#and idk why but it reminds me so much of a cdrama | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tokumusume · 9 months

Text

First impressions: “The Longest Promise”

I would be lying if I said I’m watching for the plot because I’m totally here for Xiao Zhan.

Spoilers for episodes 1-3.

Christ on bike, it’s been only five minutes, I know, but I have no idea of what’s happening here. Like, why is this girl wearing full bangs in one scene and a middle part immediately after, then back to full bangs? Do you know how hard is to make full bangs look good after you part your hair? Those things are stubborn.

(Also, fakest hairpiece in the history of cdrama 👇)

Ren Min has a very unique face but this hair does her no favors, she looks a thousand times better with the middle part.

An eternity eight minutes into the episode we finally see Xiao Zhan’s beautiful face, aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh (me and mom fangirled so hard).

Sorry, I see no chemistry between them, I don’t buy them as lovers, only friends. I hope I’m made wrong later.

We are treated to an episode long flashback to Xiao Zhan Shi Ying’s childhood where he meets Ren Min Zhu Yan, but she doesn’t know he’s the prince, palace drama ensues, he’s accused of murdering his father’s concubine (mind it: he’s a child here). His mother creates a copy of him, sends him away with some guy and sets herself and the copy on fire. He’s presumed dead (his mother somehow survived this??)

Zhu Yan is mourning Shi Ying when this fella gives her a rose that’s clearly not a rose. I thought he looked familiar, then I thought he looked like the snake guy from Ashes of Love. Turns out Fang Yilun was in cpop/kpop boygroup M4M with Yu Bin aka Wen Ning. Listen to Sadness btw, it’s really good, very BEAST (both were in Cube).

(PS: Netflix subs are wrong, his name is Zhi Yuan)

Makeup on point.

I love him already.

The little kid playing young Shi Ying, Jian Yuxi, is killing it. A face to watch for.

The plot here is very complicated but apparently Shi Ying will be sent to cultivate in the mountains and he can’t see women because his destiny says he’ll be killed by a girl (idk if it’s specified it’s Zhu Yan or any girl will do) so he must kill her on sight, how romantic.

Five years later Shi Ying is now Xiao Zhan and is somehow still underage. Now, Xiao Zhan does look younger than 32 but he can’t play 17. Anyway, he’s gorgeous and I’m drooling.

I really want to like Chong Ming because he’s cute and reminds of that guy from Ashes of Love (again) but he’s oh so insufferable. I’m against animal cruelty but I want to kick this bird.

Xiao Zhan finally smiles, I love him so much.

Bad CGI bird (it’s Chong Ming btw) but I’ll forgive it because it’s cute and reminds me of my cat Yuki.

Subplot about sister drama and magical dancing competitions, who cares. Wang Churan, who plays the bitchy sister, was in Guo Jingming’s Painted Skin, 100% recommend this short film. Nice sister is better at dancing than bitchy sister so bitchy sister throws her special dress down a forbidden valley and of course Zhu Yan will retrieve the dress.

She meets Shi Ying down there but he can’t speak to her because of his celibacy vow prophecy. He recognizes her as the girl he met in childhood. Chong Ming shows up and is all like “omg a girl kill her now!!” Shi Ying bends his fingers and prepares to kill Zhu Yan when bad guys with Wolverine claws arrive and tries to kill both of them, lol. A fight ensues, Shi Ying breaks his vow and hides Zhu Yan inside his magical head space (???) when his master arrives. She touches an illusion of him inappropriately. Fuck, I’m jealous.

Back in their shared house, Shi Ying tells Chong Ming that he has no time for pussy, all he wants is to rescue his mother and avenge her.

Bitchy sister also went down the valley to search for something but Chong Ming stops her. She happens to be Shi Ying’s cousin and he asks about his mother. The news are not good. Shi Ying decides to help his mother immediately only to learn she just killed herself. Xiao Zhan gives a performance to rival Nightless City.

