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reinaka42 · 5 months

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Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) Masterpost

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) is a Vocal synth (Vocaloid and SynthV) music project. It consists of songs themed around different figures throughout Chinese history. The project is a collaboration between different artists and creatives, with music and videos featuring prominent traditional Chinese elements. The project's title translates to "The Records of Magnificence of the Wangchuan" - In Chinese mythology, "Wangchuan" (or River of Forgetting) is a river in the Underworld that can rid one of their past life's memories, similar to the river Lethe.

A mobile game adaptation has also been developed by NetEast. Unfortunately, I haven't played it so I can't give much insight on it. However, I assume that its premise is similar to that of the idea behind the project as a whole: all these historical figures meeting each other in the Underworld after they died. Maybe.

You can find all the songs on Bilibili. The official Weibo can be found here. The game's website, which includes all characters appearing so far in the game, can be found here, and its Weibo can be found here.

(If you prefer YouTube, I've also put together a handy playlist. Please know that most of these videos are reposts though, so please watch the original Bilibili MVs if you can!)

This blog is where I will be posting everything I feel like I need to say about the songs in this project. A lot of it is lifted from my Twitter account but will be in much more detail. Note that I probably won't touch collab songs, or songs that don't focus solely on the project's own characters.

Disclaimer: I do not speak Chinese, nor am I an expert on Chinese history. Therefore, I cannot reliably translate the lyrics to these songs, nor my words should be taken as gospel. I am merely a nerd gushing about my hyperfixation.

Playlist

多情岸【Duo Qing An】 ➼ B link

洛阳怀【Luo Yang Huai】 ➼ B link

易水诀【Yi Shui Jue】 ➼ B link

山河令【Shan He Ling】 ➼ B link

簪花人间【Zhan Hua Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

栖凰【Qi Huang】 ➼ B link

心上秋【Xin Shang Qiu】 ➼ B link

祖龙吟【Zu Long Yin】 ➼ B link

如见青山【Ru Jian Qing Shan】 ➼ B link

竹林间【Zhu Lin Jian】 ➼ B link

天下局【Tian Xia Ju】 ➼ B link

青鸟衔风【Qing Niao Xian Feng】 ➼ B link

木兰行【Mu Lan Xing】 ➼ B link

好字唯之【Hao Zi Wei Zhi】 ➼ B link

不可道【Bu Ke Dao】 ➼ B link

水叙湖风【Shui Xu Hu Feng】 (collab) ➼ B link

是非【Shi Fei】 ➼ B link

风起甘露【Feng Qi Gan Lu】 (collab) ➼ B link

谓剑【Wei Jian】 ➼ B link

万象霜天【Wan Xiang Shuang Tian】 (New Year event song) ➼ B link

千秋梦【Qian Qiu Meng】 ➼ B link

易安难安【Yi An Nan An】 ➼ B link

惊鹊【Jing Que】 ➼ B link

高歌破阵【Gao Ge Po Zhen】 (collab) ➼ B link

不赴【Bu Fu】 ➼ B link

西行【Xi Xing】 ➼ B link

大航海家【Da Hang Hai Jia】 ➼ B link

牡丹乱【Mu Dan Luan】 (collab) ➼ B link

倾国【Qing Guo】 (collab) ➼ B link

相虎【Xiang Hu】 ➼ B link

补天裂【Bu Tian Lie】 ➼ B link

此期盈期【Ci Qi Ying Qi】 (1st anniversary song) ➼ B link

破云来【Po Yun Lai】 ➼ B link

归钓吟【Gui Diao Yin】 ➼ B link

始见千秋【Shi Jian Qian Qiu】 ➼ B link

临川浮梦【Lin Chuan Fu Meng】 ➼ B link

将军行【Jiang Jun Xing】 ➼ B link

妄语人间【Wang Yu Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

数风流【Shu Feng Liu】 (2nd anniversary song) ➼ B link

问剑春秋【Wen Jian Chun Qiu】 ➼ B link

起战令【Qi Zhan Ling】 ➼ B link

人间应又雪【Ren Jian Ying You Xue】 ➼ B link

旷古回响【Kuang Gu Hui Xiang】 ➼ B link

墨隐侠声【Mo Yin Xia Sheng】 ➼ B link

桃源故人【Tao Yuan Gu Ren】 (3rd anniversary song) ➼ B link

*Note: The anniversary songs are probably for the game's anniversaries, as the project itself is more than 5 years old.

Albums

Vol 1: 溯洄【Su Hui】 Includes character songs from Duo Qing An to Zhu Lin Jian. Features human vocals.

Vol 2: 踏浪【Ta Lang】 Includes character songs from Tian Xia Ju to Jing Que.

Vol 3: 数风流【Shu Feng Liu】 Includes character songs from Bu Fu to Wang Yu Ren Jian, an unreleased song titled 燕双归【Yan Shuang Gui】, and the two anniversary songs.

Visual character guide:

#忘川风华录 #wang chuan feng hua lu #wcfhl #chinese music #vocasynth #vocaloid #synthv #vocaloid project #synth v project #synthesizer v #vocal synths #long post #this is the culmination of a 3 year brainrot #i will try my best

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skullsandwineglasses · 2 years

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Immortal Samsara (2022) - Review

Who is this drama for? I wouldn’t recommend this drama for first time xianxia watchers since there are better ones, nor would I recommend it to veteran xianxia watchers precisely because there are better ones.

This was a frustratingly slow and draggy drama to watch, but I can’t deny that there are some good moments that I did really enjoy. I’ve defended this drama, but I’ve also went on a lot of rants about this drama.

My take-home advice is to give the first 11 episodes a shot. These 11 episodes will make or break the drama for you. The entire story basically hinges on whether you believe in the chemistry between the main ship up until this point. If you’re not feeling the main couple by then, you’re not going to find the mental perseverance to get through the remaining 48 episodes.

Episode 15 is when the “turning point” happens, i.e., when the FL Yan Dan yeets herself off a cliff. You know, the typical maneuver that xianxia FLs do in hopes of ending the pain, but it instead just leads her into her second arc. The FL continues suffering until episode 18. The main leads don’t reunite in the mortal realm until episode 22. In the meantime, the SML is given a chance (a whole 4 episodes) to develop his relationship for the FL. He becomes almost insignificant for the rest of the drama (more about his laughably poor characterization later).

Plot

The beginning of this drama makes you feel deja vu if you’ve watched other xianxias, There’s a cold and repressed god of war, a naive and innocent and bubbly young fairy, a jealous love rival, a jealous sister, and a heavenly rule that deities aren’t allowed to fall in love. It also felt like a harem drama at times, with two women scheming against the FL for the ML’s attention. In the background, there’s the typical war brewing between the heavenly and demon realms, but the war isn’t interesting enough to hold your attention. There’s no intrigue or suspense or stakes that are built up. The only intrigue there is is how the ML is the descendent of the Asura clan, and almost no one in the heavenly realm knows about this.

The SML is introduced as being unconditionally loyal to the FL, and we’re shown that the FL has a goal of her own: to become a renowned playwright.

What I do applaud this drama for is how the ML and SML never once believe in any of the schemes or accusations made against the FL, and even though the ML and SML are love rivals, they have a very supportive and brotherly relationship. No jealousy between them. So there are very little misunderstandings in this regard. The angst instead stems from a character’s decision of trying to protect another, but then inadvertently causing them pain.

It’s a very predictable xianxia with lots of tropes, and I’m not sure I would have watched it if it weren’t for Cheng Yi and Yang Zi.

This drama is mainly just Cheng Yi fan service tbh. I feel like Love and Redemption should almost be mandatory viewing to determine whether you like that kind of whumpy, tragic hero character, and then Ashes of Love being the second prerequisite to see if you like Yang Zi playing a naive and bubbly fairy (to her benefit, Yang Zi plays a much more self-aware character in Immortal Samsara). And then once you've warmed up to the idea of both actors being paired together in a frustratingly slow but deliciously angsty drama, then you can give this a shot.

As you can see, there are a lot of preconditions required in order to entertain the possibility of somewhat enjoying this drama.

