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another-kiraidesunosekai · 6 months

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Zhang Linghe's Theory of Everything

Stephen Hawking once searched for an excellent formula that could be used to ultimately explain all phenomenons in the universe. In his youth, Zhang Linghe once regarded him as a hero and admired him for his research on theoretical knowledge that has an impact on human civilization. Then, he studied hard and spent happy days at school such as deriving interrelated formula. Later, he became an actor & discovered the beauty when rationality & emotion are matched. Now, his logical perception of reality, his empathy perception for the characters & fiction world has formed Zhang Linghe's unique theory of everything.

It was a very early photoshoot schedule. Zhang Linghe was drinking his daily iced americano with oolong tea beside it. His bangs, which hadn't been set was a bit covering his eyes, but he remained to look sincere and witty. We asked him whether he has always like this kind of bitter drink, he said he learned to like it. "At first, I drink it to reduce swelling, but later it became a habit & I keep doing it." Recently, Zhang Linghe's face has filled our sight. Love Between Fairy and Devil is still popular, Story of Kunning Palace has just finished filming and he currently joined the filming of Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Yuehong Chapter. Although the role of Hu Weisheng played by him is not main character, it has unique personality which is different from his previous roles. "Weisheng is a little timid and a bit silly, but at the same time, he also sincere & cute. I already know the crew from previous project, so I feel very familiar when I joined them. This saves times as I already know them, I could quickly get into the work environment." Zhang Linghe still thinks carefully. "I've been thinking about how to make this silly character more lovely. Later, I found that integrity is an important point. As long as he is kind & sincere, everyone will like him.

Let's take a look of characters played by Zhang Linghe. They all have different personality & look. Chang Heng is warm & firm, Xie Wei is thoughtful & meticulous, Hu Weisheng is simple & pure. Among these characters, Xie Wei is the most complex. "It took me some time to find out how this character feels, he's really different from me, so I made a lot of preparations. I try to use his personality to think about every decisions he made. I discuss his thoughts & emotions with the screenwriter, I also talk to the novel author, I want to know as much as possible about what the author gave when creating this character. Combined with the final result expected by the screenwriter, I finally able to understand him & experience his story." As Zhang Linghe said, playing the role of Xie Wei is beyond his experience, his dialogues able to make him think deeply for a long time. "In a scene, I had this dialogue the world is finally at peace, now it doesn't matter if I die However, as I play Xie Wei, I need to understand and figure out his mind & feelings when he said those words. Later, I read the novel. I feel that the reason why he is fighting all the way to get high position is because he has hope in his heart. But then, this hope has gone. Then for him it's what he means by now it doesn't matter if I die.”

People often said that being good at finding out the rules of constant things is the necessary ability for smart people to survive, so it is inevitable that Zhang Linghe, who loves to solve mathematical problems, has summarized his own methodologies for acting. "The concept of my methodology is divided into two parts. In some technical & empirical things such as reading the script and understanding the role will be expertized through the amount of experiences I had. But when I really started acting, I found that the emotion & perception of the characters remain prevailed. I'm not professional-trained actor, so I can learn more about the power of sincerity in acting through more experiences." His tone sounds relaxed, but his attitude is earnest, with a great sincerity for the ‘acting’ itself.

Perhaps the nature of his logical thinking or the feeling of accomplishment brought by obtaining a unique solution that made Zhang Linghe interested to physics. But unfortunately, acting is on the opposite side of rationality. It requires actors to think deeply, but it also requires them to throw away the result of thinking and finally get close emotionally to the character. These two things are mutually opposite, but surprisingly, they reacted wonderfully with each other in Zhang Linghe's life.

What if you have to compare your love for physics with your love for acting?

"Both have their own charm. The joy brought by acting is like the release of dopamine, like there's a 'bang' of fireworks in your brain. The joy of physics is to satisfy curiosity. You will dig deeper & deeper into a conjecture and you must chase after the final answer before you stop. But these two things have their own difficulties at the same time. A thousand people have a thousand hamlets in their hearts (meaning a thousand people might have a thousand different opinions), to what extent you can understand and bring something into the character. While for physics, the road of study might never end".

However, compared to the physics conjectures, acting is more difficult. In this process, Zhang Linghe needs to let go a few sense of control over the results, to let go the strong reins of rationality and let himself enter the character's soul. In the acting class, the teacher told him to freely express his character. He must give up the thinking part and embrace the sensibility. "In the class, the teacher will specially choose a role that has a big contrast with you and ask you to try. I remember at that time the teacher asked me to imitate a kitten, its cute gestures & behaviour. With more training like this, I started to found a few methods of how to get into the characters."