I forgot to say earlier but Xiao Zhan’s voice is markedly different from CQL. I don’t know if he’s using his real voice here or if it’s a different voice actor but it’s jarring, to the point where I can’t concentrate during his scenes. I watched CQL five times, Wei Wuxian’s voice is burned into my brain.

Shi Ying’s master is a master of psychological torture. He brings Shi Ying to listen to some officials disrespect his mother in order to strengthen him???? Btw, I thought this guy

and Shi Ying’s father

were the same person until now, lol.

This scene was probably done using this chemistry trick (trigger warning: fake blood, fake cutting) as you can see his hand is wet before.

Finally we see the return of the evil black smoke as Shi Ying screams that the world doesn’t deserve saving (I agree with him on that) and looks gorgeous.

I hope this is a sign that Shi Ying will go bad and mad and sexy in his quest to avenge his mother.

#text #The Longest Promise #玉骨遥 #Xiao Zhan #Ren Min #Fang Yilun #cdrama #first impressions #long post

8 notes · View notes

xiexielians · 2 years

Note

I actually don't remember the one cdrama I tried watching. I'm pretty sure it might've been one of those mainstream remakes like Boys over Flowers or something.. And yes I do listen to Japanese and Western artists! For Japanese my current favorite is 4s4ki and Western would definitely be Charli XCX. How about your favorite Japanese and Western artists? ^^ Ahh, I still want someone like Kazehaya to be my boyfriend (ʃƪ˘⌣˘), he's such a sweet guy and patient and just a big good package lol All those song choices are soooo good, especially Eyes Locked Hands locked. When I first listened to that one, it immediately grew on me~ For IU, I'd say I really love the meaning and feelings she poured into My Sea. I'm pretty sure I heard she made the lyrics herself to represent herself and her struggles growing up. I also enjoyed the fact that she made the song 5:16 long because that's her birthday! Dreamcatcher I definitely should watch out more for, I did really enjoy their song Boca though For me I too tend to watch a genre depending on how I feel at the moment, so it's random but I like to watch a lot of Romance/Shoujo/Thriller/Mystery/Action, Historical hits at times too! I thought I checked out your creations before when I first looked at your blog but I guess I didn't because wow your creations are literally so imaginative with all the layouts and templates and themes!! I really love them omg! I've always wanted to make more than the ordinary gif but never did so because I just believed that no one would like what I come up with/didn't have confidence in myself, but your stuff is really motivating me atm to do so!!! Where do you get the motivation or like what inspired you to make them?

Huhu remake could be hit or miss. I watched first few eps of 2011 remake of hana kimi and didn't like it. I also read that the Korean adaptation focus more on the romance rather than the camaraderie and friendship b/w the characters which is what I love about the original japanese ver.

I never heard of 4s4ki before but I know charlixcx, not familiar with her music except for the 2-3 songs I heard. idk why but from the songs I heard she remind me of carly rae jepsen who I listen to.

omg yes my sea is good too! I wish I can magically understand korean because I will never understand IU's lyrics fully as it intended just because most of it could be lost in translation. However her voice alone could convey it's meaning. The way she sings (especially her ballad songs) just captivate me and make me stop and listen. I can't even imagine how beautiful it is in korean.

I really loveee Taylor Swift, I've been listening to her since I was like 11. I discovered IU 2 years ago but she really jumped to the top really quick as I feel like she and Taylor have so many similarity.

As for Japanese artists, favs are omoinotake and the gazette for band and for soloist aimer. There was this group that I really love called flower but they disband 😔

I want to watch more shoujo/romance but I'm quite picky when it come to this genre 😬 The last shoujo I watched was the snow white with the red hair, didn't pick up season 2 as I didn't enjoy it that much. Hmm.. historical huh? I don't think I watch any. Do you have recs?

omg you just put the biggest smile on my face with that compliments 🥰🥰

Inspiration mostly come from other editors from various fandom but sometime I have my own inspo and ideas but my skill is not good enough to execute it jssjjskk. Network event is like one of my motivator to make something so if I have the time I'll try to join.

