#the youku subs are not it

[dramashii]

This is my last warning.

THE LEGEND OF ANLE (2023) | Ep 29

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

《山河令》 WORD OF HONOR (2021) | Special Episode 12 The more I expected, the more unpredictable it was. [...] I suffered alone and acted calmly.

To do something even while knowing it's not allowed. And to trust people even when knowing that their motives are hard to guess. Lao Wen, for people of our age to reveal our hearts to others is difficult. I want to take a gamble.

[coquelicoq]

was telling a friend about the double today and got to the part where jiang li stops xue fangfei from killing herself by saying she has to live because she can't get revenge if she's dead. and my friend was like wait what french novel does this remind me of? and i was like babe. it reminds you of the count of monte cristo. the double is better though.

[zhongwans]

The Legend of Anle 安乐传 just started airing!

[qilingxiong]

fuck it we ball maybe i do end up watching journey across the night without english subtitles

[heretherebedork]

Am I really gonna have to get another subscription just to watch I Feel You Linger In The Air? Am I really? Or do I finally break down and just get a VPN instead? Youku or VPN? lol weirdest damn choice.

Or do I hope that Dee Hup House continues their habit of posting every single show they make onto their youtube channel?

[mejomonster]

Justice in the dark, finished ep 2:

I am just so beyond overwhelmed I'm watching it honestly. I was lucky to experience Guardian a year after it came out, which got me into cdramas and cnovels and studying chinese, which got me into priests writing in particular, and i never had to anticipate or hope for guardian. I was lucky to just find it's cdrama version as my first experience period of a cdrama and of the story. It was everything I loved personally (just the perfect niche choices for Me). I never had to anticipate or wonder or hope if an adaptation would exist or be good. Because for me it was already perfect on first watch (yes even horrifically bad cgi cat da qing - I have a particular fondness for awful cgi at times especially in campy shows like Xena and Doctor Who so the low budget only added to my enjoyment personally lol).

Then Word of Honor came out. After id studied chinese for a year, worked a lot to drag myself through reading 28 chapters of tian ya ke and my first significant chunk of reading a priest novel in original chinese. I had OPINIONS. My biggest being they NEEDED to be morally grey fucked up people, needed to lie and put on acts like in the book, and Gong Jun was my dream casting for Wen Kexing but I'd have settled for anyone with a decently fitting performance. My expectations of a live action drama were absolutely blown away. The cast was actually my specific dream cast, Gong Jun pulled a better performance than I've Ever seen him do prior (just perfect in WoH specifically he really did amazing), Zhou zishu is SUCH a hard character to act much like Zhang Qiling in dmbj in that he is quiet and keeps himself private so an actor NEEDS to be really good at the performance to the audience to get across the characters internal world and get the character to come off correctly. He did it. So absolutely blown away by performances as good as Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong did for Zhao yunlan and shen wei, when I had no expectations they'd be As Good only hopefully sufficiently good. So acting was WOW. the side cast actors also absolutely blew me out of the water. The entire show team did honestly - the costumer showed how MUCH can be done with costumes and wig regardless of budget (compare WoH wigs to The Untamed or Eternal Love - just more unique designs for everyone's wigs in woh). The sets are simple but distinguishable and again while it's just a simple X setting in woh I still found the sets more memorable than the Eternal Love sets overall, the fighting is choreographed GOOD (1 I heard by the same person as Ultimate Note which would explain a lot as both have fun action scenes, 2 I love The Untamed in many regards but also there's fight scenes where extras swing at nothing so fight choreography wasn't quite as strong u know), the color design in post production isn't like ideally natural but it shows off the costumes and further makes the limited budget look distinguished as it's own fully realized concept. Way Better than I ever expected honestly (guardian had limited set budget too and honestly it DID look cheap it only was beloved by me because they make it so Ridiculous in certain aspects it Crosses into Doctor Who level weird sci fi design). And finally the script - handled by a good writer, I felt, that kept the core story elements I wanted and added some more. I didn't like the "knew each other as kids" element which if you know me you know why. But since I always treat live action cdramas as Alternate Universe stories? I could appreciate they didn't bring up knowing each other in a like "we are connected cause of it way" but more as a "strangers who briefly crossed paths once and so have some experiences they both somewhat relate or connect to" which let the script writer mostly keep the original novel relationship vibe. Basically? I'm still absolutely stunned and blown away we got a GREAT drama, let alone a good one.

I knew Sha Po Lang had a drama filmed and DONE. I hadn't read it so I thankfully had no great attachment to the story being done right. I was excited because I love priest stories so I know it'll be based on good source material, and I LOVE the idea of steampunk historical. I had no idea on what to expect though besides potentially horrifically bad cgi for the steampunk elements if they didn't cut them out completely? Or cheap but functional cgi like Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain (it'll be miraculous if it's like The Lost Tomb Reboot or Utlimate Note or Love Between Fairy and Devil in terms of quite Decent nice cgi). I had no expectations until an actor I admire was cast as one of the leads. Then I figured: well this will be a GOOD show to watch. Because that actor is worth watching Just by being in it since he'll give a great performance, and the source material came from priest so it can only be so bad. I figured THAT drama was what to mentally prepare for! Then it didn't come! We're still waiting.