However, when he first truly empathized with a character, it still brought a great emotional impact to Zhang Linghe. "The first time I felt that I was empathizing with the character was when I filmed Flourish in Time. It was a very simple scene. I went to give my sister an examinee identity card. Actually, I didn't need to give her a strong feeling. But when I was acting for this scene, I happened to notice the drama will wrap up. So, when the director shouted "cut", I fall apart. And it lasted for ten or twenty minutes. I felt trapped by Jiang Haoyue's feelings. Later, I realized that I will feel this way when I get into the role." This experience made him realize the feeling of being affected by the characters' emotions. But also from the moment when the characters walked into his heart, Zhang Linghe felt that he could really continue his acting journey.

Recently, Zhang Linghe filmed some costume dramas intensively. At first, he considered wearing a headpiece & using hanging wires as new fun things. But as the filming went deeper, he began to feel the deeper cultural power. "The more costume dramas I filmed, the more I feel it as our powerful cultural characteristics and able to bring us the cultural confidence. After Love Between Fairy and Devil was broadcasted, the ancient culture in the drama has been loved by many audiences, including overseas, which is also one of our cultural export. It's really an honor for me to be able to join this outstanding costume drama. When talking about acting, Zhang Linghe always has a lot to say, eager to share his feelings about the role, but also firmly state his own shortcomings. " In acting, what I want to improve most is (how to express) the dialogues. How can I make the dialogues fit into to the characters? I want to continue exploring and practice it.

After not filming for awhile, Zhang Linghe has back to be a completely rational person. He doesn't believe in things without theoretical support. He also doesn't believe that zodiac sign and personality tests can explain the personality. I think this is the matter of phenomenon & result or vice versa. Actually, the characters commonality exists first and people will put themselves as the result of a zodiac sign or a personality type. Even if there is no astrology, this character commonality will still exists, only we don't know how to describe it. When he was a child, he wanted to be a person like Hawking, Einstein or Galileo. He was fascinated by the exploration of world's law of nature. After getting into the acting world, he like Tony Leung. He watched Infernal Affairs over & over again just to see Tony Leung’s acting. "Tony Leung laoshi looks handsome. He has one kind of highest quality of performance sense. I like this movie because I also like Andy Lau laoshi. The two of them created dramatic tension in that movie."

He just made a great start of his acting career. There are a lot of possibilities and expectations to be accomplished. "The types of roles I've always wanted to play is still a police in crime movie. the reason is because I can play as police or maybe gangster. I'm looking forward for it." Perhaps his love for reasoning themes comes from his love for detective fiction novels & enjoying the process of battle-of-wits with the author. "I have read quite many of Keigo Higashino's works, because it's not just a simple case of reasoning, there is also a lot of human thoughts in addition to complicated reasoning techniques. Sometimes it's interesting to read this kind of novel. You hope to win over the author & guess the next step of his plan, but you are also expecting to be surprises." Besides the detective fiction novels, he also likes the science fiction novel such as Liu Cixin's works. The kind of hard work that built on a complete set of logical systems. "After I read Three Body Problems and Ball Lightning, I find it’s hard to immersed when I read another novels. These novels gave me a deep impression. He successfuly bridges the gap between fantasy and reality. You will be fully convinced with the world he created. It really is amazing.”

One of science fiction movie that Zhang Linghe recently watch is "The Moon Falls". There is also “Interstellar” which is an irreplaceable masterpiece for him. In his spare time, he will open science fiction category on the streaming platform & will watch it one by one without selection, as if everything about the universe is within his liking. He believes that there are higher dimensions of life observing us & we are just tiny beings in three-dimensional world. "A lot of superstring theories mentioned that the universe is 11-dimensional. We live in a very low-level dimension. There are too many things in the universe beyond our understanding and imagination. There are too many coordinate axes outside of xyz. This world is multi-layered.”

Does this make you feel little? "It will broaden my mind & heart"

Most people who like physics and macro perspective have the courage to face the unknown. It is a precious spirit to be able to happily live even after realizing our insignificance. "Sometimes you go to learn about the universe, look at the satellites and asteroids revolving around the sun, and think about the Milky Way beyond the solar system. Every star is so far apart. Separated in a distance that beyond the reach of mankind lifespan. You will suddenly feel that your world view has expand. The sun, the earth and human beings are just one tiny part of a huge world. You will feel that nothing can bother me. But sometimes we need to change our perspective & don't be carried away by the view of pessimistic and worthless effort. We still need to return to our life, do our work well, be satisfied with the present while keep imagining the future."

Would you be afraid of choice if every choice we made would turn to bring about a parallel universe, as in Coherence?

"Of course not. Maybe there will be some psychological pressure, but I accept the results of every choices."

Indeed, Zhang Linghe has never been afraid to choose acting, roles and sincerity

It is interesting that Zhang Linghe still keeps the habit to read. It may not be a heavy read, but he always maintains the relationship with words. In this era where people tend to look at pictures & clips, this habit seems special. "Words are the foundation. Visual sense is based on content & words. I often need to read scripts & get into the characters from the dialogues. From appearance to the tone of speech, they are all come from words. the script or words are the medium to get the output.

