#look at me and my endless cdrama actors

[dearmyloveleys]

svsss fancast | Yue Qingyuan 岳清源

“Yue Qingyuan was a bleeding heart, nothing to be afraid of. Though his character ended up suffering quite a bit… Shen Yuan had been rather fond of him.”

(1/?): Zhang Wanyi (Lost You Forever)

[southernwolf16]

After coming across SVSSS-related stuff on the blogs I follow/stalk, I finally gave in to my curiosity and checked the donghua.

I tried reading the novel a while back, but it didn't entice me that much so I didn't finish it. I think seeing the donghua helped spark my interest again.

Then I held back from watching Ep 10 for the past week and started reading the novel. I'm almost finished with it.

It's so different from MDZS. I find myself laughing most of the time. Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu (Shen Yuan edition) are such disasters. I'm sure the more senior fans have already written eloquent posts about how codependent they are, Shen Jiu and Yue Qingyuan's relationship, why Cucumber Bro and Airplane Bro transmigrated to the novel they read/wrote, why the System exists in the first place, writing what you're passionate about vs writing what'll bring in money, and who is Jiang Cheng's counterpart in SVSSS, among other things. I think I read a post suggesting it's Liu Qingge? Or is it Shen Jiu?

Anyway, back to the donghua. I hope I'm not alone in saying I like the character design. At first it was a little jarring---maybe because I'm not used to watching CGI---and the donghua isn't actually 100% polished a la FFVII remake (on a side note, someone joked that Yue Qingyuan seems to be from the PS2 era). Regardless, I appreciate the design since it gave me an idea how the characters look like.

Which is why I'm a bit surprised when I started trawling the SVSSS tags here at Tumblr and saw art depicting Luo Binghe as a curly-haired, big-muscled mountain of a man. Perhaps this is influenced by Western taste? I'm not an expert in Chinese literature or culture, but in some pics I've seen from Cdramas those of demon blood who play major roles don't have the physique of someone who can crack walnuts with their biceps. Think Wang Yue (Wang Zhuocheng) from Legend of Chongzi and that actor from Love Between Fairy and Devil. Furthermore, Luo Binghe is described as a pretty boy in the novel so at this point, I'm of the humble opinion that the donghua got his body type right. And I subscribe to the standards of beauty from the source culture.

Okay, going back to the donghua Ep 10. As we say here in my country, papunta na tayo sa exciting part---I'm going to see Luo Binghe get pushed down the Endless Abyss by his beloved Shizun. Oh, the angst, the drama.

Nope. Nothing of the sort happened.

Oh, so they saved it for Season 2 [Tries to find Season 2]

[Season 2 not yet released] 😨

What. The. Hell.

I held off finishing Season 1 because I thought Season 2's already available. The site where I watched the donghua said Season 2's release is 2022.

Dude, we're two months' shy of closing 2023. 😱

Season 2, where art thou? 😭

[rigelmejo]

Dude I was on the language learning forms as I do sometimes, and someone was lamenting the lack of Chinese content to immerse in (watch, read etc). And how it was hard to find and they didn’t have this problem with Japanese what should they do?

Well. 1. I get their frustration on one level, as I do think Japanese content is so much more mainstream to watch in English speaking countries (at least anime and Japanese video games), that trying to find content in a language where it’s harder to just find content right on Netflix or from a friends recommendation does bring up a new challenge. Whereas with Japanese, probably you could accidentally stumble onto it or have a friend recommend you something, then at least explore deeper with some idea of what you liked/where to start finding it.

However. The person also sort of thought the lack of content was due to Chinese just not having as much content or as interesting content. Again I’m going to assume their key issue was just - it can be a new challenge finding media if you have a harder time just starting.

