in season 1, the way it lays out his motivations, how it conveys some difficulty and underlying sadness in his past… The contrast between the potential tone-deafness of saying all this to Xiao Ruofeng, who nearly died as a child because his mother was an unpopular consort, and the possibility that Emperor Tai’an sees something of himself in him because Xiao Ruofeng and he were both once unpopular.

The donghua has set itself up to be a chess game between Emperor Tai’an and Xiao Ruofeng, and this scene is very effective in developing it (particularly in the way it contrasts tea with liquor, which holds significance to Baili Dongjun)

[llycaons]

1x02

part 1

huh, the robes are different in the donghua. you never see anyone's trousers in the drama like that

wwx got out like immediately. no staying to gaze longingly at lwj here

this is not to imply I think the donghua romance is bad. I'm actually very fond of how they played the romance in this show and I found their way to tell the story extremely effective. I was enchanted by the end. it's just different from the drama

god... but he's such an asshole...

jin long's hair is so fucking long...I wonder if it was a pain to animate

this is a pretty neat scene. wwx casually avoiding all jl's attacks with his hands behind his back. his casual competence at a clear contrast to jl's wild, youthful fury. some of the fight scenes here are beautiful, very smooth and tight

'nice sword' you don't recognize suihua, you idiot? 🙄

goddammit wei wuxian....

oohh, visual of the soul summon that flattens jl! nice to have a good view of what's going on lol

you're literally an orphan you stupid fuck. you should know there's good reasons why!

'I'm his uncle. Any last words?' is a great verbal entry but nothing visually exciting here

wwx however is looking scared shitless

I can't take jc seriously in the donghua okay he looks like a 20 year old model 😭 why is he so prettyyyy. I also don't haf about donghua jc on an emotional or character level so like...whatever

he's such a piece of shit to jl too. jl meets the literal yiling laozu and jc is all 'you're distracing yourself' that's not very supportive parenting jc!!!

I'm not even ten minutes in, rip

[kukuandkookie]

The comments I left look out of order on mobile and idk if it’s the same on desktop, so I’ll just copy and paste them here, with a couple additional thoughts (sorry for probably bombarding your notifications OP) asjakfl:

Somehow found this in the donghua tag haha. And well I see a lot of people already expressing their thoughts, but I honestly think this is pretty subjective—as in, if you don’t like them, even when they get better, it may not be enough for you to like them. It’s all a matter of opinion and whether you vibe with this specific character/couple dynamic! For me, I love Bingqiu because of their contrast (the mighty and elegant, cool-as-a-cucumber (haha) Peak Lord is an actual meme-lord who’s constantly panic-yelling inside and pretending to be cool; the (originally) badass shounen/harem hero is now a clingy crybaby lover), but also because it’s a unique love story. Hualian has obsession in their dedication too, sure, but most readers view it as the healthier of MXTX’s couples and thus hold it on a higher pedestal. Bingqiu is like the skrunkly “low-class” pathetic meowmeow of MXTX’s main ships (that lower class, skrunkly feel is also sort of thanks to the fact SVSSS is, from the start, a parody and a comedy, even with the darker elements and implications), but I do think it’s fair to say that their romance gets better overall. Bingqiu’s main thing is learning to communicate but also healing: Shen Qingqiu’s presence in Luo Binghe’s life teaches him there’s still warmth and love in the world, and that he can still trust humanity. This renders our Luo Binghe, Bing-mei, completely different from his original counterpart, Bing-ge, who has gone the route of a successful xianxia hero and harem male lead, yet cannot trust anyone. Meanwhile, Luo Binghe’s feelings help open up Shen Qingqiu’s ability to confront and deal with emotions and also let people in (and to finally acknowledge that he’s come to see this book world’s characters as more than “just” characters) because that man sucks at addressing said emotions. Because of his preference for compartmentalizing all feelings, Shen Qingqiu is arguably an unreliable narrator and Luo Binghe is actually under a lot of mental duress from outside elements during the plot of the novel that makes him act much more out of control and volatile, which you’ll see more of eventually. I’ll also leave one of my old Twitter threads here that explains what is shippable and lovable about Bingqiu despite—or because of—their flaws. If you can’t view it because you don’t have Twitter or something, apparently it also got reposted on Tumblr. 😆 Oh, honestly I have a lot of threads on Bingqiu lol. Here’s another and another (this one is still one of my favourite things to mull over even now) and another. But basically, Bingqiu is about character growth haha. And they do become more romantic at the end (albeit with some HUGE missteps; for example, thanks to the influence of the sword Xin Mo), but if you still don’t like them at the end… Eh. Some of that “unhealthy” vibe is just kind of a classic BL/danmei couple dynamic—in terms of having an easily jealous and even possessive male lead—albeit with a goofier twist here. Also, I just really like Bunhe (little Binghe) KSGJHDFS. And I mean, if someone you loved and admired who was also once quite kind to you—albeit only after abusing you for a while, who even told you that demons can be good too, suddenly hypocritically shoved you into what is essentially hell without explanation after finding out you are a demon and only ever assumed the worst of you and ran away whenever you tried to talk to him after doing your best to crawl out of that hell to get back to him; and although you worked so hard to become a good hero and a strong protector for him, he continuously refuses to explain anything or even try to get to know the current you... Yeah, all that plus the demonic stuff negatively influencing Luo Binghe... It’s no wonder he kind of broke mkfsjfsjfs.