Now finally to Silent Reading. It's my favorite priest novel. Of any adaptations to have expectations about, it's this one for me. I made edits for this one. I watched bilibili fanvideo edits for the book and had opinions on which aesthetic choices worked best. I cared. I saw it (like a couple other novels I'm excited for adaptations for) was getting adapted too! After sha po lang, way later, casting dragging on. I assumed okay temper yourself you won't even see it until Immortality 2ha is out (lmao ;-; ). I also decided BECAUSE it's my favorite? I figured I would be disappointed and let down. So I tried not to even hope itd be good. I hoped, desperately, decent actors would be cast who could do a good solid job. I got immensely lucky when Fei Du was cast cause I know from Go Ahead that guy can ACT so at least fei du would be wonderful to watch. I had no idea about anyone else and again tempered my expectations to please please just be Decent. (So Tao Ran being Perfectly cast and acted is blowing my goddamn mind nonstop). I also hoped, for an expectation, a visual aesthetic like Under the Skin or some video edits I'd seen on bilibili. Just a sort of Beyond Evil, Flower of Evil, The Guest, sort of gritty thriller grounded somewhat in reality but at the edge kind of. A detective show with a psychologically heavy lean to it. Possibly a little stylistic even in color choice cause I personally like shows that visually look like Their Own thing (even if it looks less natural - like I love Goodbye My Princess and Heroes visually even though it's such extreme color editing). And finally I hoped for a serviceable bare minimum... bare minimum... solve murders and stick at least basically to the book cases script. I really had no idea what to expect of writing wuality except a "PLEASE be Decent you're working with great source material, it's already got an audio drama with a script u should barely have to work to make this Decent just don't make it awful." So yeah. Low expectations. I probably could have been happy with Granting You a Dreamlike Life level writing quality, visual quality (except dear fuck please with blues instead of that yikes yellow gyadl used a ton), and passable actors.

Instead I got way better than my expectations and it's breaking my mind a little. Color grading? Blue greens and I'm sure some people hate it I fucking love it to pieces. (If I'd give any visual critique it's that I think they're over smoothing actors and I love gritty real looking skin but I recognize a lot of cdramas generally make the choice to face smooth and use filters so it's going to crop up in some stuff I watch :/ it's not totally awful in that I can see Luo's stubble and sometimes Fei Du's cover-up powder on his little nose, but overall the contrast intensity and color grading they chose makes the skin look less gritty in combo with I imagine some skin smoothing filters). I personally Love the cgi I have seen, which i assumr either means cheap cgi came up EONS since guardian or they got bigger cgi budget for a crime drama that shouldn't need them than I would've figured. The city bits that I imagine are fake establishing shots look way better than guardian and in line with Ultimate Note quality at times (at least they're not too noticeably bad is my point). The extreme lighting choices are unnatural for sure but I really like them since there's a heavy metaphor right now of Luo as the light and Fei Du in the dark, and seeing that visual metaphor play out with actual bright lights/intense shadows frequently in scenes is so visually satisfying to me, you can read their mental states just by the lighting (one scene Fei Dus emotions drop and it goes from sunny to storming which is REALLY on the nose and funny but also I love how thoroughly this way of using light is through the entire show). Green and blues also seem to be being used for light and dark, life and death, warmth and cold, Luo and Fei. I never had the expectation so Much detail would be put to visuals and I'm so beyond grateful.

Next, the music. Oh my god the music. So far it's not like Life Changing to me the way Guardians soundtrack was (I love Chen Xuerans music - he also did some Tomb of the Sea music I also love). But I didn't expect the music to even be more than servicable, yet I'm enjoying it enough I want to go look up the tracks? (Also WoH had a banger soundtrack forgot to mention that). I love the choice of piano instruments frequently in the background music, it's extremely fitting of this particular story with priest naming chapters after famous literature and just the vibe of old detective stories. At the same time? Again there's this comparison between a very piano and western orchestra background ost, and the very modern English song that's kind of pop music that Fei Du plays often and with Tao Ran and sometimes plays in scenes with Luo. It's like the light/dark lighting, the music juxtaposition. It's such a noticeable choice, and it really adds to how effective the scenes are. I did not expect the music to shine to me. It's not like WoH levels yet in terms of any particular song lyrics, but the music playing when Fei Du was young seeing his mom, and the music playing at the end of ep 2 as Luo talks to Fei Du about his mom, were both impactfully used.