But, the plot does take an interesting and somewhat unique turn between episodes 10 and 18. Ying Yuan, the ML, is injured, poisoned, blinded, and dying from the war. He hides from the heavenly realm and ties himself to the spirit tree in Diya (地崖) (which apparently translated as being the land under heaven based on subs I’ve seen, although I’d probably translate it to the “end of the earth/land”) in order to prevent himself from hurting others.

Yan Dan finds him, disguises her voice so that he doesn’t recognize her, but he does anyway and doesn’t tell her. They fall (more deeply) in love during their time together here until their blissful days come to a head when he can no longer contain the poison in his body.

Yan Dan gives him half her heart to save him, but her sister is accused of breaking heavenly rules. Yan Dan takes the blame and punishment instead, while her sister takes the credit. Yan Dan thinks that Ying Yuan has mistaken her sister for her and is heartbroken. Yan Dan is then further accused of another crime, and Ying Yuan decides that the best way to protect her is to agree to punish her (so that people won’t suspect that they’re in love with each other). But his secret plan is to waive the punishment anyway, but she doesn’t know that because he doesn’t tell her. Sound familiar? This is almost exactly what happens in Love and Destiny (ML plans to “execute” the FL so that she can go to the mortal realm, he informs of her the plan, but doesn’t realize that she has gone deaf by that point and so was not able to learn of his plan). Same thing happens in Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms where the ML thinks that taking the FL’s eyes is worth it if he can keep her alive. In Journey of Flower Bai Zi Hua punishes Hua Qian Gu with the sword he gifted her because it’s a less painful and damaging punishment than the nails.

In xianxia, the main angst comes from having to hurt the one you love in order to protect them. Very sadistic stuff. Choosing the lesser of two evils, but pain is pain.

While I’m usually fine with how this is done in other xianxias, I really dislike this trope in TMOPB. The ML still thinks he can continue to be with the FL after he takes her eyes and gives them to someone else in the name of trying to protect her. The audacity. (I still re-watch that scene from time to time though lol)

But in Immortal Samsara, the ML’s aim is make the FL fall out of love with him, which is why he’s keeping his distance (though failing) and why he says he’ll carry out the punishment but plans to wave it when they get on the execution stage.

And then where it gets especially juicy is when the FL throws herself off the bridge of oblivion. Sure, we’ve seen this happen many times before, even in non-xianxia dramas, but where this shakes you to the core is when the FL has to traverse the Forgetting River/River of Memories until she purges her memories from this life so that she can crossover and reincarnate into the mortal realm. But!! The FL is unable to forget, so she keeps walking this river for 900 years until she loses her sight and almost all of her senses and her shoes have long worn away, leaving her scraping barefoot on the rock and ice.

During this time, the ML was told that he can’t stay to watch her walk the river, because his presence would make it hard for her to forget. So he leaves, specifically requests to take the love punishment so that everyone knows he broke the heavenly rule of not falling in love, locks his memories of her in his immortal soul so that no one can take them away from him, re-seals the heavenly pillar that she used her energy to protect while he was off at war, and then finally falls into a 900-year coma because he’s basically lost the will to go on.

Her friend finds out she’s never been able to cross over during these 900 years, so he rushes to wake the ML up (with her sister’s help). The ML rushes to help her cross over before her soul is forever scattered and lost, and he is devastated by the sight of the state that she’s fallen in. He realizes that he’s made a huge mistake. He erases her memories of them so that she can cross over and be a carefree flower demon spirit in the mortal realm.

And this is where the drama peaked.

The FL truly does become a carefree flower demon spirit. She has no memories, no name, and no idea of what she is or where she came from. She doesn’t know what love and pain are, but she is determined to learn more about the human condition so that she can write better plays.

She bonds with the SML and then meets the ML again, who has reincarnated to the mortal realm without his memories. And history repeats itself. They fall in love again, in a similar enemies-to-lovers manner as when they were in the heavenly realm.

The drama becomes an adventure quest story in the mortal realm and takes a light-hearted turn. It’s almost as though the drama changed genres halfway through.

This would have been fine if the side stories were any good. But they were just so boring and didn’t contribute anything meaningful to the leads’ relationship development, despite the cute, funny, and playful interactions.

The mortal arc goes on until episode 38 (and beyond), which is the end of Part 1, where Yan Dan regains her memories. That’s 20 episodes of boring missions that the 3 leads go on. The only saving grace is their interactions with each other, but for one of the quests/mysteries, Yan Dan is turned into her flower form, so she’s not even there in person to interact with the ML and SML.

And then this drama goes even further downhill after episode 38. The mortal continues until episode 46 when Tang Zhou becomes Ying Yuan again. It becomes very clear who is the ultimate villain and mastermind is, but they keep dragging it out. There are long expositional speeches and monologues where everyone else just stands there and listens as the villains recounts what happened. There was a whole episode where they were just arguing with each other in the heavenly court. There’s another episode devoted to the the backstory of the ML’s parents, which probably would have been cut if Cheng Yi wasn’t the one playing the father. The main couple gets less and less screen time, and their chemistry wavers.

Editing gets weird and choppy where it’s obvious that chunks of the plot were cut out. But considering how unnecessarily draggy the drama already is despite all the cuts they made, I guess I shouldn’t be too critical of the editing. At least they tried to cut as much as they could without interrupting flow. It was messy, but the audience is smart enough to full in the gaps and guess what happened in the cut scenes.

And then there’s the logic. Or rather, lack of logic. When Yan Dan regains her memories, she seems to regain some of her immortal powers too? Just because she has knowledge of the spells and magic? Ying Yuan is able to destroy his immortal spirit and then re-cultivate it quickly enough to face the villain again? But then he needs to destroy it again to keep the peace between the realms? But then he cultivates it again to come back to life in the epilogue/extra scenes? So is it actually impossible for him to ever die? Is he just the most immortal of all immortals because he has mixed blood? What about Yan Dan then? How was she, a simple flower spirit, able to withstand that many inquiries and assault? Is it because she hails from the four-leaved lotus flower medicine clan? Lots of guess work here.

And apparently the heavenly emperor never truly died? His spirit was just locking the Asura blood in Ying Yuan? So once his spirit was released, he came back to life? I feel like they brought him back to life so that Ying Yuan didn’t have to take on the responsibility of being emperor.

And Lu Ming just died so unceremoniously? So easily? I also feel like Zhi Xi’s death also wasn’t necessary to hold off the fake heavenly emperor. It was just a plot device to finish off her redemption arc. But sure, I guess.

The ending is a hot mess. Why were Yan Dan and Ying Yuan wearing red like they were about to get married when they’re going into battle? The final face down with Huan Qin was so lacklustre. There was no buildup to a plan. They just suddenly knew what to do to take him down.

But, you can argue that you don’t watch xianxia for the intrigue or the villains. So how’s the romance?

Chemistry

It comes and goes. As someone who likes both Yang Zi and Cheng Yi, I went into this drama with the mindset of wanting to ship their characters. But the chemistry was slow to buildup. It took me 10 episodes before I was finally on board.

And then the chemistry broke down and restarted all over again in the mortal realm. Their initial meeting was...fine, I guess? I don’t know, I guess I just expected more angst and tension. There was a brief moment of recognition, especially on Tang Zhou’s part because she reminds him of the woman who haunts his dreams, but there was just something lacking here. But they do grow on you again as they interact with each other more.

And then the chemistry falls apart again after episode 38. I get that Yan Dan is repressing her feelings, but sometimes it’s hard to tell whether she still loves him or if she’s just helping him out of a sense of duty.

I heard the Ying Yuan isn’t the ML in the book but rather she ends up with Yu Mo. Maybe some of her indifference for Ying Yuan in the book carried over into the drama’s script, and so we get this hot and cold mess of unreadable emotions.

And then the chemistry just further deteriorates when the drama focuses less and less on Yan Dan and her love story and more on Ying Yuan’s parents and the villain’s story.

Overall, the chemistry is good once you accept it (I’ve been rewatching their scenes together several times already), but it could be better. It falters and is inconsistent. They made Yan Dan be detached and hesitant for far too long in the last half of the drama.