Ok SVSS fans help me out. I’m on book 2, almost finished it. And i’m really really not happy with how Luo Binghe’s character has been set up and i can’t sense any romantic chemistry between him and the MC. I know MXTX often drabbles in toxic/controlling/obsessive relationship tropes but this just feels way too off for me. I’m kinda close to stop reading cuz of how frustrated I am with how it’s been going so far.

My question is, does it get better after? Ngl im kinda exhausted with the main couple rn. Like Hualien have the obsessive trope too but their chemistry was impeccable and very con/dub con. But this just feels forced to me.

Help a girl out? :)

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group G Round 1: #G3 vs #G6

#G3: Slime farmer kid travels around helping people

Deep in the forest lives a child named Ryouma Takebayashi. He engages in the rather strange hobby of keeping various types of slimes as pets. Furthermore, despite his young age, he has a sturdy physique and good compatibility for magic. All of this is because, having endured much hardship in his previous life, three gods grace Ryouma with a second chance to pursue one goal: savor the wonders of life.

Eventually, Ryouma embarks on a journey to explore the vast world beyond his home and apply his knowledge to help people.

#G6: Emperor and Empress bodyswap in ancient China

Within the Chinese imperial court, stern-faced Emperor Xiao Jinyun and spirited Empress Xu Yu are at constant odds with one another. But the universe has an interesting way to solve their issues: an accident causes the two to switch bodies, forcing them to put themselves in the other’s shoes—literally. Now responsible for unfamiliar duties and court dynamics, the Emperor and the Empress must navigate the maintenance of their identities, unruly concubines, and the nation itself. In doing so, Xiao Jinyun and Xu Yu’s personal qualities and unconventional skills find new purpose, and a sense of understanding and compassion grows between the two.

However, great threats loom within and outside the court. If the imperial astrologer cannot discover the key to switching them back in time, then internal strife and suspicion may lead to the duo's untimely demise.

Titles, propagandas, trailers, and poll under the cut!

#G3: By the Grace of the Gods (Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko)

Propaganda:

It’s a calming, adorable anime about helping people and being fulfilled with life. Honestly, not much happens, but it’s the sort of series that you can just watch at the end of the day and feel healed. The protagonist is an adorable and levelheaded kid, people around him are NICE and everything feels good.

Trigger Warnings: None.

#G6: No Doubt in Us (Liang Bu Yi)

Propaganda:

Liang Bu Yi/No Doubt in Us is one of the most interesting donghua I’ve ever watched. The characters have varying personalities and, because it’s set in ancient China, are rather unique. Considering that Emperors had to keep harems and the fact that this is a straight couple rom-com makes the drama rather spicy. Plus, the Empress is far more qualified in the things a woman in those times wouldn’t be interested in, like sword fighting, archery etc.

To be honest, the contrast between Xu Yu (the Empress) and Xiao Jinyun (the Emperor) results in the show being far more interesting than other ones with the same trope.

Trigger Warnings: None.