#*letter to the moon

2 notes · View notes

sarah-yyy · 6 years

Note

I just finished watching Love Online and the Blue/White side story because of your rec post. Thank you thank you for reccing them! Do you have any other cute Cdrama recs?

This is 300% reminded me that I still have a 自古蓝百出CP wip that I…….really should’ve finished writing last year. /o\ But uh yes, nonny, I always have cute cdrama recs!

I very recently just finished My Mr. Mermaid and THIS SHOW IS SO CUTE?? What you should expect: fluff and cuteness the whole way through, just basically your ideal Feel Good drama. Parts of it are cliche in the way you should really come to expect from college setting cdramas, but not in the bad way tbh because the set up for this is so cute??? Up-and-coming athlete with a Mysterious Backstory and a rookie sports reporter do the whole love at first sight thing after he saves her from drowning? I AM SO WEAK FOR THIS WHY???? Also Xiong Ziqi’s character in this is just THE SOFTEST BOY WHICH I AM ALSO VERY WEAK FOR. Just. Just watch the show. [300/10]

(Okay if I do have to say something bad about MMM, it’s that the resolution to the whole ~mysterious backstory~ part was pretty anti-climatic, but honestly, a couple of episodes in and you won’t even mind it, because you won’t be watching for the plot, but mostly for the cute getting-together bits, trust me.)

I also tried to watch A Love So Beautiful, but because it was all anyone I lived with could talk about and also I honestly should’ve blacklisted this on tumblr when I decided I wanted to watch it, I was way too spoiled for this to enjoy it properly. :( It was a shame, because this was A Cute too, and if you’re into cute high school romance, this is The Show to watch! I did enjoy the last few episodes quite a bit!! The height difference between Jiang Chen and Xiao Xi honestly just…….gave me life. [8/10 at least for the eps I did watch]

I’m also watching, albeit proceeding very slowly because Bar Exams, Jin Dong’s Mr. Right. Because……..Jin Dong. I’m not embarrass to admit that I’m really only watching this for Jin Dong. And he is VERY ATTRACTIVE IN THIS SHOW. Ft. fun tropes like enemies to lovers (probably, I haven’t seen enough of this to make this call, but I’m assuming the leads end up together, so), misunderstandings, mistaken identities (of sorts). Basically, uh, Jin Dong’s character moonlights as an anonymous online love guru, and he sort of helps people win over their crush. [7/10, a huge part of which is honestly just because I love Jin Dong’s everything, but I would say this has the most Love Online vibes out of everything else]

I’m gonna throw a couple of other shows out here for y’all that my friends have rec-ed me but I haven’t had the time to watch yet:

Pretty Man - starring Xiong Ziqi (from My Mr. Mermaid, which is why this is pretty hight on my to-watch list) and Sierra Lee (the 女二 from The Interpreter and PLHZ) // ft. tropes like misunderstandings, actually-requited-unrequited-love, fake marriage because showbiz calls for it // i watched it, and trust me, just..........NO. very, very disappointing for how much i enjoyed xzq in my mr. mermaid, and sierra in the interpreter. they had zero chemistry, the acting felt really forced (this is less a comment re: their acting skills, and more of an observation that they were really not suitable for the roles they were playing), and the plot was.........everywhere but also nowhere.

Rush to the Dead Summer - I’ve been rec-ed this so many times, and I really should watch it because Chen Xuedong and Bai Jingting are both in it, and I love them ahhh // ft. high school romance, friends to lovers // updated post talking about this show here, but tl;dr, just.....don’t bother. idk why i try with zheng shuang’s dramas anymore, i know i don’t like her. bai jingting and the side couple in this show were the only saving grace, but even then this show did them dirty in the end, so. nah.

That should be it??? Normally, I’d throw a cursory NIF2 rec here, but it doesn’t fit the theme, so. :P hmu if y’all are watching anything good too!