This is your advantage, now there are not many people like to read. "Maybe, but it's something that I have to do"

So far we still don't know whether Zhang Linghe already has his own theory of everything, but considering his sensibility, calmness & sincerity, it's hard not to deduce a wonderful solution, isn't it?

#zhanglinghe

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 6 months

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EN subbed vid (Oct 19): Zhu Yilong gets “exasperated” when his disciple Tong Linkai comes too close during rehearsals

Director: Don’t come too close

TLK: But I’m afraid he can’t hear me sing

ZYL: You just have to sing louder!!

#zhu yilong #zhuyilong #朱一龍 #朱一龙 #only the river flows #河边的错误

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 7 months

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I'm so surprised with Zhu Yilong transformations for this movie. His physical appearance changes so much to not looking like the usual him. Bravo! 🎉😳

EN subbed vid (Oct 10): Only the River Flows BTS. How did Zhu Yilong transform himself into Ma Zhe?

#zhu yilong #zhuyilong #朱一龍 #朱一龙 #only the river flows #河边的错误

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 7 months

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This chapter is full of knives and ninja cutting onions. 😭😭😭

Chapters: 5/6 Fandom: 莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua Characters: Li Lianhua, Fang Duobing, Di Feisheng Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Suicidal Ideation, Post-Canon Fix-It, found family fluff, Sick Character, Hurt/Comfort Summary:

Di Feisheng has always liked snow.

The Lotus House’s old doors creak infuriatingly even as he tries to close them carefully. He sets a lantern next to him on the steps and clears a space for himself to sit down.

The cold lingers in his lungs, and he breathes it out in white puffs of air. It’s been years since the last time he saw anything like this, and there’s a dull ache in his chest as he watches the snowflakes fall gently, covering everything in a soft, thick layer of snow.

It’s very quiet.

#mysterious lotus casebook #莲花楼 #li lianhua #fang duobing #di feisheng #fanfic

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 7 months

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He's on fire!!! 🫶

Oct 11 Zhu Yilong Studio: Zhu Yilong attends the opening ceremony of the 7th Pingyao International Film Festival.

#zhu yilong #zhuyilong #朱一龍 #朱一龙 #only the river flows #河边的错误

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 7 months

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#writing tips

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 7 months

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💚💚💚

Chapters: 4/6 Fandom: 莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua Characters: Li Lianhua, Fang Duobing, Di Feisheng Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Suicidal Ideation, Post-Canon Fix-It, found family fluff, Sick Character, Hurt/Comfort Summary:

They’ve strayed into a field of reeds. Thin plant stalks carry tufts of seeds, and Li Lianhua watches as they rustle in the wind, shifting in the mellow light of the autumn sun. The Lotus House’s wood chimes respond gently in kind, swaying along the rhythm of their meandering pace.

“There’s only a footpath from here,” Fang Duobing whispers, shading his eyes as he peers above the horses toward the water. “Do you think there are fish in the lake?”

“Fish?” Di Feisheng says, voice muffled from under his straw hat. “You can’t catch fish, Fang Duobing.” He runs a hand through the fur of Fox Spirit’s back, content to let him doze against his side.

#mysterious lotus casebook #莲花楼 #li lianhua #fang duobing #di feisheng

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 7 months

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Personal Impression: My Journey To You.

I purposely use the picture above since it's my most favorite scene. When all the member of Gong family united (look how cool Shangjue and Yuanzhi!! (^^)).

Usually, I would avoid spy genre. The last spy genre I've watched was "The Rebel" (Zhu Yilong) and it was quite a trauma for me. (XD)

Yet, I don't know why I started to watched "My Journey To You". Maybe because the trailer looks interesting? But, I was "trick" by the trailer. I thought it would be a very serious and intense series. I didn't expected there would also be a comedy (which I enjoy it so much). I really like it when after a good intense scene, it swiftly change into a comedic one. The feelings are like riding a roller coaster. (XD)

THE STORY.

In the early episodes, the story was quite slow pace for me. But, it was quite fun to watch the two female spies interacting with each other. Their talk was like a 101 guide of how to be a good spies (XD).

Then I kept on guessing who was (or were) also the spies inside the Gong family. Then the mystery about the killing and also the main purpose for each spies were also interesting to follow. Although by the end of the story, I was left with the question, "What was their main purpose again?" (XD)

To be honest, I was kinda confused with the timeline of the story. Since some of the important parts were explained in the past time.

The Gong family is also a "troublesome" family. (XD)

They are the last family that still able to stand against Wufeng (thanks fo Shangjue, I guess), the evil organization (XD), but they did it by living in seclusion. No family member are allowed to leave the residence and very strict for outsider to enter. Although it was a surprised that 3 Wufeng spies could enter the residence, even live as one of the family member. (XD)

The old man aka the fathers were also troublesome, like Ziyu's father, Zishang's father, and young master Hua's father. The fathers are very strict with their sons, condemn them once in a while, but the truth is they actually care and deeply love their sons. And they admit it when they were dead or dying. That's annoying and also hilarious. (XD)

Except for Zishang's father who still doesn't acknowledge her abilities as the older daughter.