Because lol?? Chinese has SO much content. Like as far as language content on the internet alone??? Chinese has been eons easier to find than Japanese for me, and in terms of sites I actually use regularly is much closer to my experience of English online (there’s so much Chinese content online... so much... an incredible amount... like in chinese I’ve even found free movie watching sites FOR shows in English - like the way I find sites in English to watch Chinese shows IN chinese lol! Like you can use English to search for Chinese stuff, and literally do the reverse to find English stuff, there is so much Chinese stuff... I found more stuff in Japanese using bilibili in chinese than I could find of Japanese using YouTube In English). And Chinese drama land is HUGE it feels as active as American television, so you have endless genres to dive into and companies and actors and writers etc (there is a distinct lack of sci fi though as far as I’ve seen, but to be fair america isn’t making a Ton of sci fi compared to like Detective shows either - it’s just English speaking sci fi has had some more good ones in recent years). There is no lack of Chinese content out there. There’s audiobooks, dramas, audio dramas, talk shows, radio, fanfiction, novels, fanart, manhua, sites to find other stuff, forums, weibo, search sites, just a lot?? Like, if you think Japanese has enough internet content then there is an adequate amount of Chinese content on the internet too lol. You just may have to do a touch more initial exploration.

I just. Thought the assumption “can’t find media means their media sucks” was funny. Because also? I have not found that to be true. I know very little about Thai media. I just happened upon SOTUS cause of a friend talking about it. So like someone watching anime conveniently - I got into it. It was good, so I dug, and found a lot of amazing Thai shows (and some I didn’t love cause lol genres all have a mix of quality depending on show etc). There IS a ton of amazing Thai shows that exist right now. But if all you ever found was SOTUS? While it was great when I saw it to me, once I found more I realized there was a LOT better stuff. So like if you see one cdrama on Netflix (if that’s how you first easily find the media), that does not mean all shows will be that quality or anything like them! And just cause it’s the first one you found doesn’t mean they’re all like that ones quality.

Like I had a similar experience with jdramas growing up, so I get it. I was into anime, saw some (trainwreck) live action adaptations. And as a teenage just blanket assumed all Japanese live action media was gonna be around that quality. And then in recent years, I checked out some Japanese live action media - to see if new stuff was better. YEAH IT SURE IS (and I would imagine some old stuff was great I just gave up after one not-wonderful one lol). SO MANY AMAZING jdramas exist now! Even the ones I most feared would not be great - live action adaptations of anime’s? They’re so much better now, some of them are genuinely loved in their own right as standalone live actions. So like. One not-great show experience is NOT representative of the entire plethora of shows available and their quality. Now that I’ve realized how MANY good jdramas I missed out on? I have so much catching up to do ToT

2. If you’re in this boat of “content seems hard to find, so I feel like there’s none or no good stuff” what to do?

First ask some friends for recommendations?

Check Netflix, Amazon, YouTube (YouTube has a ton of cdramas), Viki, iQiyi app. Like how some people get into anime, maybe you just need an easy conviennent show in your recommended to get into more content.

Check out rec channels on YouTube like Donghua Reviews and Avenue X to hear about some shows and figure out the kinds of ones you’d even want to check out (I imagine other languages also have review channels like for kdramas).

Go to MyDramaList.com. Search genres you like, read recommendation list posts. if you’ve seen a show at this point already you can look it up and see in the “Recommended” section what other dramas are like it, you can see it’s genre tags to see WHAT genres you even seem to like. Use this to start DIGGING and finding stuff you might really like. Since like with anime, you’re only going to find the most popular stuff at first just based on Netflix or friends (which might not match up to your personal tastes as well as finding stuff that Is more your favorite genres).

Try out new stuff. And if it sucks, you don’t like it? Drop it, learn that about yourself, start another new thing. You’ll figure out what you like and dislike pretty fast (like I personally hate bad pacing or bad writing specifically characterization, and I can notice when the specific things I love are gonna be in a show pretty fast).

Check out genres specific to that language’s media. Because if it’s new to you, you might not know if you even like it or not, and if you like it then which things you personally prefer in it (since even within a genre there will be wildly different content and feels). For Chinese this might be wuxia, xianxia, palace dramas, costume dramas, republican era dramas, tomb raiding dramas etc.