Writing: not much to say except oh my fuck I can't believe I'm seeing these scenes I love acted out. Acted out properly, like I pictured them. ;-; I'm amazed how much they're sticking to book honestly. I. Am just incredibly overwhelmed moving on. It feels like coming home honestly, a new scene starts and I know exactly where I am from the novel. I actually happen to enjoy when cdrama adaptations change story (Alternate Universe story) so id be just pleasant too if the story Does happen to change, but at the moment this is maybe the most faithful (*except the little sci fi intro note) adaptation I've seen of any book in general in my life. I am so so happy. I loved the scene in Tao Rans car. The scenes of Fei as a child is better than anything I could have possibly ever imagined (Luo coming from the light to cover his eyes and stop the horror, pulling him safe to the light, just the visuals and music absolutely <3 ;-; ). The scenes with Fei Du, Tao Ran, and Luo Wenzhou are just like I imagined them (this may not be true for everyone though lol - I read with the feeling they really were cold and bristly while caring/pushing into each other's business, but not even seeing each other as friend or romantic options at the start - this is coming off just like I imagined, with Tao Ran exactly just... right out of my brain perfect kudos to the guy playing him he's singlehandedly changing my life damn). I saw some people mentioning not seeing much chemistry between Luo and Fei. I may change my mind later but... as of ep 2? I'm happy to say I'm seeing exactly what the novel gave me at the same points in the plot. I actually think the shows giving a Touch more because it's really Really hammering home how Luo and Fei have revolved around each other 7 years, are stuck together in a situation they can't move past, are yin yang light dark warmth cold passion logic alive dead, and those kind of fucking parallels really hammer very obviously that as lovable as Tao Ran is it's really Luo/Fei who are the main characters and who have effected each other's lives most greatly. Yes Tao Ran is Luos best friend and was his partner since their first case of Feis mom - but Luo is who reached out slightly More to Fei Du, who made it his entire purpose to help this kid, who this kid Blamed for being unable to help, who chose to keep trying to take care of Fei for 7 years ever since (Tao ran also doing so because he was involved). Yes Fei Du crushes on Tao Ran as a safe outlet, because Tao Ran won't reciprocate (for a variety of reasons from being straight to thinking of himself as someone taking care of Fei like an older brother - and that emotional position of his is uniquely why he can give such direct advice to Fei that Fei wouldn't take as kindly to as from an actual romantic option like Luo). Fei Du acts emotionally more open with Tao, and certainly tries harder to try and live healthier by associating wirh Tao (and Tao indulges it because it does make Fei feel more human and connected). But it's clear Luos the one who makes Fei face his fears directly, who cuts through the shield entirely, the one who's words actually genuinely shake Fei Du. Tao Ran can call Fei out but on some level Fei won't break from it since it's Tao saying it, can close back up if he does open enough to take it to heart. Luo is fundamentally a person thats Too important to Fei for Fei to control how he handles him. Luo changed his life, was his hope then his hopelessness. And still remains both. The show is absolutely hammering that. Whereas the book? If you didnt know Luo was going to be the main character, you'd figure Fei/Tao was going to be at least an initial ship. Or Tao/Luo if only it was friends to lovers (just me then lol). My point is the shows clear irs got a very specific "bromance" angle and it's hammering it as much as Merlin/Arthur got hammered with 2 sides of the same coin he's your destiny. And more.

Acting again. I also love all the side characters so far. Love the casting choices all around. Zhang Donglan was not how I pictured lol but I liked his actor, the core investigation group is just like I pictured.;-; <3

Luos actor. So eyecandy in a screencap he is not particularly. In motion? He's looks wise passable for Luo. Which is like... when I read the book Luo was traditionally handsome like some superhero (Captain joke from the book and all) but in regular man's roughed up clothes of regular financial means, basic work haircut, could tone himself down if needed. So Zhao Yunlan, while I love him (good job Bai Yu) is too "pretty" to be Luo - the leather jacket too flashy, the whole look just too flashy. Luos styling in the show is acceptable as it looks like an everyday man's less flashy version of Zhao Yunlan, which is about where Luo lands. I imagined a more Model handsome type for Luo just because I imagined him more Abruptly in your face handsome hero (think Captain America) compared to "blends into the background next door neighbor cute" that is Tao Ran (and tbf show Tao Ran is Perfect.... I imagined Yang Yang but dressed/styled toned down, and this actor visually is like a 96% match to an actual fancast edit I made so.. he's perf). Luos actor instead also has a similar "everyday man next door" handsome. On the upside its probably realistic given he qnd Tao Ran should feel on the same level. On the other no its not mu mental picture of Luo - I couldn't even fancast him because he's SO specific in my mental interpretation. But back to the point: as an actor he does look suitable while playing the role. His actual acting? That's where it really matters. When I read, Luo was SUCH a specific character to me if an actor can't pull it off it'll hurt. His actor is doing Perfect. I'm beyond grateful. He's just like Luo in my head. His voice is a touch different but it's acted great so it's fine. The only scenes that jar me are ones where I can clearly know someone edited a scene or added a thing to his costume to make him look like Zhao Yunlan lmao, just because it feels less like Luo and I know it? Like his scene saving a girl from a mugger on a bike was so reminiscent of show Guardian Zhao Yunlan getting off the motorbike. The glasses and leather jacket in ep 1 on Luo screamed "similar to Zhao yunlan" but toned slightly down, and the scene he talks to get into the crime scene felt very echoey of Zhao yunlan doing that to get into the first crime scene in Guardian. The actor made it flow fine, and he Feels like Luo so I'm happy as peaches. But there were some moments in ep 1 I think lol either director or writer or someone wanted to reference Guardian or rely on that similarity to give the watcher a familiar impression. The actor is Really nailing the small moments of acting with his team, and the emotional moments with Fei are just so well done.