THE CHARACTERS.

Although I was obviously doting for Gong Ziyu, but I must say that my favorite character are the other 4 characters (not in order): Gong Zishang (the eldest sister), Jin Fan (Gong Ziyu's personal bodyguard), Gong Shangjue, and his beloved brother, Gong Yuanzhi.

Gong Zishang is a very hilarious and comedic character. Her presence, her expressions, her words, her doing, her love for Jin Fan, were all very entertaining. She has a sad background because of her father distrust (which I think it didn't resolved in the story?) I'm happy that Jiejie still could find happiness with Jin Fan and Ziyu. I know I will had a great laugh whenever she shows up in the story. I love you, Jiejie!

Jin Fan, the red jade guardian who degrade his position to be the green jade guardian in order to be Ziyu's personal bodyguard (by the order of Ziyu's father). He's obviously a loyal bodyguard for Ziyu. But, he's also secretly kept his love for Zishang. Even though he's so powerful as a guardian, but every time he was with Ziyu and Zishang, the three of them would be hilarious together. (XD)

It's super fun to see Zishang and Jin Fang together. They are my favorite couple! I'm so glad the make it together till the end of the story.

Gong Shangjue. I don't quite understand the order of the brothers, but Shangjue is Ziyu's brother (or cousins?) A very strong, smart, scary, and tactical. He's a one tough man. No wonder he must be taken down first since he's way more dangerous as an opponent than Ziyu. (XD)

I do admire Shangjue's "love" for the family. He only think about the family, that he even willing to be seen as a bad character in order to protect the family.

I really like his answer to Yuanzhi when Ziyu was getting through the trial to be a worthy Sword Wielder. "If he's not capable, we don't have to worry. But, if he's really capable, then we don't have to worry either." That prove Shangjue only care for the family sake, and not the competition between him and Ziyu to become the Sword Wielder.

Shangjue's feature is always tense, serious, and scary, just like his brother, Yuanzhi. Yet, somehow, he manage to show his sweet and pure smile to Yuanzhi. But, when he smiles sweetly to Ziyu (at the final episode), it feels so weird. (XD)

I remember at their final scene, Shangjue reminds Ziyu that since he's now the Sword Wielder, he shouldn't called Shangjue by "Ge" (brother), like always done by someone. Shangjue meant Yuanzhi. My mind quickly translate it as Shangjue doesn't want anyone else to call him by "Ge", except for Yuanzhi only. I cheered! Yuanzhi did it! He has won his brother's heart a long time ago.

Gong Yuanzhi. The little brother, the genius with poisons, the Shangjue's brother's complex. A very capable young man. While Shangjue only thinking about the family, Yuanzhi will only thinking about his brother (Shangjue). He would do everything for Shangjue's sake. He kind of made me upset when he intentionally steps on the lotus flower. And when he smirk or smile in devilish way, I swear ... he made me terrified!!! (TOT)

I do adore Shangjue and Yuanzhi brotherhood. Truly the best! They are strong on their own and super deadly together. I'd like to see more of their story.

Gong Ziyu. Surely the male lead. I think he's not as strong as Shangjue. Ziyu also admits it. But, Ziyu is indeed strong in his own way. He acknowledge people, even Shangjue and Yuanzhi (whom he called as genius in poison). He doesn't want to be beaten by Shangjue. He also acknowledge everyone else in the family, like his goofy sister (Zishang), the young master Hua (by acknowledge his sword), and the young master Xue (by carefreely chatting with him). Ziyu's kindness has earned him the love, the trust, and the support, especially from the family younger generations. The Gong family would change to be better under Ziyu's command. Ziyu isn't as strict as the older generations. Maybe that's why the younger generations are doting for him (except for Shangjue and Yuanzhi (XD)).

Coming near to the ending episode, Shangjue revealed that the one who comes out with the tactic to set a trap for Wufeng was indeed Ziyu. He maybe not as smart as Shangjue, or even as strong, but in the end, Ziyu managed to prove himself (even to Shangjue) that he was able to protect his family (although his main reason was probably to protect Weishan (XD)).

Oh, I also won't forget his blind and deep love for Yun Weishan. (XD)

When everyone were confronting Weishan as Wufeng's spy and wanted to beheaded her, Ziyu only asked, "Are you really leaving?" That's all what's on his head. (XD)

THE ENDING.