*That’s how it worked for me, SOTUS led me to the bl drama fans, eventually they recommended Guardian so bam I guess I was learning chinese, YouTube recced me more cdramas from there to continue with, and mydramalist.com helped me find other shows with actors I liked from guardian (and other bl related shows which led me to Go Princess Go of all things for the bi lead), and that site helped me find more genres and shows I’d like, as well as friends continuing to rec things. Didn’t take long to figure out what I liked, didn’t, and to start noticing what upcoming stuff I’d probably be excited for. And now there’s so much good stuff found I don’t have enough time lol.

As for non show media: use shows as the jump off point. Just like using “easy to find shows” can be used to break into finding more shows. Once you have a show you liked a lot - look up it it’s based on a book, if it has an audiobook, an audio drama, a manhua, a donghua. Chances are it DOES have some of this stuff, because cdramas do a PRETTY regular amount of the time. Often cdramas have all or nearly all of these other story types. So jump into those, then find more novels or audio drama or manhua etc by branching off from the one you liked to others like it. Novelupdates.com is good for doing this with novels (it has a recommendations section), I imagine manhua sites have rec lists too, ximalaya starts recommending stuff once you’ve listened to a few audio on it, etc. And if you get into fandoms of those x media types, those fans will start recommending more too. And again, even if you just stick to media related to shows you liked - so often shows have so MUCH related media that would definitely keep you busy. (Like I didnt wade into non-show connected novels until I looked up more novels as recommendations afte show-related novels, like MDZS and Guardian leading me to SVSSS and 2ha and Can Ci Pin which at the time had no show adaptations, and then eventually found just-novel rec lists - which is still the main way I find fanfic).

[kuronekonerochan]

Cdramas I enjoyed and ranty rambles... (spoilers)

Apparently I have a new favorite cdrama ML type, and it's genius mastermind bastard on a scheming backstabbing world that is likely created by the same novel or scriptwriter. Ning Que (Ever Night), Fang Xian (Joy of Life) and Zhong Xin (Young Blood) are a joy to watch and I loved these dramas on the same "spirit" and their characters. 

All these dramas had stronger and weaker points, if I could pick and choose, I liked the world and ruthlessness of NQ from EN S1, the OTP that is NQ and SS and the Us against the World vibe, plus the incredible soundtrack and the breathtaking panoramic shots, but S2 was such a production mess...it’s a pity bc I loved the theological turn of the novel and it doesn’t seem likely that after that trainwreck of s2 we’ll get a s3 to end the story (although yes, I admit it would always be difficult to translate to screen from where s1 ends in the book onward bc it’s such a drastic change).  Having read the novel, it was funny to see people reacting to the events of s2. 

The shift in the focus of the drama from the traditional wuxia, young martial arts lead and his wifey traveling the world, encountering new allies and foes and getting powered up, to religious and spiritual journey about the meaning of life, god, the world and different ideologies clashing in both literal fights and discussions as well as physical manifestations of divinity, mixed in with human subversion of values for petty personal goals...well although people seem understandably confused and not very happy about this 180º thematic turn, it’s not what they hated about the new season. From the comments I saw, what most ppl couldn’t stand were the same things ppl who read and liked the novel also hated: the horrible pacing, some of the cast changes that failed to convey the feeling that they were the same characters, and even though the budget was evidently lower than s1, the choices made where 80% of the scenes were pointless carriage shots, meeting shots, and most pointless of all Long Qing riding horses. Endless set ups of people talking boringly and then when the event that all that talk was leading up to happened, it was off screen and the result was told by some character in a conversation. You couldn’t care less about Tang and the war because all the characters that lived there and could die, like SS’s friends from the brothel, the gang, and even the generic ppl on the streets, none of this was shown...only 2 or 3 ppl talking alone somewhere at a time, talking about events that the viewer would never see. And it was confusing. I read the novel and even so I could barely follow what was happening (they did change a bunch of stuff). Enemies from 2 episodes ago were now allies and they were asking favors without any explanation and key plot points of main story arcs like Ye Hong Yu’s were just thrown out so casually it didn’t even register for me that THAT was happening.  The whole Haitian part was also a mess. It was one of those concepts that is indeed hard to translate to screen, but as they did the whole SangSang being present but powerless thing well, the casting of Haitian was a fail. She was supposed to be an uncaring, poker faced goddess, but she also had to have a presence that made her feel powerful and frightening. This lifeless doll couldn't scare a fly, so the whole thing just felt pathetic and weird(er). (Also in the novel there’s this intense mental fight thing going on between her and NQ where she hardcore tortures him and slashes his d*ck off and he in turn keeps torturing her with erotic dreams and all this bc the natal bond means they can read each others minds and can’t keep each other out even if they wanted so it’s a constant exhausting mindgame between them. The drama tried to include some of that in like 2 eps near the end, but toning it down bc of rating and taking the mindreading concept out of it made it very disappointing to watch).