Anyways in summary? I had so few expectations and they've been far surpassed. I'm amazed how much extra stuff I didn't even want to hope for is also lovely in this. I'm so !!!!

[diamantdog]

for me, the main problem is adding context will take a longer time for subs to be completed (for example, back in the day, it would take maybe 1 week for unpaid volunteers to complete the sub for a single running man episode). and i think in a world where streaming services boast about providing content the fastest or at the same time, this isn't considered ideal. not to mention, i've seen people complaining about not having an episode available 1 hour after a show aired on its og network; imagine making them wait for 1 day or something.

I feel like we've lost something linguistically with the rise of professional subtitles for everything because they just adapt jokes and idioms into their nearest English equivalent and lose cultural context. I miss watching anime in 2002 with subs by some guy who was just really passionate about japanese and would fill half the screen with an in-depth breakdown of why a pun works. I'm serious I want that again.

[sarah-yyy]

Jie jie, what is The Double about?

hahahahahaha i was waiting for someone to ask!! mr r has bailed on me at work again and bossman has the man flu so it's just. me at the office today. working my ass off for partners who are trying to Kill Me™.

what: period cdrama // completed // 40 eps, roughly 45 mins each where: youku (standard disclaimer that i don’t watch with subs so i don’t speak to the quality of eng subs) // i think viki is picking this up?

this is xue fangfei. daughter of a small town magistrate. married a poor scholar for love against the wishes of her dad. this turns out to be a bad, bad, bad decision because he ends up burying her alive in the mountains sometime post-marriage. :)

this all happens in like ep 1, we're just getting started.

xff ends up being rescued by jiang li, who is the prime minister's kinda-sorta-exiled daughter. jl has been stuck in a kinda-sorta-nunnery in the mountains for the past 10 years because of her evil stepmother.

i'll skip past all the other bits because there is a bit of a backstory about what happened to jl, but long story short!! jl dies (kinda-sorta-because of xff). xff decides to get justice for both herself and jl. her plan is:

1. become jiang li 2. go back to the capital 3. ?????? 4. profit make everyone pay

this is xiao heng a.k.a. su-guogong (the translation is duke su but it sounds weird to me so i'm going to stick with su-guogong). he chances upon xff while he's trying to catch a criminal.

xff, who is in the process of executing her Escape Plan, decides eh, any way to escape will do and lets s-gg arrest her to take her back to the capital for interrogation.

(yes, this is wang xingyue who played zhang zhe in kunning palace. yes he looks a++++++ in this show. i am obsessed.)

side bar, counsels, for a bit of very important information -

su-guogong recognises xue fangfei!! he knows 100% that she is not jiang li and that she is going to cause some chaos. he is Committed™ to watching this drama play out.

ANYWAY. this is the loose premise of the show. it's been fun to watch, and i'm enjoying this a lot!! why should you watch the show?

wang xingyue looks so good in this!! the fans? the capes?? i am obsessed!! everyone in the costumes department deserves a raise.

the story moves quickly and doesn't really drag on. so far, it's been nothing complicated and interesting to watch - i wouldn't say this is a plot-heavy show, just a v good 宅斗 for now, but i'm only like 10 eps in.

the torture my ex-husband who murdered me by showing up in front of him and saying all the right things to remind him of me and the fact that he killed me is so good - normally when this happens, the person looks nothing like their former self, but!! xff's looks haven't changed!! so she's just out here going - hi i am jiang li now and oh btw do you know how cold it is in the mountains where you killed me :)

look i'm......intrigued by this whole shen yurong (ex-husband) and the zhang-gongzhu storyline. i want to see how this whole thing plays out!!

eta: quick post-watch thoughts (may contain spoilers)

a v enjoyable drama!! this is a 爽剧 for reals, like all the plot points get wrapped up and we get a few cute snippets into their happily ever after!! i'm a bit :/ about the way the last few scenes were done in ep 40 (the side character deaths??? extremely unnecessary 🙄🤬 actually the whole war scene was unnecessary but i'm not complaining too much because it gave us That Scene), tbh the whole thing looked more OE leaning BE than HE to me, so the 番外 was quite important to me!! glad we got that!!

shen yurong and zhang-gongzhu both turned out to be so much more interesting than i thought!! a+++ villains, v well-written, and both actors played them beautifully 👏🏼

still an 8.5/10 rec tbh, started strong and held my interest the entire way through

[lunarriviera]

hi hey hello i have started watching a new crime drama and I AM OBSESSED. it's called 雪迷宫 or, for some reason, The First Shot, although it should be more properly Snow Maze. it's a period piece set in 1997 and it's produced by ZHANG YIMOU which must be why the production values are actually good??? anyway i am here to tell you all about it and why you should be watching it okay here we go

first of all there's a big hot dumb cop, zheng bei. yes that's huang jingyu and you might not like him because of his apparently quite sketchy personal life but all i care about in this case is that he's tall, and thoughtful, and a police captain who's protective of his people and a little bit of an idiot. my catnip tbh. (i guess he was in addicted too? somehow breaking the you-can-only-be-in-one-BL rule?)