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

[yiifu]

mdzs donghua s1e14 & 15 - as i’m writing this down i haven’t watched 15 yet. but i just finished 14 and BOY do i have some thoughts. first the way they showed jiang cheng and lwj sort of working together in close combat during the sunshot campaign was amazing. i haven’t read that part of the novel yet although i do know it wasn’t really portrayed in the manhua (there’s only the scene where jiang cheng, lxc and lwj go to the village to retrieve the confiscated swords) - so i really liked that touch to it. the fact that both of them were working together or sort of fighting together. and i know by the end of s3 they don’t end of the best of terms because of irreconcilable differences in their attitudes towards wwx (i can’t wait to see the fallout between the yunmeng brothers after in s2 even though i know it’s going to be heartbreaking), so this partnership between them during the sunshot campaign is sort of nice to watch. and boy was i so thrilled by the way they built-up wei wuxian’s return. like we knew the boy was gonna come back, the in-universe characters just didn’t know it. and i saw the attack on the wen village with the reversed talismans and the fucking bats in the green sky and i was just grinning to myself like - he’s back, yiling laozhu is here. and then they give him this grand demonic introduction with the bats and corpses and crazy flute music, standing above the wen village to save jiang cheng and lwj from imminent capture and he’s just playing the flute up there with the crazy green sky and his demonic red eyes like ... it couldn’t be any better. this is THE yiling laozhu introduction we all needed. it’s certainly more epic than the manhua (not sure about the novel, haven’t read that part yet) but this part in the donghua really takes the proverbial cake. and i love how when they re-introduce wwx as the yiling laozhu, they cut a zoom-in closeup on his instrument (flute) and his eye and IT’s exactly the same way they introduced lwj in ep 2. oh my god.

also on a side note ep 13 seeing wen ning as a living human really just throws me off guard because like i can’t reconcile this shy little guy with the fearsome ghost general. it’s all about contrast and i really like how this story plays so much with expectations. i’m still a little lost in the timeline as to where exactly wen ning dies and wen qing dies and then when and where wwx saves them - and resurrects wen ning and then turns him into the feared ghost general. when i read the novel it’ll probably be clearer, but for now i’ll just enjoy the lightshows.

speaking of other parts of the novel - we’ve yet to go through the yi city arc (4 new characters) and nie mingjue empathy arc. plus we literally only saw a single freeze-frame snapshot of jin guangyao and he’s a major character so we do have a lot to look out for in s2 and s3. plus i’m really just wondering what the hell nie huaisang has been up to the entire sunshot campaign when his brother sent him away from the frontlines like how did he spend his time. this fellow fascinates me so much.

[baiwu-jinji]

hi!! i hope you're feeling alright. i just wanted to ask if there's anything in tgcf (event, character, etc) that you think the chinese and eng fandom interpret differently? or have a differing perception on? if not that, what do you think xie lian and hua cheng canonically look like in the novel? like any descriptors we missed? (like for ex. ppl have forgotten xie lian has raven hair)

Hi! :) I’ve mentioned in this post how Chinese and English readers perceive Guoshi differently which I think is due to translation, and another difference I’ve noticed is about Xie Lian. I’ve read some posts here on Tumblr which pointed out that Xie Lian’s inner voice can be a bit mean and judgy (one example might be when Xuan Ji demands to see Pei Ming, XL thought to himself “well if I were Pei Ming, I wouldn’t want to see you either if you act like this”). I can totally see why people think so, but the thing is this observation about XL never occurred to me when I was reading the novel on my own, and I’ve never seen this take in the Chinese fandom either. I think it’s probably because I (and I assume other Chinese readers) see XL’s critical and mean-ish inner voice more as a narrative device to create humour rather than an actual indication that XL likes to think about others judgmentally. What XL’s judgy inner voice does is called 吐槽, and 吐槽 is basically rude and irreverent fault-finding that aims to reveal the absurdity/inconsistency/stupidity in others’ behaviours or words. Personally I feel like 60% of Chinese humour is just 吐槽 so…And since the events in TGCF are told from XL’s point of view, XL becomes responsible for 吐槽. I don’t know if you’ve read SVSSS but the main character in that book, Shen Qingqiu, kind of does the same which is that he 吐槽 about everything with a lot of exclamation marks, and it’s more for the sake of humour than to show that Shen Qingqiu is a judgmental person.

