#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.

[zhongwans]

The Legend of Anle 安乐传 just started airing!

[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?

[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.

[lizzymayi]

Consort Meng Arrives

I am endlessly amused by this Cdrama sitcom made on a budget of $5. It understands its purpose, executes as well as it could, and brings simple enjoyment. I really love that everyone acts poorly on purpose. I find that so funny for some reason. Anyway, if you manage to get past the few eps with some ridiculous subs, it's mindless dumb laughs. I appreciate you, Consort Meng, because I just cannot handle anything serious in my brain right now.

[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

[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

[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 😎🙌

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Blossoming Love (2025)

Gifs of Intro of cdrama "The Blossoming Love"

【ENG SUB】 The Blossoming Love EP01 | Zhang Binbin / Sun Zhenni / Wang Duo | 千朵桃花一世开 | YOUKU

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW3VeTL2nXI

[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 🤣🤣

[wenella]

EN subbed vid (Aug 25): Lost in the Stars Youku Exclusive BTS video Zhu Yilong cut. Several adorable moments!

CSC to ZYL: “If you were a share, I’d invest in you immediately” 😂

Also, ZYL tries to bite Du Jiang’s fingers 😂

[canary3d-obsessed]

Hi!!! I am a big fan of your Untamed Restless Rewatch Series and have followed it for a while now! I don't know if you will see this message anytime soon, but I wanted to ask if you could recommend a place to watch Guardian (2018)? I started watching it on Bilibili and the English captions are... terrible. I feel like I am not getting the true experience of the show because of it. If you could point me in a direction, I would really appreciate it! Thanks in advance and you are so awesome!!

If you have a VPN or are outside the US, and you subscribe to Youku international, you supposedly can watch it there with subs. Or you can download the eps without subs and use Plex or another video program on a PC to match up downloaded subs. I get subs from subscene.com - https://subscene.com/subtitles/guardian-zhen-hun has guardian subs. You can also just open the sub files in a text editor and read along while the show is running, although that is obviously not ideal. To download the episodes you'd need to torrent them, most likely, or screen scrape them from bilibili. When I watched it initially it was on Viki, but it's not there any more...it may come back eventually, they cycle things in and out. Sorry I don't have a better answer!

[shijiujun]

光渊 Justice in the Dark | Silent Reading / Abyss / Modu 默读 LA Review

Summary:

Luo Weizhao (in the novel Luo Wenzhou) is a seasoned police officer together with his partner Tao Ze (in the novel Tao Ran), and they get entangled in several cases that seemingly have nothing to do with each other, together with a younger man they’ve known for seven years, Pei Su (in the novel Fei Du). 

Total Episodes: 

30 in total, each around 50-55 min long. Pacing is not very tight though, which might make the drama a tad bittt boring for those not committed to it lols.

Where to Watch:

Subs are up on Youku international already so go go go.

Novel - Drama Differences:

The plot in terms of cases FOLLOWS for now (in the first 8 episodes from what I can see) with the novel. There are a few setting differences which I have no idea what for, but whatever right, and I don’t think it really affects the plot or the gay itself, but if you’re a real lover idk if you guys got a pet peeve with this:

Set in the future: Like idek why it’s set in the future in a new era cuz there’s nothing different about this era in terms of look or technology, if i had to make a comment it’d probably be that they REGRESSED in time cuz they’re using fucking blackberry and like PSP 

Genetic/Eugenics: There’s now a new category of people who are prone to crimes because they got this gene thing or some mutation argh whatever the hell because they cannot decide how they want to explain this or weave this in properly?? LIKE IDGI and it’s never been a genes vs. nurturing kind of thing ya know, so they’re making it super clear cut for some reason i.e. genetics has been an underlying theme that was reserved for Fei Du and his dad, but suddenly it’s like a whole new race of people like wtf

Everyone’s names are different including the cat’s, BLASPHEMY

CGI Effects: OH SWEET JESUS they green screened RAIN and a CAKE splattering in a fight and BUILDINGS from the top of a building AND THEY DID NOT DO IT WELL we are back at Guardian era CGI and green screen

Gaymeter:

I’d say it’s still there, all the cute moments between Zhoudu and Tao Ran + Fei Du are still there. I assume they’ll continue to adhere to some of it.