(ETA that by "dumb" of course he's not dumb at all, only by comparison; cf. my own stupid meta on this fascinating topic)

then there's an effete genius consultant, gu yiran (wang ziqi), who knows everything there is to know about drugs. he comes from the south to help these ignorant northerners form an anti-narcotics unit. he's such a massive nerd, the team doesn't like him until they realize that he runs 10k every morning and can outrun motorcycles and is actually quite useful. then suddenly it's no longer "gu-laoshi" but is all "ran-ge" this and "ran-ge" that. he can't dance for shit. i adore him.

there's a superb seven-samurai style Assembling The Team sequence in which this cop is brought in as the muscle. Her nickname is mad dog yao and she kicks the ass of an entire club at one point. we love her. her only problem is that, not unlike zhang haixing in tibetan sea flower, she will in fact fight a wall. here's gu yiran's face after a drug dealer mistakenly underestimates her and she stomps on him.

one of my favorite things about this drama so far is how poor the police are. it's 1997 in a dinky northern precinct and these cops ain't got shit. no computers. rudimentary cellphones. barely any forenic analysis, and most of that is on pieces of paper. no bullpen. no interrogation rooms. they have to interview suspects at their desks.

captain zheng is so underpaid he can't even afford a real pointer for his situation board, he has to go outside and get a literal stick.

drives his dad's chicken delivery van. has to slam himself against the front door to open it. everything about this is absolutely perfect.

i'm only on episode 7 but this shit is already brotastic. please behold:

yes that is an actual line from the show. yes gu yiran has to live with captain zheng, they can't afford fancy accommodations for him. turns out there's a trundle bed made out of paper clips but that's okay, they still get plenty of cosy domestic time together.

and that's also what i already love about this drama—in spite of being about anti-narcotics, it's also very slice of life, very daily city life, with meals and neighbors and friends and family and did i mention food, there is so much eating in this drama. it's gorgeous. also i'm improving my colloquial chinese by leaps and bounds.

of course you are you stupid service top, now take care of the baby.

and those are just some of the reasons why you should be watching the first shot, which is funny and suspenseful and unexpectedly brainy and well-cast and has beautiful opening credits. there are 19 episodes on youku's youtube channel right now and the subs are shockingly high quality. i'm hooked, and also so mad at my day job because i can't just binge it, pls join me in this handbasket

[conscbgb]

Just a reminder that tomorrow 20/04 Youku VIP Subscriber will be able to WATCH EPISODES 10+11+12 UNCUT VERSION buying the express package in addition to their VIP sub

It's gonna be a loooooooooong saturday 😎🙌

[renshengs]

Hi!! I see you post occasionally about cdramas. I went to China this summer and I learned a little Mandarin (like enough to say, “I don’t speak good Mandarin.”) Would I be able to muddle through cdramas with captions? (Also any suggestions on which ones to watch and where to watch them?). Thanks so much <3

ooh i hope you had lots of fun there! with subtitles i think you could absolutely make it through most cdramas; it depends on how good the subs are, honestly, because alas translating mandarin chinese to english (or any latin-based language, for that matter) is i think one of the most difficult language translations possible because the chinese language is just so rife with chengyu (idioms).

as for recs, i do have a handful i watched recently enough that i feel more confident in trusting my own taste LOL. i almost exclusively watch historical dramas, so these are definitely going to be very skewed to my personal preferences.

also, this will be long because i love my cdramas. bear with me!

word of honor/山河令 (2021)

episodes: 36

genre: wuxia (chinese martial arts fantasy; think of crouching tiger hidden dragon), dangai (cdrama adapted from a chinese gay romance novel), adventure, political intrigue

arguably the most explicitly gay cdrama that's come out in the last decade despite censorship issues in chinese tv broadcasting

a lonely ex-assassin retires and begins a slow 1-year suicide by poison, but his death plan is interrupted by a flirtatious (& dangerous) man with a mysterious background + a newly orphaned kid he accidentally becomes responsible for. cue politics and drama!

if you don't mind dealing with low-budget CGI—though the show is so immersive it hardly makes a difference—the story features: fascinating & subversive themes about life & morality, a well-written cast of bloodthirsty women, an incredibly charming found family, and an absolutely fantastic, dramatic, devoted slow burn between the two male leads

if you prefer more mature romance—lots of flirting & sexual tension between two highly intelligent & capable men who are 1) attracted to each other from the get-go 2) constantly trying to outmaneuver each other & figure each other out... this is the one!

if it means anything, i am recommending this one first because it's my all-time favorite cdrama! especially if you are queer like me :)

you can watch it subtitled on netflix or fully free & subtitled in HD on the official youku youtube channel

the double/墨雨云间 (2024)

episodes: 40

genre: historical, romance, political intrigue

if you too are tired of stories about shallow, badly-written girlbosses with no dimension... this is the show for you!