On the other hand, their chemistry in the BTS is great. I think the reason why I’ve been talking about the drama for this long is because the BTS are giving me extra content to watch. Yang Zi and Cheng Yi are hella comedic and chaotic when they’re together. Cheng Yi talks a mile a minute non-stop that sometimes Yang Zi can’t even catch up with him. It’s clear how comfortable he is working with an old friend.

Characters

Yan Dan

Honestly, probably the least interesting xianxia FL. While I appreciate that she has a non-romantic personal goal at the beginning of becoming a playwright, she seems to have completely abandoned this goal after episode 38 when things get “serious” and she regains her memories. I know that some people criticize her lack of physical growth because she doesn’t work on improving her powers and she always puts herself in situations to be rescued or protected, which in turns distracts the ML and SML and holds them back, but I can overlook that.

Instead, my issue with her character development is her loss of emotion, initiation, and passion. She becomes a more passive character in the second half, usually reacting to things. The times when she exerts the most agency is when she’s protecting the ML. She comes up with clever schemes that neither the ML or SML have thought of, but she takes a backseat to the ML’s story in the second half. She has little growth and no interesting backstory. She became more of a love interest for the ML by the end as opposed to a leading character.

I also don’t know if I’m convinced that Yan Dan would want to sacrifice herself to join Ying Yuan in death. At the beginning, sure, probably, but she’s been been through so much since then. But Yan Dan ends up destroying the half heart that her sister gave her. So who's gonna be left to remember her sister? And she literally promised 2 episodes ago that she'll appreciate life and live it to fullest on her behalf. And after nearly 20 episodes of indifference and hesitation towards Ying Yuan, Yan Dan finally realized how much she loves him and can't live without him? Couldn’t they have built this up more in the previous episode besides the single kiss they had, where she left immediately after?

But I feel like the drama is just biased towards the ML in general. I mean, Yu Mo's character was also reduced so significantly by the end. You can tell that they cut a lot of his scenes. They could have completely removed his character in the last few episodes and it probably wouldn't have affected the plot too much. So, bad character development is not exclusive to Yan Dan.

But I do think Yan Dan is a tolerable and watchable character. She doesn’t make frustrating decisions due to poor judgement, like the FLs do in Ashes of Love and Love and Redemption. Those FLs were very polarizing because their emotions and maturity were stunted at the beginning. Yan Dan is quite smart in comparison. She just doesn’t have a very interesting arc, because all the focus and resources have been directed towards the ML.

Yang Zi acted her heart out though. Despite the rumours that she didn’t want to do this drama and that she only did it because she was contractually obliged to, she really gave it her all and seemed to really enjoy herself on set. Much respect for acting the hell out of this and putting in her best into a bad script where she become the second fiddle to the ML by the end.

Ying Yuan/Tang Zhou

I mean, what is there really to criticize? YY/TZ tried his best and you really can’t blame him for anything that happened. Deities aren’t allowed to fall in love, but he did, and he tried his best to protect Yan Dan while still staying responsible to his duties to protect the Three Realms.

He couldn’t just abandon his duties to be with YD, and so he chose to let her go, which is a way of freeing her as well. I guess his biggest mistake was not checking the River of Memories sooner to make sure she really did cross over before falling into a coma. But I guess you wouldn’t have the angst otherwise.

I enjoyed Love and Destiny, but in that drama, the ML selfishly joined the FL in the moral realm to be with her, which ended up messing her emotionally. In Journey of Flower, the ML refuses to be together with the FL, but keeps her on a tight leash to supervisor her in the name of protecting the world from her.

Ying Yuan never thought about secretly keeping tabs and stalking Yan Dan. When he let her go, he truly wanted to let her go for her own good. He just never imagined that his memories would be forcefully blocked when he was sent to the mortal realm and end up falling for her again. (But I guess you can also make the argument that if had gone down with his memories in tact, he may not have resisted checking up on Yan Dan, since Lu Ming did tell him to look after Yan Dan).

In any case, Tang Zhou is who Ying Yuan truly wants to be. It’s the uninhibited version of himself, and his true self wants nothing other than to love and protect Yan Dan. A love letter to her.

Not once did he feel stifling, although others may disagree.

And Cheng Yi delivered everything. A performance that may rival his performance in LnR. He plays a similar whumpy, tragic hero. You see so many different emotional sides of him. He goes through so much growth, and it’s fun watching how stoic he is at the beginning and then flip to an episode where he’s playful and lovesick Tang Zhou and then flip to an episode where he’s back as Ying Yuan, but flirty.

Yu Mo

He’s neither a character that I like nor hate. He’s just kinda...there. He’s the most supportive supporting character who unconditionally protects Yan Dan, and eventually Ying Yuan as well. Heck, his last lines in the final episode were of him sprawled out on the ground screaming out their names. And he’s the one who safeguarded their incense burner with the remnants of their souls so that they could recultivate.

But he’s just such a bland character that I feel sorry for Ray Chang. The drama never gives him a chance. Ying Yuan is just too good that you never feel SML syndrome despite how wholesome Yu Mo is.

And it’s funny how there’s always a convenient excuse for Yu Mo to not join them so that they can get some alone time together.

YY/YD: We need to investigate!

Yu Mo: I’ll come too!

YY/YD: No, you need to stay back to look after the YeLan Mountain.

Yu Mo: You’re right! But be safe!

I read on comment on bilibili that was like, why did Yu Mo need to cut off his horn in order to smash through the heavenly seal? Why couldn’t he just bang his head against the dome? It’d have the same effect. I lol’d.

Other supporting characters: One-dimensional and predictable. Yan Dan’s sister Zhi Xi has a formulaic redemption arc.

The story of Ying Yuan’s parents is interesting, but it’s just more unnecessary narrative fat.

Music: Unremarkable. It doesn’t evoke the same swell of emotions or knot in your stomach that other xianxia OSTs do.

Overall:

It’s hard for me to recommend this drama in good conscience, especially with the way it ends. The extra 15 minutes don’t really make up for it. Definitely not for anyone who's never watched xianxia because I don’t know if it’ll ruin your impression of xianxias in general. If you're a fan of Yang Zi or Cheng Yi's previous xianxia dramas, then the first 18 episodes are worth a shot, and then the remaining should be skimmed with low expectations. It really tests your patience. I've been trying to defend it, but honestly it's not worth the time and mental energy. I also didn’t watch any other dramas while watching this, so it was easy for me to hyperfixate.

Pros: Lots of xianxia tropes (3 lives, memory loss, sacrifices, jumping off of high elevations due to a misunderstanding, the jealous but one-dimensional love rival), minimal misunderstandings (besides the turning point), no frustrating mistakes and decisions, good communication between characters, teamwork. The chemistry is good, but it’s contingent on the first 10 episodes.

Cons: A simple and predictable story, slow and draggy pacing, weird editing, questionable plot and character development, lots of unnecessary scenes and episodes. It’s not as nuanced or unique as Love and Redemption or Ancient Love Poetry.

But to its credit, Immortal Samsara is a lot more re-watchable than Ancient Love Poetry. I don’t think I’ve ever gone back to re-watch Ancient Love Poetry since finishing it, despite my praise for it when I watched it last year. Heck, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom is my least favourite xianxia and yet I’ve re-watched it a few times just for Yang Mi and Mark Chao. I guess the leads of ALP and their chemistry just don’t stand the test of time.

But Yang Zi and Cheng Yi’s characters in Immortal Samsara really grow on you, and I’ve re-watched their scenes dozen of times while waiting for new episodes while the drama was still airing. They can be playful and flirty and angsty, and I think their IRL friendship contributes to their onscreen chemistry.

Is Immortal Samsara worth watching? Again, I think the first 11 episodes are worth a shot. If it grows on you, then be prepared to skim through the next 48 episodes. If not, then at least you can say you tried. You’ll definitely be constantly comparing it to previous xianxias, but I think the drama finds its own footing by episode 10.

I think this drama really had potential. It’s got some good tropes. Some scenes are heartbreaking (lots of blood spitting, tears, pleading, longing), even to a veteran xianxia watcher. But I don’t think simply cutting scenes and episodes would have helped this drama. I mean, they’d already cut around 20 episodes, and the result is really choppy and illogical editing. A few major plot events should have been re-written in order to have more of an emotional impact.