I love the witty sarcastic humor of Joy of Life, I’m not into tragic period cdramas but after so much cheesy lazy slapstick  wuxia/xanxia dramas, one with the intelligent, non-stop sarcastic humorous dialogue and an ensemble of god damn talented actors, especially the older cast, headed by an absolutely brilliant performance by the main lead and a script and plot that is compelling, fast paced and never misses a beat...well this is a true gem and one of the best executed cdramas, on every aspect from technical aspects to directing to acting, that I have ever seen. I usually don’t like palace dramas, and this is not one of those, it is adventure and family and transmigration and a lot more, but it retains the core elements of those palace dramas, which is the scheming politics, the intrigue and the constant tension of being surrounded by enemies by all sides and having to mind every word and action because a single faux pas will get him killed. It’s in line with the kind of cnovels I love and would like to see drama adaptations for like Husband Be a Gentleman or Golden Stage, which isn’t much of a surprise since this is also a novel adaptation.

 It is nearly perfect imo, but the harem aspect (even if tuned down from the novel) still drags it down and the (main) FL is a bore and honestly the least interesting of all the females in the drama (it doesn’t help that ZRY has better chemistry with one of the other actresses, which in the novel, since his character hits ALL of them, it would be fine, here, meh). This is also one of the rare situations where I like the drama better than the book (even with the issues regarding the lack of chemistry with the FL), bc Fang Xian in the novel is scarily ruthless...it’s the same author as Nightfall (aka Ever Night), but NQ is likable because of his bond to SangSang, the irrationality of the persecution they face from the zealots,  and also the world, despite being harsh, features loyalty and unconditional love in the members of the Academy, for example, that make all the anti-hero/antagonist traits more bearable. FX in Joy of Life it’s a much more cynical and cunning character, scary even, and the environment is a pit of backstabbing snakes. He is the hero bc he’s the main character, but from any other perspective he can easily be the villain. Add to that my distaste of harem and him getting it on with like 6 or so ladies (to give them credit some of them are pretty awesome characters), the novel just wasn’t for me. But ZRY as FX? He’s just so cheeky and likable, and this drama has an amazing supporting cast. I enjoy watching them all interact with each other.  I’m glad it’s getting a season 2 and so looking forward to it.

Young Blood I didn't even like that much in the beginning, it started out interesting but confusing and some of the cast (both acting and characters) were kind of weak, but it got better and it had a power couple as leads who were both smart and a joy to watch, plus the bromance dynamic between the smartass bastard and the righteous straight-faced dudes that Handsome Siblings wishes it had (that’s a whole other story, why HS didn’t work for me, but trust me, no offense to the actors in that, I found them charming in other things, but perhaps bc this script was just better, the boys here just did it better, it just flowed...I watched both dramas at the same time and it was weird thinking that those two should be what Handsome Siblings was trying to do). What annoyed me until the end was that out of the ensemble cast, only 3 of the characters (the smart ones) were given enough material to shine. Eventually the other 2 guys got their piece as well, but the girl from the second couple is unfortunately a waste of a character. They eventually tried to give her an arc, but she’s still mainly “the cute doll” and a foil for the 2nd male lead to have a romantic interest. She is given less screen time and she has no presence. I didn’t need her to be a “strong” woman. They do state that her strong suit is that she is so charming that ppl easily trust her, but I wanted to see her evolve, become smarter (the other two dumb-asses eventually get better from the beginning and grow as characters, but she seems stuck in her shallow one trait personality of “cute/kind”). This has nothing to do with the actress, she was perfectly fine, my issues are with the character and how she was utilized.