protagonist is a happy woman who gets framed for adultery & buried alive by her husband—she survives and returns to enact revenge upon those who hurt her & her loved ones by assuming the identity of the young woman who died saving her. she makes many enemies and allies along the way + catches the attention of the emperor's notoriously cold & keen-eyed right hand man, duke su, who eventually becomes her very supportive love interest <3

high stakes & a plot that makes you hold your breath, GORGEOUS cinematography

a long list of complex and important female characters, most of them nasty and corrupt, all of them sympathetic and interesting. the show is good at making you assume at first that their characters won't be done justice, but just wait :)

from your resident het romance skeptic: excellent dynamic! protagonist and her duke are both confident, calculating schemers always trying to outsmart each other, but eventually join hands against common enemies. extremely slow burn with lots of tension and a refreshing lack of miscommunication

you can watch with subtitles on netflix, youku, and definitely some p/racy sites for east asian dramas

mysterious lotus casebook/莲花楼 (2023)

episodes: 40

genre: wuxia, adventure, mystery

a heroic & famous swordsman suffers a defeat at the hands of his nemesis and vanishes and is widely presumed dead. timeskip a decade, he's been living in disguise as a doctor to escape the burden of his identity when the past he's been hiding from starts to catch up to him when he scams a talented & stubborn young swordsman whose past is connected to his

if you like sly 30 yr old protagonists, identity shenanigans, & mystery-solving with gay polycule undertones, this is the one for you!

as for potential shipping: if you like age gap stuff and/or devoted puppyboys and/or "A has idolized B (adult) since they were a child; now A is grown-up and wants to protect B" trope. OR if you like 30 yr old nemeses who act divorced. the 3 main guys all have chemistry; pick and choose your ship at will!

to save text, last year i made a passionate powerpoint post explaining the whole show, spoiler-free, in more detail!

you can watch it with subtitles on iqiyi for free or on aforementioned [redacted] sites

love between fairy and devil/苍兰诀 (2022)

episodes: 36

genre: romance, xianxia (chinese high fantasy), adventure

high budget CGI? in MY cdrama? it's more likely than you think!

please ignore the horrendous english title. a translation of the original chinese would be "the parting/goodbye of canglan", canglan being the main characters. the story is tragic but ends happily!

on the surface appears like an old-fashioned good girl x bad boy love story, but is far more emotionally interesting & 100% deserving of its sheer popularity

brave & kindhearted low-ranking 1,500 yr old orchid fairy spirit accidentally soulbonds with a 30,000 yr old demon lord war prisoner who just happens to be the nemesis of her realm, except she reaps all the benefits and he just suffers (hilariously)

very star-crossed, VERY funny bodyswapping, & with far more heart and consistency than many people assume. the romance is difficult in ways that make sense! genuinely thought my picky ass would not be charmed by this show and found myself fully crying by episode 8

oh, and gloriously stunning costuming. everyone looks good, all the time, even when they're covered in blood <3

if you're interested, here is the powerpoint post that convinced me!

you can watch with subtitles on netflix, or iqiyi & viki for free!

a journey to love/一念关山 (2023)

episodes: 40

genre: historical, romance, adventure, political intrigue

also female-centric! an infamous and deeply complex assassin protagonist hellbent on revenge against the people who framed her finds herself making a deal to train a timid princess into becoming a political force of nature, ft. her supportive and equally capable male love interest, his group of incredibly lovable and memorable best bros, a gorgeous cutthroat young marquis with an oedipus complex & a complicated backstory (who absolutely steals the show whenever he shows up), & a headstrong tomboy princess with a sweet and loyal heart

a fast-paced plot that never drags + excellent soundtrack + incredible action scenes + a genuinely convincing crossdressing plot where the female character actually passes as a man

unreasonably funny considering the political drama. i truly cannot understate how Fun this was to watch, especially if you like deadly domineering women who are badly socialized and hilarious, and female characters establishing positive and meaningful bonds with each other.

if you've never watched a cdrama, i will warn that most of them Do Not Pull Their Punches when it comes to making viewers cry. this one has shakespearian tragedy levels of death, including of major characters

you can watch with subtitles on iqiyi, and i'm sure some [redacted] sites also

hoping this list can be of help to you, anon! i cannot state how happy it makes me to see anyone express an interest in watching cdramas. i grew up on them, their long dramatic storylines and star-crossed romances, and they shaped my taste in fiction in more ways than i can say. if at any point you get around to watching any of these, feel free to yell in my inbox about it, and most importantly have fun and enjoy! <3

[minsarasarahair]

Reasons why you must watch Shao Nian Ge Xing donghua (Me trying to convince people)

Its free. You can bingewatch it in Youku animation or Bilibili youtube channel with english subs. Its very accessible for international watchers.

Its ongoing and has already 3 related donghua. Aside from main story, you have the assassins' own spin-off and prequel about uncles' youth story.

Its a must watch if you like handsome characters, and bromance. Like I feel Xiao Se and Wuxin look gayer in the donghua. They have a scene in the donghua that was deleted. It just means it look too gay so they deleted it. I remember watching that scene but I can't find that particular scene anymore. I'm definitely not delusional because they still show that scene in the donghua opening visuals. Its very real and not figment of my imagination.