I have prepared myself for the worst ... for people to die ... it's a spy genre after all. But, I was happy that all of my favorite characters are alive. (XD)

Jin Fan survived and he's very clingy to Zishang after he finally confess his love for her. Good for you, Jiejie!!! (TOT)

Shangjue and Yuanzhi are also alive. Thank God! (XD)

I thought one of the brothers would die. I can't imagine how devastated Shangjue would be if he lost Yuanzhi after he lost his young brother in the past, and add with Shangguan Qian runs away. I also can't imagine how Yuanzhi would be if Shangjue dies.

But, as for Ziyu, I think his ending was unnecessary ... just make him live happily with Weishan!

I can't understand, with Weishan status as the wife of the Sword Wielder, as Ziyu also deeply love her, how could he let Weishan go by herself to her home to found her twin sister and then meet with other Wufeng member? And the way Ziyu's look was shocked when the gate to the Gong residence was open ... I thought that Weishan had died and the one who come back was her twin sister who disguising as Weishan and also act as a new Wufeng's spy. It's so unnecessary hints. (XD)

But, at the fan event, Zhang Linghe said that what Ziyu saw was two Weishan. That means they both survived and live together at the Gong residence. Good for them! I don't understand why the end have to be secretive?? Is it that hard just to make it directly a happy ending?

I was also feel strange with the "sudden plot" that Weishan has a twin sister, so that's the reason why Shangjue couldn't find any prove that she's an imposter. Actually, it would be great if she's indeed an imposter and it was Wufeng doing for making the town people acknowledge her as the true Yun's daughter.

But, then again, Yun Weishan is indeed her name from the very beginning. She doesn't took it from the real one, so ... it's not a suddenly plot after all.

THE OST.

I truly love all the soundtrack. It's so perfect for lullabies. (XD)

There are two of my favorite OST.

Distant Mountain Like Yesterday - Chen Cusheng.

One memorable scene using the song was when all the dead member of Gong family appeared in spirit form to congratulate and assured Ziyu that he has succeed in protecting the family. Among them was young master Hua and young master Xue, which I regret so much for their death. (T^T)

Singer - Tian Jiarui.

Yuanzhi's brother complex song over Shangjue. (XD)

This song appeared whenever there were dramatic scene between the two brothers. (XD)

#My Journey To You

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 7 months

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So beautiful writings.

Chapters: 3/5 Fandom: 莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua Characters: Li Lianhua, Fang Duobing, Di Feisheng Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Suicidal Ideation, Post-Canon Fix-It, found family fluff, Sick Character, Hurt/Comfort Summary:

“Everyone dies.” Di Feisheng’s voice is soft with warning. “But Li Lianhua,” he says, and his name sounds like a reminder, a taunt, coming from him. “Do you truly not even want to live a little longer? You’ve let go of everything—nothing can hurt you anymore. You’ve forgiven those who wronged you, those who forgot you, those who abandoned you, and you’ve bidden all of it farewell.

“But is there nothing left in this world that you would live for?”

#mysterious lotus casebook #莲花楼 #li lianhua #fang duobing #di feisheng

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 8 months

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055.

"What is the most powerful thing in the world, but also the scariest?"

Hope.

#blog

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 8 months

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THIS! 💚

I want Li Lianhua, post miracle-healing and post canon, to occasionally revert back to his teenage self, the one he didn't allow himself to be. I want him to chase Fang Duobing with a spatula, I want him to play fetch with Hulijing, I want him and Fang Duobing to play little pranks on Di Feisheng, I want him to laugh so much he doubles over, I want him to hug his loved ones and be loved.

#mysterious lotus casebook #莲花楼

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 8 months

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I'm crying again. 😭

right then, i know i've already discussed this with several people in bits and pieces, but i'm going to attempt to organize my thoughts about the intersection of di feisheng and li lianhua's endings in one post.

i've already touched before on how i think li lianhua moves through the story as a restless ghost. his aim is to tie up the loose ends of the life li xiangyi exited, before his time runs out, and that's why so many interactions with characters from his old life are about either mending relationships or ensuring they've both moved on with finality. by the end of the show, there's just one person who knew li xiangyi who hasn't gotten either of those, and that's di feisheng, waiting by the sea. he's still fixated on the duel, fixated on the competition between himself and li xiangyi, whether it's as foes or friends.

di feisheng's arc throughout the show sees him as someone who goes back and breaks cycles of his past. but li xiangyi is the part he can't shake off, the part he's still obsessed with. he's still insistent on defining himself and his worth by where he stands in relation to a man li lianhua has told him is dead.

the point where we don't see him do this is when his memory is lost, and that's why di feisheng's time as a-fei is so important to the story. we see him begin to define himself as a person in a world where the name of li xiangyi means nothing to him. we watch him start to figure out who he is free of ten years of agonizing over winning/losing to this man, and all the baggage of the past carried with him. it's something di feisheng didn't get a chance at before, and as it stands, maybe it's not too late for him to continue on that path. li lianhua, at least, doesn't think it's too late.