#immortal samsara #agarwood like crumbs #沉香如屑 #yang zi #cheng yi #cdrama #xianxia

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maowbean · 1 year

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Thoughts on Immortal Samsara

SPOILERS

So I finally watched Immortal Samsara. I was worried that it was going to be ashes 2.0, and at first it did feel that way, but it quickly turned into its own story. Overall I enjoyed it. I'm glad I didn't watch it when I was watching fairy/devil as I do think this show may not live up to that same excitement. I think it is better than galaxy tho. I ended up reading the novel (Agarwood Like Crumbs) as well (an English translation, as I cannot read Chinese). I think I know why the drama ended the way it did, they seemed to have wanted it to end open ended. I am also glad they released those special episodes with Yan Dan and Ying Yuan reborn again.

I want to take a moment to appreciate the costumes. I think that the costumes were absolutely beautiful. Yan Dan was always stunning in her outfits. I love that each character had their own special motifs built into their costumes too.

I was definitely rooting for Tang Zhao during the mortal trials. That was probably my favorite parts in both the drama and novel. Mortal Tang Zhao was much more true to himself than Heavenly Emperor Ying Yuan. The drama's confession scene was so beautiful and heartbreaking.

I am just soooooooo SHOOK that Yan Dan ends up with Yu Mo in the novel! Did I read the wrong translation?? Like what?!

You Mo is probably the healthier choice, and maybe he was better for Yan Dan, but I high hopes for Tang Zhao.

I think both versions of the story had their pros and cons. But I felt like I wasted my time reading the novel when she didn't even end up with Ying Yuan/Tang Zhao in the end. I feel like he was so much more forgiveable in the novel than the drama, so it just made scene to me that they would work out.

I think that Yang Zi's acting has improved since ashes and hope that she will continue to bring out lovely fantasy dramas. For a bit it seemed like she was always playing the same character, but I'm glad that she has improved. I wish all her fantasy boyfriends luck as she seems to enjoy stabbing them all in the heart.

This is the first drama I have seen Cheng Yi in. AND I AM HOOKED. I will be looking for all his dramas to watch, so excited. Um have you ever seen a man cry that beautifully? It seems like he always has angsty roles? Oh boy.

And man the "sexy daddy arc?" Woo, so good. Cheng Yi was soo damn fine during that arc. Unfortunately, that didn't happen in the novel. There was actually a lot of stuff in the drama that did not happen in the novel. But that's why you just gotta explore it all.

Anyone want to talk about Asian drama? Hit me up!

Thanks for listening to my Ted talk, byeee

#cheng yi #yang zi #immortal samsara #agarwood #agarwood like crumbs #yan dan #ying yuan #tang zhao #yu mo #asian drama #chinese drama #spoiler #romance #heartbreak #xianxia

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gosinobus · 1 year

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Learn Han Yu Pin Yin Online (Age: 5-8 years old)

The colorful storyline of "Around the Pinyin Planet" transforms the boring single finals letters, compound finals letters, and initial letters into cute elves, making pinyin spelling easy to understand and fun.

Combined with children's cognitive rules, the course adopts the learning steps of "self-discovery, self-summary, teacher guidance, and practical application" to master pinyin easily and efficiently.

Connected to real life, from recognition to spelling, from exploration and discovery to integration, children's sense of achievement in learning is satisfied in various aspects.

Knowledge learning is closely linked to the plot of the game, allowing children to say goodbye to the pressure of traditional boring phonics learning.

Han Yu Pin Yin Chart

Initial letters（23 in total）

b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s y w

Competence attainment

Single finals letters（6 in total）

a o e i u ü

1. Master the correct pronunciation of Chinese.

2. Improve students' ability to learn independently. Enable students to read independently with the help of pinyin.

3. Acquire scientific learning methods. Learn Chinese characters and master the literacy method in the process of independent spelling learning.

Compound finals letters （9 in total）

ai ei ui ao ou iu ie ue er

Special finals letters（1 in total）

Front nasal finals letters（5 in total）

an en in un ün

Nasal finals letters（4 in total）

ang eng ing ong

Whole syllable（16 in total）

zhi chi sh ri zi ci si yi wu yu ye yue yin yun yuan ying

Best Way To Learn Pinyin

Read more. This is the first step to learning Pinyin well. First of all, we should let children know these Pinyin, and read Pinyin more to deepen their understanding ability. Learning Pinyin should not be rushed for success. Children who have just learned Pinyin have the poor understanding ability and will not learn it normally. Read it three to five times a day, or you can play some spelling games.

Write more. It is best to read and write while paying attention to the correct position of pinyin letters in four lines and three squares; After each pinyin can be written, start dictation or dictation. It takes time to memorize them. After a week of persistence, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that you have mastered them.

Practice. After reading and writing, you should practice more, which is mainly an intensive exercise after reading and writing. It's best to make some phonetic cards of single finals, play games, and compete with family and friends to see who can spell more compound finals. You can also make all the Pinyin into cards, and read out the card when you draw it.

Use it more. If you learn Pinyin, you should apply it to real life. Read more Chinese books with Pinyin and practice Pinyin in reading; Try typing with the Pinyin input method on your mobile phone or computer; Pay more attention to practice in life, so that you will be able to use it flexibly soon.

#pinyin #for #beginners

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dramashii · 2 years

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CW: Immortal Samsara

I’ve been watching Cdramas as they air for a while now. One thing I’m still not used to is how unpredictable their scheduling can be. Announcements for air dates sometimes happen 3 days before the actual date. Sometimes they don’t even make announcements at all and automatically drop the first few episodes without any warning. In the case if Immortal Samsara, Youku announced it hours before airing the 1st episode.

I wasn’t exactly expecting to watch this so soon. But life is full of surprises, this is an example of one of those.

I have watched the first 13 episodes and I can say that so far this is built like a typical xianxia drama. It follows the same premise. We have a bubbly female lead who has no care for rules, and we have a rigid male lead who has the greater good of the world in mind always.

Then, because of circumstances, they fall in love against their better judgment, and they go through hell because of it. Most of the time, hell is composed of many lives. So far, we’re still seeing which I believe is their first one.

It’s a variation of a story I’ve seen multiple of times, but I don’t care. I haven’t seen any xianxia dramas this year, so by default, I was always going to check this out. The drought made me thirsty.

I don’t really have that much major criticisms about the show. The first few eps didn’t draw me in. I didn’t really like the initial set up and found it corny sometimes. But as the story progressed, especially the part after the war, it got interesting. It’s still cliche, but I don’t mind. Truthfully, I didn’t like Yang Dan, Yang Zi’s character in the beginning, but she grew on me later on. I still find her annoying sometimes but it’s tolerable now.

Also, in this drama is a trope I dislike the most: the scheming, jealous, girls that constantly sabotages the main couple. I hate them so much, and the fact that one of them is Yang Dan’s sister, annoys me even more.

I like the ost that’s released so far. The costumes are just okay for me. Visually, it’s not my favorite production. There are some beautiful scenes and I love how it’s colorful and bright.

Just look at it.

Beautiful.

But there are some scenes where the CGI effects are so obvious where you know that the actors and the actresses are just standing there behind a green screen. I think if we’re talking about strengths based on effects, the drama does better when they’re doing full-on CGI.

The most surprising for my experience so far, is how much I enjoy Cheng Yi’s character, Ying Yuan. He’s the typical cold main male character you often find in almost all xianxia dramas but I think what attracts me to him is Cheng Yi’s interpretation of the character. I initially kept track of this drama because of Yang Zi, but this made me want to check out more dramas of Cheng Yi.

The eyes. He looks so good.

I actually have only seen him in one drama prior to this, in Love and Redemption. He looks so good in costume dramas.

Overall, I found it okay. Nothing revolutionary for its genre, but still watchable and enjoyable for me.

I don’t really know much about the original story this is based on, but from what I read, the drama writers have kind of deviated from it. Based on the drama trailer, and from the episodes I’ve watched so far, I think I will need to prepare my heart and my mind for the angst and the constant heartbreak.