One of the good coming-of-age Wuxia donghua out there. The fighting scenes are so good. You can really feel that they are powerful characters. If they are a threat or a veteran, that's definitely the aura they gave you.

Did you know the drama adaption used the storyboard of the donghua for the earlier episodes and the donghua's theme song? Meaning the donghua is that good if the storyboard and theme song can be use again. It has great useable value and donghua has established good reputation.

Dark River in the donghua is so good in terms of character designs and compelling complex agenda. They have the coolest character introduction ever.

Xiao Se in the donghua is more sassy, has older friend vibe and has attitude problem. The drama tone it down, of course. His facepalm, the way he squint, his droopy eyes and the way he raise his eyebrows are very entertaining to watch.

They don't force the romance in your face. They slowly introduce Qianluo as Xiao Se's love interest and at the same time they show how the characters have great brotherhood with his friends. I think I ship the bickering dynamic of Qianluo and Xiao Se in the donghua but never in the drama.

The battle of the 3 Princes in donghua is like a cautious chess game. It don't feel like a fight between 3 siblings but more like a fight among 3 ambitious people who know their own goals. Their drama version is more straightforward. The emperor is still biased for Xiao Se so even if they are against Xiao Se, I can't help but sympathize with them.

They have strong female characters. Yes, they are the love interest but they have their own story to tell and can stand out on their own as characters. For example, Ye Ruoyi actually want Xiao Se to join the battle for the throne because she support him even if she's also Lei Wujie's love interest.

The 3D animation is quite decent. I actually watched this before so I can get used to 3D donghua as preparation for SVSSS donghua. As my first 3D donghua, this is definitely a good experience.

Its a good mix of court politics and jianghu politics. If you ask why jianghu play a big role in the story, the King of Langya(Xiao Se's uncle executed because of a crime accusation) is like a bridge to Jianghu and Palace. Since the emperor ordered to kill him, it heavily affected the jianghu because that's like their friend and you killed him so they obviously felt betrayed. Xueyue city is protective of Xiao Se because he's close with his uncle and he questioned the emperor's decision back then that resulted him being exiled and assassinated that destroyed his martial arts core.

[just-misheru]

BLs currently On Air

A brief description of the BLs currently on air and my thoughts, in alphabetical order. I will try to keep this updated (May 4th). Contains spoilers!

🇯🇵 At 25:00 in Akasaka | episodes 3/10 on Gagaoolala

Shirasaki is cast in his first main acting role, a BL with his fellow University classmate Hayama, now a big star. He soon finds himself confused and conflicted as he struggles to keep his emotions towards Hayama contained on screen.

Watching the first two episodes I wasn't sure if I would love these two. Shirasaki began as the typical awkward and terrified jbl character that's never had a relationship. Hayama was almost watching him from a distance. By episode 3 these two really begin to get comfortable with one another. I have high hopes with 7 episodes still to go.

🇰🇷 Be Brave Boys! | episodes 4/8 Rakuten Vikki

Jin woo has a crush on Ki Sub and has managed to keep it a secret until they live together.

I'm really conflicted about this series. There are parts of it Ilike and I don't know if it's the dodgy subtitles but some of the dialogue is confusing. Why can't the main couple just be honest with each other? I will keep watching as I'm curious and I like the second couple.

🇰🇷 Blue Boys | episodes 3/4 on SukFilm YouTube

Two friends from high school meet again as adults and get together. However there is a misunderstanding between them that threatens their relationship.

The episodes are short but these boys make those 10 minutes worth it. They have great chemistry, fantastic kissing and come accross very natural together.

🇰🇷 City Boy Log | on cityboy_log YouTube

Vlog style scripted BL following idols Jaejun and Jihan.

I still love this chaotic duo and watching them in their boyfriend era. It's nice to have them back. Great chemistry and realistic acting.

🇯🇵 Living With Him | episodes 4/8 on Gagaoolala

Ryota moves out for the first time and shares his apartment with his childhood friend Kazuhito. Their relationship develops as they begin to care more about each other.

If you want to watch something that is cute and honest then this one is for you. These boys are refreshing to watch as there is no messing around, no pointless side plots; it's just two childhood friends developing feelings for one another.

🇹🇭 My Stand In | episodes 2/12 on iQIYI

Joe, a stuntman for a famous actor called Tong, meets Ming by chance. The two have a deep relationship but what Joe doesn't realise is that he is a replacement for Tong, who Ming has feelings for. Joe is involved in accident and wakes up in another body, a man also named Joe. Joe meets Ming again.

This series won't be for everyone, especially if red flag characters and toxic relationships are not your thing. I'm enjoying it so far. I can't wait to watch Ming realise what he has lost and for Joe to make him work for that forgiveness.

🇹🇭 Wandee Good Day | episodes 1/12 on GMMTV

Drunk with a broken heart Dr. Wandee goes from darling to daring, entangling himself with Muay Thai fighter Yoyak. A one-night stand somehow turns into friends with benefits. However feelings begin to develop that neither will dare to accept.

The male leads are gorgeous with great chemistry. Are there cringe scenes? Most definitely, but it works with this series. I love their characters especially Dr Wanadee, and I'm looking forward to seeing how things progress. I'm a little annoyed we had all that spicyness and no kissing yet.