and so this is what li lianhua has to do to attain this last bit of closure, end this last relationship: he has to force di feisheng to let him go.

this is why it stands out so much to me that the goodbye letter li lianhua signs as li xiangyi is addressed to di feisheng. li lianhua is concerned with resolving li xiangyi's troubles, and so with the goodbye to di feisheng, his work is done. the fact that we watch di feisheng accept li xiangyi's death in the epilogue with "the bright moon has already sunk into the western sea, to where does the grieving wind urge the eight directions" is an important follow-up to this last action, because it means that it worked. di feisheng is mourning, yes, but with more certainty than he was at the beginning of the show, frozen in place emotionally for a full decade. his explicit acknowledgment that li xiangyi is dead now must push him forward in some direction to search for meaning in this world, and his life, outside of li xiangyi, rather than standing still. this way, their story truly comes to a close.

all this is also why it makes sense in my opinion that whatever image of li xiangyi is standing by the sea in the end isn't really there. he might be a ghost, or imagined by di feisheng and/or fang duobing, but that's not the real, living li xiangyi. because if he hasn't died or fully, completely exited the narrative, then it means that none of this effort succeeded. "it's hard to be a dead person", li lianhua said. for him to settle everything between li xiangyi and di feisheng— the conflict this story begins and ends with— and to free these two people of each other, li xiangyi must be dead to di feisheng. in the story this show chose to tell, when it came these characters, this is how it had to end.

#mysterious lotus casebook #mysterious lotus casebook spoilers #莲花楼

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 8 months

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Di Feisheng and Li Lianhua, from an arch enemy to bestie. 😁

"I have only one opponent in my life. That is Li Xiangyi. I only have one wish in my life. That is to beat him."

#mysterious lotus casebook #莲花楼

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another-kiraidesunosekai · 8 months

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Bad Lands

Ando Sakura x Yamada Ryosuke

Nihon Eiga 107

Hashioka Neri, aka Neri (橋岡煉梨, ネリ) - Ando Sakura

Yashiro Jo, aka Joe (矢代穣, ジョー) - Yamada Ryosuke

A brief summary of the plot is that Neri and Joe lived in the lowest rung of society. They worked for Takajo* in a phone fraud ring. Takajo was the keeper of the potential marks and Neri was the leader of the ukeko (receivers) - the people who collect money from the victims but did not do the actual scamming. Joe just got out of prison and was introduced to work for Takajo by Neri. They came across a large sum of money and somehow got embroiled in an underworld war.

*I can’t find the pronunciation guide, so I think that’s how you say his name.]

(I don't have the actual magazine so I'm using movie stills they've released so far. Please let me know if you notice any errors.)

Sakura Ando, who played Neri in "Bad Lands", said, "I want Neri to be a main character who doesn’t leave much of an impression." It is rare for a heroine to have such an image in Japanese movies; giving off a dry coolness, Neri is at the center of the story where she is surrounded by those who want to trap her and those who will do anything to protect her, and these extreme feelings intermingle in a truly thrilling way. All of the characters with their own strong personalities left an impression on me, and the ensemble of the characters as a whole is wonderful because it is centered around a heroine who is a realist that is not a larger-than-life character that is usually found in [fiction].. With the help of the atmospheric setting of Osaka, the world of "lawless land" emerges, as the title "Bad Lands" suggests.

Speaking of "Bad Lands", the American film "Badlands" (1973) directed by Terrence Malick, which depicts a man and a woman's escape must have been on the director’s mind as well. Kansai's strong noir feel goes beyond typical Japanese cinema and reminds us of the emotionally restrained, adult oriented Western films. How did this worldview come about? We spoke with Sakura Ando and Ryosuke Yamada, who played siblings [in the movie].

-- First of all, I thought Neri's casual demeanor was great. Such heroines are rare in Japanese movies.

Ando: When I first read the script, I didn’t have an image of Neri as a strong protagonist, but someone who wasn’t memorable yet still left a whiff of her existence behind. Because she appeared among many impactful characters, it would be nice if I could play an unremarkable main character. When I first talked to the director, I told him my thoughts and he accepted it. After that, when I read the script, I really wanted to cherish the nuances of Neri’s words and her kindness that can be felt in little things.

-- Yamada-san re-teamed with Harada-san after “Moeyo Ken” (Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai). Joe seems like a grown-up version of Okita Souji in “Moeyo Ken”.

Yamada: I read how Director Harada [described the character] in an article after the film was finished [and thought], so that’s what it was (laughs). I decided before that if Harada-san called, I would be there. I think his set is something that can't be experienced these days. Although gradually, I’ve stopped being scolded, when I saw the director snappily say things that needed to be said to various people, leading to an intense set, I also felt tense.

*Apparently Director Harada has a reputation of being very stern and scary, but it sounds like it is not irrational yelling and more like someone who runs a tight ship?