I’m pretty sure at least 2 of those 3 lives won’t have a happy ending.

#3 lives 3 worlds #again #I am a sucker for dramas like this #immortal samsara #cheng yi #yang zi #cdrama #cdrama edit #cdrama gif #cw:kdramashii #k:immortal samsara

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movielosophy · 2 years

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Side Story of Fox Volant ~ I will not disappoint Zi Yi

#you shouldn't!#she's too amazing #Side Story of Fox Volant #飞狐外传 #cdrama #wuxia #Qin Jun Jie #character: hu fei #liang jie #character: yuan zi yi

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heymeowmao · 2 years

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沉香如屑 | Immortal Samsara E46 ° Will you give up your life for me? I will.

#沉香如屑 #Agarwood Like Crumbs #Immortal Samsara #cdrama #Cheng Yi #Yang Zi #character: ying yuan/tang zhou #character: yan dan #meowmao gifs

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hunxi-after-hours · 3 years

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Hi, I'm trying to figure out something from Shan He Jian Xin. I don't trust the official subs of the donghua, but I've always been curious as to what Shen Qiao was reciting in EP 3 when he recited the Zhuyang Ce and I wondered if there was something out there that could give a more accurate translation of what he's saying. I found nothing, but I did learn that what he's reading is lifted from a real-life text called the "Baopuzi", and he's reading from the ninth "inner chapter", the "Daoyi".

okay okay actually this is a fascinating question because like, I knew that the script was borrowing freely from classical texts, but I hadn’t looked into any specific lines and now I have so many tabs open looking into this

so! before we even get into the text itself, the particular volume of the Zhuyang Ce Shen Qiao reads from in episode 3 is the 妄意卷 Wang Yi Juan, the... “volume of absurd meaning?” And we know that the volume of the Zhuyang Ce Qi Fengge passed down to Shen Qiao is called the 游魂卷 You Hun Juan, the “volume of travelling souls.” I didn’t clock the names of the other three volumes in the novel, so it is quite possible that I’m reinventing the wheel here, but knowing those two names makes this text that turned up on a cursory google really cool:

五气朝元 Wu Qi Chao Yuan

一、心藏神，后天为识神，先天为礼，空於哀，则神定，南方赤帝之火气朝元。

二、肝藏魂，后天为游魂，先天为仁，空於喜，则魂定，东方青帝之木气朝元。

三、脾藏意，后天为妄意，先天为信，空於欲，则意定，中央黄帝之土气朝元。

四、肺藏魄，后天为鬼魄，先天为义，空於怒，则魄定，西方白帝之金气朝元。

五、肾藏精，后天为浊精，先天为智，空於乐，则精定，北方墨帝之水气朝元。

There’s literally no way I would be qualified to translate what I believe is a technical cultivational Daoist text, but the opening lines of the Zhuyang Ce Shen Qiao reads comes from the third line here: 脾藏意，后天为妄意, 先天为信. The last two characters of the middle phrase are the name of the volume, 妄意(卷) Wang Yi (Juan).

But wait, it gets better! Because the second line of the Wu Qi Chao Yuan name-drops the other volume, 游魂 You Hun, so extrapolating from there, the other three volumes of the Zhuyang Ce are called 识神 Shi Shen，鬼魄 Gui Po，and 浊精 Zhuo Jing (umm... ‘knowing divinity,’ ‘ghosts and souls,’ and ‘the essence of muddiness’ respectively? I sense I am missing some capital-c Context here).

and we haven’t even gotten to the text of it yet. awesome.

okay, let’s get to the text; anon, you’re totally right in that they basically lifted this wholesale out of the 《抱朴子·内篇·道义》 Bao Pu Zi, Inner Chapters: “The Meaning of the Way:”

道者涵乾括坤，其本無名。論其無，則影響猶為有焉；論其有，則萬物尚為無焉[...] / The Dao is that which encompasses the universe and contains the cosmos; its root lacks name. To speak of its lacking, its effects appear to exist still within it; to discuss its having, the myriad things become nothing within it...

人能淡默恬愉，不染不移，養其心以無欲[...] 收之以正，[...] 薄喜怒之邪，滅愛惡之端，則不請福而福來，不禳禍而禍去矣。/ Man can be mild and quiet, tranquil and joyful; unstained, unmoving, nurturing one’s heart through lack of desire [...] receiving it through righteousness [...] in weakening the evils of joy and anger, eliminating the extremities of love and hatred, fortune will then come without needing to be invited; and disaster will depart without praying for its aversion.

(uhhh if you’re wondering, Daoism is just Like That)

I was surprised, upon diving into the Wikipedia article on this text, that there’s more Anglophone scholarly discussion than I expected; it looks like researchers have been primarily interested in it for the alchemical Daoism in the text, though I’m now intrigued in its commentary on Ruism/Confucianism （like, just--抱朴子答曰：道者，儒之本也；儒者，道之末也。). Honestly, considering that this is a Jin Dynasty source that discusses the relationship between Daoist and Ruist thought, it seems super appropriate for being the origin of the Zhuyang Ce, a text which is routinely described as harmonizing the three schools of thought (plus the demonic) in one text.

#(vibrating intensifies)#classical research classical research classical RESEARCH #I forgot how much I enjoyed deciphering classical #...even as it gave me headaches #oh I went on a Dive for this didn't I #千秋 backlog #hunxi thinks about QQ

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sifeng · 4 years

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Review: Love and Redemption

While I first started watching this drama out of pure curiosity of why people claimed it to be “the second most tragic drama” (after GMP, of course). While there are certainly aspects of this show that could be better, I find it fair to claim that it is a wonderfully made xianxia, and certainly one of the best in the genre within this decade.

Plot:

According to legends, the god of war saved the heavens in a deadly battle against the demon a thousand years ago. Both fell from the heavens and disappeared from the world. Chu Xuan Ji was born to the world lacking in the six senses which makes her rather clueless and inept. She befriends Yu Si Feng, the outstanding head disciple of Lize Palace who falls for her, thus beginning a xianxia romance that is entangled with the conspiracies from the past. The Zan Hua Tournament is being held in the Shaoyang Sect and its leader Chu Lei has two daughters - his trusted eldest daughter Chu Ling Long, and the youngest daughter Chu Xuan Ji who is lazy and terrible at martial arts. When Yu Si Feng and Chu Xuan Ji meet through a coincidence, they forge a friendship with each other. Yu Si Feng falls for Xuan Ji despite the harsh consequences that he must face as it is forbidden for students of Lize Palace to fall in love. Meanwhile, Ling Long clashes with Wu Tong after she criticized his foul actions at the tournament. In retaliation, Wu Tong accidentally injures Xuan Ji and gets expelled. Having recovered from her injuries, Xuan Ji promises to concentrate on cultivating. Four years later, Xuan Ji and Yu Si Feng meet again. Si Feng wears a mask due to a curse that can only be broken if he finds true love.

Cast:

Cheng Yi (成毅) as Yu Sifeng (禹司凤)

Yuan Bingyan (袁冰妍) as Chu Xuanji (褚璇玑)

Liu Xueyi (刘学义) as Hao Chen (昊辰)

Zhang Yuxi (张予曦) as Chu Linglong (褚玲珑)

My Opinions:

Plot (My Rating - A-):

First of all, I quite like the pacing in this drama. As the matter of fact, towards the end I actually feel like some things were rushed, not dragged out. It’s never a show that allows you to press the fast forward button, because 1. the tragic moments are super intense and dramatic, and 2. you don’t dare skip over the cute/funny moments because you know there won’t be many left. Second of all, I really appreciate that the writers of this drama really decided that they were going to make the most tragic drama ever. They really dedicated themselves to that craft, and I think they succeeded wonderfully. In terms of plot points, I absolutely loved the whole 9 lifetimes idea. It really brings out the tragedy and beauty of Yu Sifeng - he will do anything to protect those he loves, especially Xuanji. I would not complain if every single lifetime was made into a 45 minute episode, though that would be 405 more minutes of Sifeng being tortured by love on top of the infinite amount of minutes that already exist in this drama.