Not Currently Watching (On Air)

🇹🇭 We Are | episodes 5/12 on GMMTV

🇹🇭 Love Is Like A Cat | episodes 10/12 on Rakuten Viki

🇹🇭 Two Worlds | episodes 8/10 on iQIYI

🇹🇭 City Of Stars | episodes 12/12 on iQIYI

🇹🇭 Only Boo | episodes 4/12 on GMMTV

🇨🇳 Inverse Identity | episodes 2/9 on PPeach app

🇨🇳 The Spirealm | episodes 38/38 on Rakuten Viki

Just Finished

🇹🇼 Unknown | episodes 12/12 on YouKu

🇹🇭 To Be Continued | episodes 8/8 on Netflix (vpn)

🇰🇷 Grey Shelter | episodes 5/5 on iQIYI

🇹🇭 Deep Night | episodes 8/8 on iQIYI

[pangzi]

For those watching The Blood of Youth, the last scene of the novel isn't included in the last episode but Youku (China) has uploaded it as an extra clip. I promise you, you'll want to see it. I don't know if Youku will upload it with subs on YouTube or the app once all episodes are out but right now it's quite easy to find if you search '少年歌行 复活彩蛋'

UPDATE: you can watch it subtitled and in better quality here

Another update: The “extra” episodes seem to have been uploaded to youku as well. I don’t have youku vip so I cannot check but I assume it’s this clip + the zyz/lhy scene

[notfreetoday]

China's censorship of Justice in the Dark - some FAQ

photo cr @ 白夜飛行家 on weibo

Also known as The Abyss/Mo Du/Silent Reading (link goes to a great carrd made by a Mo Du fan) by Priest, the same author who brought us Guardian. The show was dropped on Youku China on the 18th of February and is now on Youku International (VIP needed from ep 3 onwards). 8 episodes have been released. There is no official release schedule yet, though the rumour is 5 episodes every Saturday at 10am China time. Total of 30 episodes, ending on the 11th of March (Yes rumours are this specific).

The English subs are AI generated, and they are not great. I hope they improve the subs as the show gains traction. (I watch on the China ver of the app, but I'll post any egregarious subbing errors if I come across them)

Changes made from the novel

The title, character names and premise has been changed. The ages of the some of the side characters/victims have also been changed. It's clear that scenes have been re-edited and re-dubbed, because some dialogue doesn't match the lip movements (WOH flashbacks anyone?) This is all to get pass censorship. A lot of the story, including the dialogue, has been preserved, and the changes aren't jarring.

Seems like there was a lot of uproar regarding the changes?

The show has been trending on weibo every day since it dropped, for good and bad reasons. Many book fans were upset with the changes on Day 1 and didn't bother watching pass the introduction of the premise, and there were complaints about the suitability of the actors' looks. By Day 2 the comments turned to "hey this isn't so bad??" And now everyone is just badgering youku for the next few episodes, cause they've literally released nothing else about the show since they dropped the episodes.

Has the story been sacrificed to pass censorship?

After watching 8 ep, I don't believe so. The novel covers sociopathy and the darkness of humanity - the show uses a "nuclear accident" as a reason for "genetic changes" in 1.3% of the population - causing these people to lose the ability to empathise with others. This is actually a very smart move because by blaming everything on a fictional, genetic mutation, the show can actually get away with showing the darker, more questionable parts of humanity, without having to censor it too much. The first case of the show mentions drugs and even has a short clip that heavily implies someone seizing from an overdose (you'll miss it if you aren't paying attention). There are underaged victims, and if they continue in this vein there will be more trigger warning worthy scenes from the book included. These things just don't get shown or talked about in c dramas - even if we don't talk about the BL, it's pretty crazy they managed to get this stuff out after the recent censorship changes.

Is the BL still.... there?

There are 8 episodes out so far and to me, it's working. We're not talking WOH level of chemistry here, but ep 3 onwards is when our CP starts paying more attention to each other. There is more than enough "candy" to find if you know what you're looking for. That said, it is not and will never be BL, just an adaptation.

Ok what am I looking for?

Glad you asked! Take for example the show's name change - from 深渊 (shen yuan) to 光•渊 (guang • yuan).

深 - deep 渊 - deep (often referring to a pool, so a deep dark pool, like in a cave) Shen Yuan comes from the novel and is translated as The Abyss, and represents Fei Du (Pei Su in the show)

光 - bright light Guang•Yuan is not a proper term by itself - it's a mash up of the words for bright light and deep pool. The light represents Luo Wenzhou (Luo Weizhao in the show), the one beam of light that penetrates Fei Du's darkness. Hence the English name "Justice in the Dark" is a pretty good translation.

The new names of the characters are Pei Su 裴溯 and Luo Weizhao 骆为昭. See the last character of each name? Su has the radical 月, for Moon in it, and Zhao has the radical 日, for Sun in it. The moon is considered Yin, and the sun is Yang. Together, they are Yin and Yang.

Hey maybe you think that's pushing it, but welcome to the life of a BL adaptation fan 🤣🤣