Unrelated, there is a weird thing in the last episode where a character just disappears, but not like, on purpose, it seems like the drama just forgot about him, or they forgot to shoot the actor near the other ones where he was supposed to be, lol.

Honestly, story wise and even in terms of production Young Blood is inferior to Ever night S1 and especially Joy of life, which was a tight drama, but since it ended up so much better than it started I really wanted to see what they could do with a 2nd season.

P.S: You know what is also my cdrama type? Genius himbo chaotic mess cutie pies, with “rage issue” but deep down caring relatives... and their “straight” faced besotted partners, I mean...

[blackhatclubblog]

WWW - February 2017

KOREAN: ~ Tomorrow With You Empress: Y'know, I haven't been disappointed by a Shin Min Ah drama yet...and I wouldn't mind another Lee Je Hoon drama...I hadn't seen such a ridiculous description until now, which is too bad. I had heard time travel and romance and was looking forward to it. I still mean to watch at least the first 2 episodes to see what it's like. XD Ambassador: Shin Min Ah is nowhere near enough to pull me into such a crazy sounding storyline... but if the Empress likes it, she'll drag me into watching it sooner or later. Unni: *giggles* I'll probably wait for one of these two to convince me to watch it....or wait for Pinterest to give me screenshots. ~ Perfect Wife Empress: This sounds possibly really depressing...I don't think I'm putting it on my list...XD Ambassador: SUNG JOON would be the main reason I would check this out.  I can't tell if this is supposed to be an ahjumma romance or not but either way, it's not likely to tempt me, not even for him. Unni: *banging head madly into wall* ~ Romance Full of Life Empress: LOL. At that point, dude, switch careers. XD I would say NOPE, but if it's ONLY 3 episodes...maybe... XD Ambassador: 3 episodes and Yoon Shi Yoon.  Probably at some point I'll pull it up. Unni: Um..................this just sounds like kinda cute......some weekend maybe. ~ Super Family Empress: .....I am underwhelmed. No thanks.... Ambassador: NO.  It sounds like one of those long Monday melos and I generally dislike those. Unni: No xie xie.... ~ Strong Woman Do Bong Soon Empress: I was like NO, YOU CAN'T JUST REMAKE WEIGHTLIFTING FAIRY AND HAVE ANOTHER SUPER STRONG GIRL but then I saw some cute promo pics and bother, I like all 3 of the leads, and it might be adorable. So I am not putting it past myself to watch it. XD Ambassador: I like all three of the lead actors from other things but I didn't think that the synopsis was enough to tempt me.  At first, anyway.  THEN, I saw the part about her becoming his bodyguard and I cracked up and yes, I'll probably watch it, at some point. Unni: *BOUNCES UP AND DOWN* I am on a strong woman streak....this sounds delicious! *waves hand madly* ~ My Only Love Song Empress: Heh. Time travel is in again, huh? Nobody wants to stay in the present after 2016? Unless I hear something raving about it later, this isn't really enough to intrigue me. Ambassador: There isn't much information about this yet but Lee Jong Hyun of CN Blue is in it and so is the villainous brother of Park Ki Woong from Bridal Mask.  As long as my list is right now, I feel that if I added one more drama I'm not passionately interested in, it will be the straw that broke the camel's back, er, list.  So no. Unni: I'll probably wait for screen shots...it's a little interesting. ~ 109 Strange Things (webdrama) Empress: I am curious. Which is more than be said for the previous dramas. And I've enjoyed the last few webdramas I've seen. I might go for this one. XD Ambassador: Color me interested enough to check it out.  It could be highly amusing. Unni: This sounds iiiiiiiiiiiinteresting CHINESE: ~ The Starry Night, The Starry Sea Empress: Heh. Okay, that sounds a little different from the usual. I like that. I also like the title. However, magical Chinese dramas tend to not be things I watch. So...I kind of doubt I'll get to it....XD Ambassador: YES, because it's William Feng and Bea Hayden and had enough internet buzz that I'm interested.  (Also, I'd watch pretty much anything for William Feng Shaofeng, so there's that.) Unni: I just watched the opening credit scene because you get a peek at the drama.....I am not sure...it seems jussssssssssssssssssssssst a little more on the too weird side for me, they are cute though. ~ The Glory of Tang Dynasty Empress: Intriguing. If it was a Korean drama I think I'd be more likely to dive into it...it would depend on what else I heard about it. Ambassador: Hmmmm, I don't know.  I'm inclined to say yes- palace and harem dramas are my kryptonite- but, I'll have to wait and see what it looks like. Unni: This sounds interesting, we'll see how it all goes down. ~ Love Just Come Empress: aww...it sounds sweet...but somehow not something that catches my attention.... Ambassador: Good for her, but nope, not going on my list. Unni: This sounds cute...the subject is interesting. I might look at it...we shall see. ~ The Legendary School: Three Lives, Three Worlds Tao Hua Yuan Empress: *dies* This sounds kind of adorable...I tend to be wary of magical dramas...but depending how it was done this could be really fun. XD Ambassador: Chinese urban fantasy is usually hilarious and fun and this looks like no exception.  I'll be keeping an eye on it. Unni: We'll see how busy I am. ~ Detective Samoyeds Empress: HEE. I still want to watch Joseon X-files. But...between medic, ballistics enthusiast, and analytics expert...in the Tang Dynasty...XD I am very intrigued. Ambassador: YES.  The plot and characters sound like too much fun to stay away.  (The title cracks me up though... does Samoyed mean something different in China?  Because all I can think of is fluffy white dogs.  Unless they're simply referring to the idiom 'like a dog with a bone' for the way they operate... but why choose Samoyeds?) Unni: Subject matter interesting, everything else...no thank you. ~ Till Death Tear Us Apart Empress: I like the title a little bit...but the rest doesn't grab me... Ambassador: I don't thiiiiink so.  Just doesn't pique my interest. Unni: Not up my ally of interest. ~ Long For You Empress: .....aliens, immortals, reincarnation...somehow I'm not terribly intrigued.... Ambassador: Finally the cdrama adaptation of You Who Came From the Stars.  Noooope, not interested. Unni: Also a pass here. I couldn't get into the K one how could I get into the C one? ~ Full Love Empress: Poor kids...this all sounds depressing...naw... Ambassador: Ooh, Hawick Lau and Alina Zhang Meng make it tempting, but the plot removes that temptation.  Probably not watching. Unni: *tip toes around drama* I'll pass. ~ Qin Empire Jue Qi Empress: Third installment. Because one 30 episode show was not enough...XD When I have endless time I will watch them all in proper order. Ambassador: I'm putting this on my list of dramas to watch when researching particular historical eras. Unni: I'll let these two fill me in on these unless I become fascinated with Chinese history A January cdrama I missed: ~ The Legend of the Condor Heroes Empress: That sounds possibly interesting...but when there are others in the series that I haven't seen yet... Ambassador: The latest in the Condor Heroes franchise.  I started the one from 2008 and loved the chemistry in that one, but I'm not so sure I'll try this one. Unni: I started watching one of the Condor Heroes once upon a time... I found it a little weird....so no. TAIWANESE: ~ Art in Love Empress: no....XD Ambassador: George Hu isn't enough for me to watch this one. Unni: This sounds like one of the less interesting Taiwanese dramas HONG KONG: ~ Romance for 7 Days Empress: heh. This is not the Hong Kong drama that will draw me away from my massive list. Ambassador: Naah, not enough to interest me. Unni: No thank you! ~ Tiger Mom Blues Empress: okay, while "tiger mom" makes me laugh, the rest of this makes me cringe... Ambassador: Lordy NO.  The title is cool but I don't usually like family dramas. Unni: Not really interested, there are far more interesting things in life. Which of these dramas will YOU be watching?