One problem I had, again, was with the misunderstanding that separated our two leads. I understand that this misunderstanding was one that had to do with the morals, backgrounds and fates with both of them, and thus was obviously meant to be a separating factor, but with the way the two characters were written, it felt odd that it created such an amount of misunderstanding. Overall, the plot was good, it didn’t have any revolutionary ideas, but it turned up the tragedy factor and had consistent pacing (if not too rushed towards the end). I’m sure there were probably a few plot holes here and there (one of which is why is it so easy to destroy that huge jar thing towards the end? If that’s what’s keeping the universe at balance, shouldn’t it take more than just one Yuan Lang to destroy it?), but overall, solid plot.

Characters (My Rating - B):

Sifeng is an absolute angel. He’s probably the most heroic lead in a drama who acts totally out of selflessness, who will help his loved ones no matter what pain it puts him through, and who can remain so kind, so unbothered mentally by whatever pain everyone puts him through. However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have faults. He acts irrationally in the face of love and he often mistrusts the people around him. He’s a very complete character that not only evokes viewer’s sympathy, love and admiration, but also makes sense when taking into consideration his morals. He rarely does things that are out of character. If I were to rate just his character I’d probably give an A+.

But, there are other characters in this drama. I do like Xuanji, not as much as I like Sifeng, but I like her more than most drama leads. Despite the whole lacking six senses thing being a super confusing plot hole of sorts (like she clearly likes people in the beginning, Linglong, Minyan, her father, and dislikes people, Wu Tong, but isn’t she supposed to be unfeeling? Also she screamed out of fear when she fell using the teleport tool etc etc), I liked how she wasn’t stupid, but simply naïve. She’s actually a pretty smart person, especially in the first half of the drama, when she defended Sifeng against the Five Sects, and then Minyan after he was caught from Tianxu Tang. She didn’t let herself be manipulated by her father or Hao Chen, but rather thought for herself, took into account what she knew of their characters and came to the correct conclusion that the Five Sects were being stupid. I found myself a slight bit annoyed when she took the Five Sects side on the whole Mosha Xing issue, but given that the argument was no longer Sifeng vs. her father, but rather demons vs. humans, I can sort of understand why she didn’t trust him. Also, he did lie to her a bunch of times so, I suppose that adds to the fact. Though, she failed to use the trait that I used to really like, which was the ability to take logic and character into consideration. Did she really think that Sifeng never loved her? Because like, with all the evidence right there in her memory, I find it hard for anyone logical being to come to that conclusion. Also, I really like how she eventually became as loving of Sifeng as he was of her. She was literally willing to destroy the world, and herself, just to save him.

As I have said before, no one likes Hao Chen, and that’s good. He’s obviously written to be a character that you should dislike, not only because he gets in the way of Sifeng and Xuanji, but because he is clearly so biased against demons (despite the fact that most demons aren’t even bad at all); because he manipulates Xuanji/God of War so many times and doesn’t even feel guilty whatsoever; because he always says “for the three realms” and yet happens to do things that will completely destroy the peace of the three realms. There are things to like about him, like I am pretty sure that he does actually care about the three realms, and he does want there to be peace, but his ideology about peace, and love, and war are just so skewed that he ends up doing the opposite of what he wants to do.

Other characters were mostly likable, like Linglong, Zi Hu, Teng She, Minyan (most of the time), Xiao Yinhua, Ruo Yu (sometimes), Wu Zhiqi, etc etc. Some were evil for no apparent reason like Yuan Lang (why does he want to control the three worlds? What happened to him in the past for him to become this power hungry? If these questions were answered this character could be sooooo much more compelling) and Wu Tong (again, why did he start out so violent and cruel? I understand why he become a demon and helped them, but like does he not realize that it was clearly his fault first?) Also, the Heavenly Emperor seems like such an odd character. I understand he is the emperor and so he shouldn’t hold his relationship with Bailin and Xixuan above their faults, but like why was he so okay with like letting a totally faultless Xi Xuan endure several mortal trials all ending with painful deaths? And if that was because he was being a good and fair emperor, why does he let a game board decide fate? He also just stood there while the world was ending, and it took Xuanji to convince him to help her. I would like to know more about this guy and his complete lack of ability to care about anything.

So overall, while I think the main characters were written very well, with complex characteristics, some of the villains were just left tools to push forward the plot.

Acting (My Rating - A-):

So first of all, Cheng Yi’s portrayal of Yu Sifeng was absolutely amazing. He brought out all of Sifeng’s traits super well, from shyness initially to the cruelness Mosha Xing to his loving gaze at Xuanji to the heartbreak in tragic parts. I’m pretty sure he’ll become a star after this show, and can I just say, he totally deserves it!

(Like can you see the pain in his eyes?)

I was pleasantly surprised by Yuan Bingyan here. I really like how her acting style changed along with the new role she took, as Xuanji she was bright and cheerful, as God of War she was heartless and cruel. You can see in the nine lifetimes that the way she reacts to Sifeng’s death slowly changes. Her crying scenes need a little more emotion, but overall, a super stable performance.

Chemistry/Romance (My Rating - A):

The chemistry was just amazing. I find it interesting that their kisses slowly got more and more passionate as time went on.

I think part of the reason they have such good chemistry is because of the acting. Like oh my god their tiny reactions to when the other gets hurt really gives it away that they love each other.

The romance was also written nicely. While some people complain that Xuanji didn’t suffer enough, I feel like they don’t have to be equal in suffering in order for them to be a good pairing. You could tell from the very beginning that Xuanji liked Sifeng in a different way from other people. And the fact that they went through nine lifetimes together, each one when Sifeng died because of Xuanji... it just makes their romance so much more epic. Add that with good chemistry, good kisses, and good acting, well of course people love this ship so much! Xuanji would destroy the world for Sifeng, because the only person that matters in her world is Sifeng. Sifeng would put himself through ten lifetimes of torture just so Xuanji can be happy, because so long as Xuanji is happy, he will be happy.

Music (My Rating - A): this one is simple. Just listen to the soundtrack and you’ll understand my rating. I didn’t give it an A+ though, because while all the songs are great, there isn’t one in particular that I love.

Costumes (My Rating - A-): Sifeng’s costumes are really pretty. Some of Xuanji’s are pretty too, they get prettier as the show goes on, but some of the ones early on were kind of meh.

CGI (My Rating - A+): the best CGI in a cdrama. Just look at the scenes where Sifeng shows his wings!

Overall Rating: A-

Recommend For: People who like xianxia dramas and dramas that try to incorporate a lot of themes. People who don’t mind their heart breaking a thousand times while watching a drama. People who want to find a couple that you have to root for. People who like super epic guzhuangs with lots of subplots, mythology, reincarnations etc.

#cdrama #Cdrama Review #I actually like this more than AoL #cheng yi #成毅 #Yuan Bingyan #袁冰妍 #I love the otp okay #they have such amazing chemistry

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tomorrowsdrama · 3 years

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Hello my dear how are you doin? Just want to ask you, what are the best things for you about Monarch industry so far ? Thank you

I’m doing pretty good today, thanks for asking!

Xiao Qi / Awu

Tony Yang’s face

Helan Zhen if he would just keep his mouth shut

Xiao Qi

Xiao Qi’s glorious wig

Half-kidding aside, I think Xiao Qi and Awu, and Zhou Yi Wei and Zhang Zi Yi who play them, are my two favorite things in the drama. He’s such a capable general, who so far seems very honorable, and he’s totally soft for Awu which just makes me melt like ice cream on asphalt on a hot summer’s day. He is so sexy in how he is so calm, yet very deadly and effective. He is very sure of himself but not arrogant or boastful. To borrow a phrase from American history, he walks softly but carries a very big stick (heh heh). He is a man who makes a plan and does not waste time following through with it.