How are the actors:

ZXC: He’s great but no one is happy with his wardrobe like as someone on weibo put it, he’s basically like... a young master who’s choosing to dress like his butler, cannot unsee - but he’s pretty as fuck, and he’s very Fei Du, except for the fact that he agrees that people commit crimes because of that gene which is sort of different from what the underlying message of Modu has always been

FXB: He’s okay looking tbh but LWZ in my head was like super fit, a bit older but also like a young DILF type, the current LWZ steps a tad bit into uncledom

Tao Ran: ABSOLUTELY spot on and he’s damn cute too

[blackmoonlightexpress]

TTEOTM Promotional Videos

Note: Videos uploaded to Youku's official Youtube usually have English subtitles but occasionally inferior background music. I've included the Weibo link when there is a difference or the video is not uploaded to Youtube.

*Recommended to watch first

Trailers

Trailer 2 (emotional journey)*: Weibo, Youtube (Eng sub)

Trailer 1 (FX & big sequences)*: Weibo, Youtube, (different BGM, Eng sub)

Concept Trailer: Weibo, Youtube

Production Specials

Costume*: Youtube

Art Direction*: Youtube

Concept Art / World View*: Weibo

Production*: Weibo

Stunts*: Weibo

Special Effects*: Weibo

Director: Youtube

Finale: Weibo, Youtube

Relationship & Character Specials

Relationships: Tantai Jin & Li Susu (Youtube), Ye Bingchang & Xiao Lin (Weibo)

Characters: Tantai Jin (Youtube), Li Susu (Youtube), Ye Bingchang (Youtube), Xiao Lin (Youtube), Pianran (Youtube), Ye Qingyu (Youtube)

Finale: Weibo, Youtube

Music Videos

My World - Opening Credits (Youtube)

Black Moonlight - End Credits (Youtube)

Mystic Bird (Youtube)

Forever in Love (Youtube)

Early Teasers

Wrap Video: First Look* (Youtube), Luo Yunxi (Youtube), Bai Lu (Youtube)

Poster Shooting: Weibo (better music), Youtube

Birthday Specials: Luo Yunxi (Youtube, Weibo), Bai Lu (Youtube)

[barananduen-blog]

I'm really enjoying "Bell Ringing" so far.

The episodes are 20-25 mins long (not counting OP/ED), and they're written and strung together very nicely, so you don't have that choppiness and plot shallowness that you sometimes get with mini dramas. In this sense, it reminds me of another MangoTV mini that I watched and really enjoyed: "A Familiar Stranger," though the eps there were half as long.

The subtitles are very good. I know this is a common complaint about Mango dramas (I myself have dropped some of theirs because of this), but this problem is just not there this time. They've done a very good job. Sometimes, you get a word that doesn't seem to fit, but it doesn't affect comprehension, and it's fixed by the next day (I see the same with Youku dramas). I watch on Mango's website, but I was just now re-checking some scenes on the uploads on their YouTube channel and that's where I noticed the corrections. I haven't gone back to see if they did the same to the site subs. Note: the YT eps do have that thing networks do that make it occasionally go silent for a few minutes (the subtitles do continue, though, so you don't really miss out).

The modern timeline is the main plot, while scenes from ancient times are woven in as flashbacks, and we learn more about what happened back then as the episodes progress.

Visuals-wise, it is very pretty. From my limited experience with Mango dramas, they do seem to know how to do post-processing for aesthetic ambiance well. Also, if you're like me and enjoy flower shots, there are lots of them here! (Real flowers! Not plastic ones! XD) The story takes place in a rural island and Shen Qi (played by Song Fangyuan) is a flower seller. There are literally bouquets and flower pots everywhere, as well as pretty leafy plants and cute mushrooms.