Ando: It was my first time being part of the Harada team, and I heard that it was really scary, but when shooting started, I was shocked by how fun the Harada team was. It was very cheerful and light. It was flexible. When I read the script, I thought I had a script that was carefully crafted by the director.

Yamada: I think the reason the set was so cheerful this time was because of Ando-san. I think the trust the director had in Ando-san was amazing. I had never seen Director Harada directing with such a big smile (laughs).

Ando: When I said, "I'm scared to drive this Benz," he said, "Well, then Joe will drive." He would say on the spot things like, "Well, let's repeat this line" or "What you just did was interesting, let’s go with that".

Yamada: That's right. I think he's a director who really values the rawness of what happens on set. Harada-san himself is also enjoying what is born out of the set..

Ando: That's why when I was first approached by various departments, saying, "There are action scenes, this kind of scene, that kind of scene, and it is this kind of movie, what do you think?" But I told them, wait a minute, if you solidify all the details from the start like that, it could only become a movie you've seen before, and I also want to play Neri’s rawness more dynamically.. . For example, I felt that it was wrong for Neri to have sharp moves that are common in action movies. So when I got to the set, the director said, "It's okay, Neri doesn't need to do that kind of thing" (laughs).

Yamada: (laughs).

Ando: "Don't fight skillfully, just stay scared" (laughs). That's how he drew out the charm of the character that was born at that time. So it was a lot of fun. I felt the joy of acting with my whole body..

-- So you made use of rawness that was born on set. That's how the worldview of the movie was created.

Ando: That’s right. Another thing I remember well is that it snowed a lot during filming.

Yamada: It was during our shoot in Hikone in Shiga Prefecture. It was really amazing. When the director, Ando-san, and I left the hotel, I said "Wow!" without thinking. It was the heaviest snowfall in Hikone's history [since they started collecting the data]..

Ando: It was a heavy snowstorm with around 10 centimeters of accumulation, so it would be a shame not to make use of it in the movie. I said it would be nice to have a scene of Neri in the snow and the director said, "That's a good idea. Let's shoot!" This is it. (Showing a photo of the snow).

Yamada: Oh~.

Ando: Yama-chan, you couldn't go to the set, right?

Yamada: Yes. Our car couldn’t get there because of the heavy snow. I thought, “They are probably going to shoot in this snow! Wow!”

Ando: That's right, there was a cut with Neri in the snow.

Yamada: If it wasn't for Ando-san's words, the scene wouldn't have happened.

Ando: After we finished filming what was planned for that day, he said, "Okay, let's shoot this." The director and editor (Harada) Eugene-san assembled the scenes that were born out of this on the spot. Since my family also makes movies this way, I felt a sense of security. That’s how the Harada family feels like, and that’s how they do things. I think it's precisely because we have such a relationship of trust that he can say, "Let's go shoot this!" It was a good scene and I think that’s why this set is uniquely attractive.

Yamada: I think the fact that the director can say that right away is a testament to his trust in Ando-san. Also, as you mentioned earlier, the worldview that was born in the movie looked very natural, it was probably the worldview that the director was trying to create, for example, we were asked to overlap our lines.

Ando: Oh~ yes, we were going pon pon pon with the lines. It was that type of rhythm [we were going for] after all.

Yamada: I remember being told to go faster (when I said the lines) really well. People from Kansai speak at a fast pace and they tend to overlap, right? To be honest, I don't know what everyone was saying in the casino scene because they were all talking over each other (laughs).

Ando: (laughs).

Yamada: But I thought it felt real. I mean I don't bother to speak with pauses normally. Looking back now, I realize that the director was really looking for that sense of realism. That's why I think the reality of Kansai felt very alive and it formed the worldview [of the movie].

Ando: Yeah, yeah. When I first read the script, I thought there seemed to be many scenes commonly found in movies, but when we actually started shooting, each person worked hard to bring their characters to life in their scenes. The movie is set in the Nishinari area of Osaka and there are locals appearing in it as well.

Yamada: That's right.

Ando: I think that kind of thing was thorough. Also, there are a lot of charismatic veterans in this film.

Yamada: That's true.

Ando: It was a lot of fun working with those senpais and building up Neri from there. There's a scene where Mandala (Uzaki Ryudo) and I “go to battle” and I wanted to walk in a cool way, but Uzaki-san’s coolness was part of his essence.

-- It's the rock'n'roll aura, isn't it? Originally, he was part of the Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band.

Ando: Yes. It was amazing, I wondered how I could exceed such coolness, but I was like “ah~” at my lack of coolness (laughs).

Yamada: Not at all.

Ando: No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it.

-- Uzaki-san and Ando-san have a similar rock’n’roll vibe.

Ando: Oh, I'm happy to hear that.

Yamada: Yes, they’re really cool.

Ando: Namase (Katsuhisa)-san has an interesting way of adding nuances to the Kansai dialect.