Awu on the other hand, is obviously a princess who has been pampered and lived in luxury her whole life. But at the same time she is smart, resourceful, has her own pride and code that she lives by (she could have easily just submitted to Helan Zhen for her own safety), and is tough as hell. I love that while she has many admirable qualities and is portrayed as very desirable, she’s also not some perfect character without any flaws. She’s not so spoiled that she wouldn’t eat a piece of bread off the ground while kidnapped, but at the same time, she’s obviously used to fancier things in life. So when it’s clear that she’s in an environment where she’s safe and can complain about tacky clothing, oh she makes her opinions known. I like that she knows how to read the room and won’t do a boneheaded spoiled princess thing like ask for gold star service while she’s kidnapped. Also, Xiao Qi and Awu have such sexy chemistry together and Awu hasn’t even started reciprocating Xiao Qi’s feelings yet! I found myself fanning myself when watching the scene where Xiao Qi applied ointment on Awu’s shoulder wound and felt like such a peeping tom for some reason. And there’s just this thing about Xiao Qi’s gaze whenever he looks at Awu that makes me go crazy.

There’s plenty of things to love about Monarch Industry though! The sets and costumes are gorgeous for one. You can tell they put in a lot of money and most importantly, used it well. There are many productions with big budgets that look tacky and cheap.

And the actors! So far all of them have been great, even the detestable characters. Helan Zhen is crazy, terrible, dangerous, yet still somehow sexy. I have a feeling he would not even be remotely considered as sexy if it were not Yuan Hong playing him because his character really is so awful and nuts. The writers of the show knew exactly what they were doing with that dynamic between Helan Zhen and Awu and boy did Yuan Hong and Zhang Ziyi deliver on the very strong and very wrong chemistry.

The actor who plays the Crown Prince is very aptly a cowering, unreliable, spineless toad. Tony Yang is very convincing as Zitan, so beautiful that he might as well have been carved out of stone by god himself but also so ineffective as a potential spouse in the middle of a power struggle.

This is already too long so I’ll wrap it up by adding that the story is also a great thing about this drama. The political scheming and power plays are smart and well thought out. The characters are well fleshed out so we care about those who we should care about and hate those who should be hated. Even the people who kidnapped Awu had their own sympathetic background. Anyway, this drama is just *chef’s kiss*

#monarch industry #rebel princess #asks

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skullsandwineglasses · 2 years

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I’m caught up to episode 39 of Immortal Samsara, and I’m waiting for the new episode on Monday, but I can’t seem to get the drama out of my head. I can’t bring myself to be productive and focus on anything else.

I don’t want to start a new drama to distract me from it. And I’m trying hard to avoid spoilers, although the MVs on bilibili have all worked in spoilers into their videos, so I do know what’s coming and what to expect.

It’s just weird how much I am fixated on Immortal Samsara because xianxias shouldn’t affect me anymore since I’ve already watched so many of them and have seen all the tropes, and Immortal Samsara isn’t even that great of a xianxia.

I’ve also watched the BTS to help me detach myself from the story by looking behind the curtain. And so in theory, I shouldn’t be so absorbed and immersed into the storyworld. Usually watching the BTS helps me break the illusion. But this time, it hasn’t. (Sidenote: I thought Cheng Yi was especially chaotic on the set of Love and Redemption, but it turns out that this man is just extremely chaotic and unhinged off-screen in general, especially when he’s with people he’s comfortable with, like Yang Zi. He’s yelling and jumping and dancing and singing and screaming and mocking. He’s just so loud lol. I’m amazed at how anything was filmed at all when he’s so goofy and doesn’t take anything seriously, and yet he’s the poster child for whump and tragic suffering. I want to see how he flips the switch between being the class clown to the tragic, heavenly hero. And then in interviews, he’s the complete opposite where he’s shy and anxious and flustered.)

But I think the problem is that we’re at episode 39 already, and the leads haven’t gotten together yet. Like at all. The angst has only just begun. Usually, the leads would have already had some kind of mutual declaration of love and have gotten together at this point, even if briefly before being separated by a misunderstanding. When couples get together in dramas, it gives me peace of mind. I feel that I’m able to detach myself from dramas when this happens, sometimes even losing interest afterwards if the affirmed relationship drags on for too long.

But in Immortal Samsara, this hasn’t happened yet. Yan Dan and Ying Yuan/Tang Zhou have never had a true moment yet where they were able to be happily together with their feelings out in the open. It was only in that short dream sequence in the ash forest, but that doesn’t count since it wasn’t their real selves, but their idealized dream selves.

And so I’m just sitting here, rocking in a fetal position, waiting for the next episode to come out because I need them to face their feelings, accept each other, and be together, even if only temporarily, so that I can have some closure. I know I said that I’m proud of Yan Dan for finally maturing, moving on, and wanting to live for herself, but after re-watching some of their scenes in the earlier episodes, I do miss seeing them together.

The last drama I watched was A Dream of Splendor, and the leads got together pretty early on, and even when they had a misunderstanding afterwards, at least they were able to be together for a moment, and so the first chapter of their story was able to get some closure. But I guess you can argue that non-fantasy dramas allow characters to romantically get together more quickly

But even in Love and Redemption, probably the angstiest xianxia there is, had a period where Sifeng and Xuanji were able to be happily in love and officially together before hell broke loose.

But it’s been 900 years. 39 episodes. Yan Dan still hasn’t gotten a confession or explanation directly from Ying Yuan himself. She still has a festering open wound that was never able to close. Tang Zhou’s confession doesn’t count because his worldview and responsibilities are much simpler than Ying Yuan’s, so it’s easy for Tang Zhou to confess, make promises, and give everything up, because he doesn’t have much to give up in the first place in comparison to Ying Yuan.

Usually the plot structure of xianxias goes like this: ambiguous feelings -> get together -> misunderstanding and angst -> resolve angst -> second conflict -> get together

But the plot structure of Immortal Samsara so far has been: ambiguous feelings -> misunderstanding and angst -> ambiguous feelings (but more lighthearted and fun) -> more misunderstanding and angst (i.e., where we are currently).

Angst! Has! Never! Been! Resolved!

They! Have! Never! Even! Had! A! Chance! To! Get! Together! Before! Yan Dan! Regained! Her! Memories!

I’m spending way too much time and mental energy on this drama tbh, while others are spending their time and mental energy on more worthwhile dramas like LBFD and LLTG. I really do question my taste in dramas, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

On reddit, someone said that Immortal Samsara is not worth hating but also not worth watching, and while I see their point, I can’t help but want to defend the drama because it’s not that bad.

Like yes, sure, it’s not original, but when have xianxias ever been known for their originality?

I saw a video on bilibili that was like, what kind of bullshit love is worth remembering for 900 years? And I burst out laughing because, true, the premise is ridiculous, but the idea of enduring love is pretty much the point of xianxia? It’s like a fairy tale. Insta love isn’t supposed to make sense. I’m still very much a trash teenager at heart.

Anyway, thanks for reading my Saturday night rant as I try to purge my feelings.

#immortal samsara #cdrama #yang zi #cheng yi #rant #xianxia

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purposelynana · 4 years

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What Did I Watch: #4

Right, first of all, I didn't prolong my netflix subscription because even thought netflix's library is quite impressive and filled with many interesting stuffs from around the world, it just couldn't grab my attention. I'm not a movie buff like I'm used to and honestly, I'm too lazy to adding my watchlist.

Next, aaaahhhh.... these days I felt like wanting to watch some angsty romance. And it started with my sister's rambling about Love and Redemption. She's into Cheng Yi nowadays and I couldn't help myself not to stanning him. He's gorgeous, or maybe I'm just too absorbed with his performance as Sifeng.

Enough about him though, hahaha, I'm gonna talk about him more later.

So, in another different topic, you came here, want to know what did I watch in the past weeks. So here we go. As per usual starting with the completed ones.

1. Go Go Squid

Finally finished it. Finally get the hype, one year late. It's okay. They're cute. But for me, the ongoing friendship between Li Xian and Yang Zi even after they ended the filming is wholesome. Maybe it got all the tropes, the cliches, and I don't find myself the urge to recommend this to other people, yet I love it. I love how it managed not going over-the-top, easy-watch despite many foreign terms being thrown out, and cute. Like I said, they're cute and lovable. And sometimes in life, you need lovable things to keep going.

Kinda wish these 2 meet again in Republican drama with plot twists and angsty plot. (Yep, I love torture my ship)

2. Perfect and Casual

I just finished it yesterday. It's so easy to watch. It doesn't have any substances or life lessons. Except, it's okay to falling in love with your lecturer if he's Miles Wei, which is impossible. Hahahaha.