(p.s. for a prime example of 吐槽, see the section in this post about Chinese fandom’s nickname for Hua Cheng XD)

About XL and HC’s appearance, I think XL is given lighter coloured hair in donghua probably because HC’s hair is described as “extremely black” (极黑) in the novel – which is like blacker than black - so XL’s hair is made brownish to contrast HC’s extremely black hair. But tbh I don’t remember how XL’s hair is described in the novel lol.

And I think a description of HC that English readers kind of missed out on is “一段狂情野气, 不灭反骄” – it’s a very distinctive line that occurred several times throughout the novel so it’d be instantly recognizable for Chinese readers as the definitive description of HC’s appearance, but I’m not sure that’s the case for English readers because they translated the line differently in different chapters in the fan translation (hopefully they’ll fix that in the official translation). In chapter 36, the line is translated as “he carried an air of wild playfulness that couldn’t be tamed”, but in chapter 243, it’s translated as “there was still that wildness and a feral aura, a proudness that couldn’t be cut down”. The inconsistent translation is understandable because the original Chinese is vague enough to begin with. I once said in a post somewhere that sometimes literary Chinese is more about the vibe than the actual meaning, and it’s exactly the case with 一段狂情野气, 不灭反骄…You can’t really translate it accurately in a few words because it’s very condensed, and I think mxtx means to say that Hua Cheng has a proud bearing and an air of wildness that can’t be toned down, that makes itself more evident the more you look at him.

[discluded]

A couple of thoughts:

1) lol just noticed us cute pokemon icon bitches out here writing long-haul essays about media and cultural impact

2) Adding another data point: SHL (Word of Honor) which also had an outsized impact with the international audience also aired Spring 2021. I actually thought it aired 2020, but that would have a real competitor to 2G. I think the success of both CQL and SHL validates your comment about the desire for high fantasy/strong queer storytelling and high production values in BL. (I also have some strong stankface comments for people, esp westerners, who don't consider CQL and SHL BLs that mostly center around the implication of claiming queer storytelling that circumvents government censorship isn't queer, and what they think about queer people who live in places with highly discriminatory policies against queer people, esp those who choose to live openly.) SHL's impact was slightly smaller and its impact was cut short by ZZH's situation which stopped the promotional process overall.

3) Kinnporsche is an outlier in the same way that CQL(/MDZS) was an outlier, and statistically speaking, it's impossible to predict when outliers will happen. We can write all the essays we want about what Mile, Apo, Pond, the sponsors etc. all thought would happen but Kinnporsche 's impact is fairly outsized. MDZS's success with international audiences dragged up the prominence of MXTX's other works and danmei as a genre internationally, and we see that effect for Kinnporsche as well -- with many people going back and watching other Thai BLs and being disappointed over the storytelling/production quality. The impact of MDZS hit most closely with MXTX's other works and It's likely to be the same with BOC/MileApo's projects. MA also are able to keep the moment going in a way that the TGCF production (drama and donghua) teams seemed to have stalled due to all the red tape around BL.

4) Alongside storytelling and production value, one thing that can't be overstated is the importance of actor chemistry in the role of the success of all the series we mentioned. It didn't fit into the other essay, but the fact that Thai BL industry encourages successful actor pairings to continue working and promoting together is actually beneficial to the momentum of productions because they come in with built-in fanbases. I think one of the rare elements of MA's success is that domestically they've also broken the barrier on actor-couple pairing that might typically be limited to straight couples that promote together too (based on what some Thai tlers have mentioned). This cuts down on some preproduction time since rehearsals to build actors' trust with each other is contnuously improved upon instead of built from the ground up each time. This is also in contrast to the CBL productions where there seems to be desire to distinguish yourself from your pairing partner almost immediately after the production cycle ends.

Anyway, thank you for putting together your thoughts... the impact of two interntional queer cultural phenoms so close together is interesting. Brave new world, huh.

tldr: bitches want gay shit, not het shit, with data and numbers to back it up; bonus Bible’s booty

so thinking about @discluded​‘s essay on Mile and Apo’s upcoming historical drama, and Thailand’s bid for soft power got my brain thinking thoughts. I’ve talked about Thailand noticing the soft power of their BL media before along with why I think Chinese, South Korean, and other East Asian media (from television to novels, etc) are popping off in popularity in the last 5 years or so. Idk where those posts are and I’m to lazy to link them thus is life

The point! The point is tho reading discluded’s post made me think about F4 Thailand. Ironic, I know, since F4 is a het drama based off Boys Over Flowers a shojo manga from Japan that was released in 1992 and ended serialization in 2008. 