Yamada: Ah~.

Ando: Namase-san said "Getsuyoubi no miko-san" as "Geccho hi no miko-san". I tried to imitate what he said. I think it's kind of nice that Takajo and Neri are naturally speaking in the same way. That's how I absorbed various things from the senpais and used them in my acting. Speaking of which, Yama-chan. Yama-chan was really amazing.

Yamada: Not really.

Ando: You know, it's different. It's really amazing for us to be able to work together. After I finished watching the movie, I said to the director, "Isn’t Yama-chan dangerously good?"

Yamada: No, I was not that good (laughs).

-- There is a scene where the two of you and Mandala did something violent to someone. It seemed that something surprising happened during the actual filming.

Yamada: That's right. It's the scene where the three of us are together.

Ando: In [the rehearsal] for the scene where we did something very violent, I had to make this person drink an alcohol called Spirytus*, but when I said, "Wow, I can’t do it," Yamada-kun said, "Well then, I'll do it."

*Per google, this Polish spirit is 76% alcohol. That will burn like crazy!

Yamada: That's right (laughs).

Ando: But when it came to the actual take, I gradually got on board and said “Yes, I'll do it” (laughs).

Yamada: In the end, Ando-san made him drink it (laughs). I was surprised when she suddenly did that during the actual take. I thought, “You’re really into it.”

Ando: (laughs).

Yamada: Because she will do something like that for the first time on set, the filming was really fun.

Ando: Another thing that was amazing was the scene with the hardcore dude.

Yamada: Haha. Hardcore.

Ando: We were taking down the hardcore dude. I talked about it a little bit earlier, but the fight choreography team came up with these cool actions. But taking into account Neri and Joe’s character, I wondered if “this cool action works”.

Yamada: Because it was the type of moves you see often in an action movie.

Ando: I thought the film suddenly became an action film, with cool action and all, but when I finally did it, it turned out to be pathetic action that looked like it was fluke.

Yamada: Have you seen such pathetic action scenes?

Ando: What pathetic moves are those? (laughs).

Yamada: Mandala and I were shouting threats and dragging a pipe chair, and I threw the bag that fell off it towards the enemy, but it hit Neri-nee (laughs).

Ando: Yes, yes (laughs).

Yamada: Isn't that kind of realistic? It’s like “Uh~, that happened”.

Ando: For that scene, the script had a note saying there was “bang bang” from the gunshots, but there was a problem with the prop gun we were using. So in the end, Uzaki-san, who played Mandala, just made the sound effect himself..

Yamada: He went "Bang bang" (laughs).

Ando: It was really cute. I think Mandala, Joe and Neri made the best trio.

Yamada: It was lame-cool, wasn't it?

-- It’s a set you want to keep working on, right?

Yamada: Really.

Ando: Yes. It really was.

Yamada: Yeah, it was fun.

-- Looking back on the shoot, please tell us what you’re thinking now.

Ando: When I was young, although it was rare, I had met characters who made me feel like they were showing rawness every second. It can’t help being fun to find things while filming. It’s like I was Mario going pepepepe~.

Yamada: You're invincible (laughs).

Ando: I don't know if I'm invincible (laughs). Mario had amazing jumping power in those times, but when I played Neri, I could jump twice as much as usual, and my body moved so much, it was super fun. I was really glad to be able to meet such a role on set in these days and ages. I felt joy!

Yamada: Of course, it was great playing Joe, but moreover, I was able to appear in Harada-san's and work with Ando-san playing the person closest to her, and that to me was the real treasure in my acting career. But above all, I was able to see Ando-san up close and personal, so I was the happiest ever.

-- I think that was reflected in the relationship between Neri and Joe. What can you say about this pair of siblings?

Ando & Yamada (looked at each other): Eh (laughs)?

Ando: I thought they were the strongest partners (laughs). Even though they were useless, they balanced each other out very well.

Yamada: That's right, In Joe’s mind, Neri was his favorite sister. He called himself a psychopath but he was able to love properly. He showed his feelings quite a bit, and when you read the movie’s pamphlet, you might think he was a cool guy, but...

Ando: He was not cool at all (laughs).

Yamada: He was a cheerful little brother (laughs). But if it was for his sister’s sake, he wouldn’t care about himself and he would get his hands dirty no matter how dangerous the situation was. In those scenes, the screws came off and well, he was crazy.

Ando: But on the other hand, a psychopath… I think Neri would think “that’s so not true”.

Yamada: That's right (laughs).

Ando: She thought he was just an idiot (laughs).

Yamada: True! People who think they are psychopaths are probably not psychopaths (laughs).

Ando: (Imitating Joe) Yes .

Yamada: Haahaha. Joe was just an idiot. A lovable guy.

Ando: That's why I was surprised by the cool Joe later in the movie; I was fascinated. That was really amazing.

Yamada: No, he was just an idiot (laughs).

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