The soundtrack is good though. Kinda have that feeling early 20's Indonesian pop songs. But currently not available in Spotify Indonesia. Booo...

Now what I'm watching are....

1. The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion Ep 5

Zhang Zhehan is national's treasure. Ju Jingyi is annoyingly beautiful. The story is simple but there are so much more to be seen. The action sequence is laughable. But I didn't come for the thrill-of-it-all. I came for my husband, Zhang Zhehan. Hahahaha.

2. Love and Redemption Ep 17

I didn't dare continue to watching it. It's good, and maybe it felt like too grand for my taste. It kinda reminds me of Star Wars and a little bit Greek mythology. But, Sifeng is just too pure for this world and I couldn't handle how poorly other characters treated him. Maybe I'm going to make an essay after finishing all 59 episodes, then drowning in despair because no more new episodes. Or maybe both of them, Cheng Yi and Yuan Bingyan are star-crossed lovers who destined to meet once in a lifetime. Maybe I'm the one who felt really terrible not be able to do anything. Love will find its way, afterall.

3. Watashitachi Wa Douka Shiteiru Ep 5

It's one of those days, you find a gem. You find a gem that it's so good, and you just want to keep it to yourself. Cherish it, preserve it. The story lies on tho ugliness of the people who watching it, I guess. Too soapy sometimes, and I need to take a break, just to breathe and remind myself. Thank god, I didn't met these people.

Ryusei Yokohama and cat???? Give me a break!!!!

#go go squid #perfect and casual #the blooms at ruyi pavilion #love and redemption #watashitachi wa douka shiteiru #what did i watch

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harborpointeblvd · 4 years

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a rec list no one asked for

someone please read my favorite webcomics and talk about them with me.

part 2

Heesu in Class 2 - complete

Despite both being big dumb idiots who don’t know anything about relationships, Heesu and his next door neighbor Seung Won agree to help each other out with their respective secret crushes. And you can already see where this is going. But while this may sound like the plot of every rom-com ever, this manhwa has something none of them have, and it’s the absolute ray of sunshine that is Heesu. He’s an angel.

Main pairing is an A+. Side pairing is like a C- honestly. Heesu playing wingman for the side pairing is an A+. And speaking of wingmen, Heesu’s and Seung Won’s best friends are great. One of them is a girl character who doesn’t just exist to stir up drama. There was a wlw early on in the story who I thought was being set up to be in a side pair but she’s just never seen again. C’est la vie.

Rated W for Wholesome.

For Your Love - *complete

When Jung Yohan realizes that his upperclassman Moogyeong has feelings for another guy, he makes it his mission to get the pair together. Yohan thinks unrequited love is for idiots, but joke’s on him, because he’s the biggest idiot of them all. Yohan is easily the best thing about this manhwa. He has the greatest facial expressions.

We don’t have a side pairing...yet. I’m not counting the hetero pairing because zero time was spent setting up that relationship (they’re cute though). But if they’re going in the direction that was kinda sorta hinted at a while back with Yohan’s friend, I give it an F.**

**Update: Yohan’s friend got a spinoff.

Someone Else’s BL Manhwa - complete

Loner by day and cross-dresser by night, Kim Seunghee has managed to keep his double life a secret, until he’s caught in drag after a bad date by class president Park Seungtaek and class trouble maker Lee Kyubin. I’m not even gonna spoil who the pairings are, because it’s not immediately apparent. It seems like the main character is kind of polarizing (he’s a bit standoffish), but I personally love Seunghee. I also love Lee Kyubin and Park Inbeom, two characters who seem like assholes at first, but grow more lovable the more you get to know them. They’re still assholes, but they’re lovable assholes.

There is a HUGE portion of the comic dedicated to the side pairing (it really is someone else’s bl) but both the main and side pairings are cute as hell. Based on the comments I've seen, I think most people like the side pairing better than the main, but I like the main couple’s arch a little bit better.

This was one of the first BL comics that I read, so there's a nostalgia factor there for me. I honestly love it too much to be objective about it. Do I love it because it's good or is it good because I love it?

Tamen De Gushi - ongoing

It’s the GL counterpart to 19 Days, but with less organized crime and the romance progresses faster.

When Sun Jing sees Qiu Tong at the train station, it’s love at first sight. Cuteness ensues. It’s a really simple premise, but with such a fun cast of characters that it’s enjoyable even when nothing is happening. Qiu Tong is sweet, and Sun Jing’s sweetness extends only as far as Qiu Tong.

Sun Jing’s dynamic with her best bro/wingman is one of the highlights of the comic.

Roommates - complete

Kisub just needs to crash on Jinwoo’s couch for a few days, or months, or forever. Which is a problem, because Jinwoo has secret feelings for Kisub, and they’re bound to come out eventually.

Roommates is just too funny. The art style and story are pretty simple, but it has a lot of funny little details that make it relatable. Jinwoo is affected by the tiniest things that Kisub does, like putting a medication patch on his neck. Oh if he were an icy hot patch against that neck...

The main couple is cute as hell. I’m kind of neutral about the side pairing, but I do really like Jinwoo’s friend who makes up half of the couple. His name changes depending on what translation you read, which confused the heck out of me.

There's also a Roommates 2, which is not a direct sequel and none of the characters are roommates.

19 Days - ongoing

Shut up, you don’t need me to tell you about 19 Days.

Jian Yi and Zhan Zheng Xi were best friends all through middle school, but right after the start of high school, Jian Yi disappeared. Years later, he returns out of the blue.

Is the set up for the story.

But it’s not really about that. At least not yet. The comic so far has mainly followed them through their middle school days, being funny and cute. Jian Yi has no eyebrows, but Xi has enough for both of them and that’s how you know it’s destiny.

I love the main pairing. The side pairing is. Popular. You don’t need to know my feelings about it. I like Mo. Moving along.

On or Off - ongoing

If you haven’t noticed, I tend to go for the more wholesome romances over the smutty ones. I usually find the sex to be gratuitous and feel like it only slows down the plot, if there IS a plot. That being said, this is my favorite webcomic that I’m currently reading.

Based on the synopsis, I shouldn’t even like On or Off. It checks off a lot of items on my list of tropes that immediately turn me off of a story. Starting with the comic opening right off the bat with a quid-pro-quo arrangement in a motel room.

Yiyoung and his friends - a bunch of brilliant but antisocial women - start an app company together, and Yiyoung is the dumb, pretty face of the group. But when they try to sell their app to a major corporation, he flubs the presentation. Now he has to come up with a new way to get director Kang to consider their app.

So the main reason I love this comic is Yiyoung. I would die for Yiyoung. I didn’t like Kang at first, and then I liked him, and now I’m starting to not like him again. But that’s not important. What’s important is that this story had me hooked from the beginning. It had me up all night. It had me spending my hard-earned Tappytoon points to read the chapters as they were released.

Here are some honorable mentions. These are stories that aren’t far enough along yet to call favorites, but I feel like they will be.

Soulmate - *complete

GL. 27-year-old Yu Qi has been dating Yuan Zi since college. When she wakes up one morning ten years in the past, in her 17-year-old body, she decides to use it as an opportunity to meet Yuan Zi sooner. She has her reasons. Meanwhile, 17-year old Yu Qi wakes up in her present-day body and doesn’t know Yuan Zi.

*Update: It’s completed. Super cute. Must read.

Mr 100% Perfect

This is another smutty one. Woo-in breaks up with his too-perfect boyfriend, Suk-yun. After getting a job with a cleaning service, his first client turns out to be his ex, who it turns out is not so perfect after all.

Badluck

Sort of GL and BL, but mostly just hilarious. On her 17th birthday, An finds out she has the power to curse anyone she touches, a power inherited from her father, who’s cursed her to be single until she’s 40. Unfortunately this one was dropped because of something to do with Vietnamese copyright laws, so I don’t think we’ll ever get the full comic in English.

#heesu in class 2 #for your love #someone else's bl comic #someone else's bl manhwa #tamen de gushi #roommates #19 days #on or off #soulmate #mr 100% perfect #badluck #long post #comic recs

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