Firstly, Boys Over Flowers FACINATES me b/c the god damn chokehold this series has on various Asian countries. I told a friend it’s comparable to like, Romeo and Juliet, in that it’s been adapted, remade, re-adapted, re-booted, re-imagined, and so on over and over and over again. Like there’s audio dramas, there’s films, there’s multiple live action TV shows, there’s an anime. Japan’s made two feature films, and two seasons of a TV. Taiwan had two seasons of a TV show, Korea had a tv show, China had two versions of the same show (one was a remake), Indonesia had two tv shows, India had a tv show, and finally Thailand was the latest to adapt it into a TV show in 2021 - 2022. The legacy of this story can’t be denied. 

Now, my point? Okay so my point is I witnessed online the marketing for F4 Thailand in real time. It was interesting to me b/c I very rarely - and have not since - seen a ton of talk about a Thai drama that wasn’t BL or a horror or action film. 

When it comes to the Thai film industry, the three genres I see discussed are: BL, Action, Horror. You can see this in what Netflix (America) offers in regards to Thai series specifically what ones they dub which shows like: Girl From Nowhere (which Netflix invested in a s2 and is a thriller/horror drama), The Whole Truth (a horror film), and Thai Cave Rescue (which they also have a documentary based on). Netflix is still (STUPIDLY) reluctant to purchase a license for any SK or Thai BL content (I know Semantic Error would blow the FUCK up on Netflix you idiots!!!) probably b/c investors are like, hmmmm but would gays of color sell? I would say they also have Your Name Engraved Herein but that’s an easier sell b/c its a drama and has more of that classic gay Oscars vibe (this isn’t an inherent bad thing don’t come for me). 

Okay back to my point I s2g I have one. 

So marketing for F4 Thailand was interesting b/c I actually saw it. I don’t see marketing cross over into my international waters for Thai het dramas. What helped this, and I fully believe this was done purposely, is the casting of Bright and Win who gained international popularity from 2Gether. Like, it seemed pretty obvious to me that casting Bright and Win was a bid to peak the interest of the international market, combined with casting them specifically in an adaption of one of the most famous and well known Asian romantic dramas of the last 30 years or so. This show was set-up to be A Hit. 

But I don’t think it really worked internationally; bare with me, numbers time. 

Now, ratings for F4 averaged at .441% on Thai TV, higher than Bad Buddy (which aired on the same network) which averaged at .121% and Kinnporsche which averaged at .314%. 

I compared F4 to these two shows specifically b/c they aired in a similar timeframe (all three shows aired over the course of 2021 - 2022 except KP which only aired in 2022) and arguably Bad Buddy and Kinnporsche were the biggest BL shows in Thailand in those respective years. 

F4 also did well in the Philippines, and ended up dubbed into Filipino, and it’s scheduled for re-broadcast in 2023. Honestly, it’s difficult to see how well F4 did internationally as there’s not a ton of information available on it. When I google “F4 Thailand reception” there’s not a lot of results, if I google “boys over flowers Thailand reception” I get this: 

ngl I think it’s pretty funny that one of the top four most asked questions is if F4 is BL and again, it’s def b/c of Bright and Win’s casting. But given that there’s not a ton of information available, I glean that F4 didn’t do great in the western (American/Latin American/European) market. Not to say it didn’t do well. 

On Google ratings: F4 Thailand lands at a 4.9 rating with 2619 reviews/ratings and Bad Buddy stands at a 5.0 with 1085 reviews/ratings

On MyDramaList F4 has a rating of 8.5/10 from 11,982 users, and Bad Buddy has a 8.5/10 from 26,445 users

On IMDb: F4 has a rating of 7.8/10 from 2.3k users, and Bad Buddy has 8.8/10 rating from 5k users

This isn’t a comparison about quality, but activity. I’m not here to make judgements on either shows quality, but rather international impact and relevancy. Outside of Google, Bad Buddy has more active users who left a rating or review on the website than F4, almost double in fact. 

If you go to GMMTV’s official Youtube page and look at the most popular videos on the channel it’s majority….2Gether. Like my god so much 2Gether the CHOKEHOLD this show had on y’all:

More date and a comparison of F4 and Bad Buddy’s international numbers below, we’re getting into the meat now. 

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