#asks #sarah watches tv #tv rec #cdrama #but like seriously rec me shows #nif2 is ending tomorrow and i'll speed through mr right because there won't be anymore nif2 to occupy me #so i'm going to need new shows #Anonymous

11 notes · View notes

mejomonster · 1 year

Text

Checked out Desire Catcher ep 1:

Thrilled the lead actors aren't as young as I expected

The main Luo guy looks so familiar to me, what have I seen him in before....

The other guy looks familiar too, but I think he looks like Khaotung from gmmtv and that's why

Luo Fei.... Luo fei.... Luo fei? You mean like Luo wenzhou and fei du????!!! I am aware the fei in fei du is费, and this one is fei 飞. But. Hear me out. Is this an original script? Maybe the script writer ships zhoudu. I can imagine, even if its not true. ToT

The setup, if at any point it turns magical/sci fi etc, reminds me of death note: being able to kill remotely and investigating that and all. And I do love some magic in an otherwise mundane reality story

Right now it's like that movie where ppl hear a trigger word then kill, except here they die

For some reason I heard some ppl saying this was gonna be bromance vibes? Well, I'll find out. I do think though that it will likely lend itself to such option (like Under the Skin perhaps? I haven't seen Under the Skin yet though)

I WILL say that... while there's the whole danmei not airing situation, and completely made shows not airing that were bl novel adaptations... mango TV is just the kind of bitch to drop an original script bl through the cracks. First, because they've written original script bl before (wasn't Killer and Healer an original script first before novelization?). Second, because it seems original scripts With bromance undertones is getting a much easier time airing right now: one example being League of Nobleman, another being Pledge of Allegiance. So any original script with Any level of gay stuff I imagine is having an easier time airing rn (also in mango tvs case right now? They're not high Press releases. There's a LOT of eyes on say Sha Po Langs drama than on this random one).

I like the vibe of this show. It's leaning darker/more realistic, feels like the kind of novels I read. Like Justice in the Dark, it has a dead animal early on and a murder scene early on. Not sure how many cdramas skew that direction in scary (or dark idk?) But this one clearly is going that route. Which I personally like (again giving me Under the Skin vibes).

ZHAO YUNLANS DAD IS IN THIS PLAYING A SHADY BITCH (GO FIGURE)

the old professor man almost... looks like he could also be Shen Weis old professor mentor from Guardian, but I don't remember that face as well... so this old professor guy could be from a number of dramas I've seen

Not to compare to Justice in the Dark cause I imagine it's totally unintentional, so it's just funny to me. But I Did Notice we have a Captain Luo, a girl cop whos on his team with That Haircut, and a guy cop who's a little less put together than Luo who talks to That Girl and you... you gotta admit visually they look a lot like Lang Qiao and Xiao Haiyang in casting and just character roles (initially) in the story. If I saw someone filling Tao Rans role I'd be really !!!. But no Tao ran like guy yet. However, our consultant? Ohoho... he's a criminal psychology consultant is he (like Fei Du), his professor helped get him in with the cops (like fei du you say?), he's a bit of a little shit (!!!fei du?!!), he's got slightly longer hair (was that a character design choice or just how the actor looked, either way very Fei Du). And I find it all just a Touch funny. ToT (also I miss Justice in the Dark). It's not Actually like Luo wenzhou/fei du though, as these two don't seem yo know each other and therefore Luo hasn't raised him for like 7 years. The dynamic is therefore Way Different.

I almost get a touch of Guardian or Torchwood vibes and I'm not even quite sure why, cause this first episode was Not campy at all or comedic. It's fairly like Beyond Evil type, murder mystery procedural and a bit heavy. But mm just like... design choices I think. Not the writing, not the directing or sound, just like the sets. The sets look way less bizarre than guardian don't get me wrong. But something about certain choices In them. The touch of bright colors at the first murder scene. The odd pink light. The glowing globe on the desk. The room of papers on the wall and a big crane light. The weird dining table on the roof with a big outer building sign in neon across the street. The focus on the Nokia phones, the Lolipop. Just like... lots of small detail decisions but they strike me as Not quite usual, enough to make it not seem like The Bad Kids (and those kind of realistic shows) in set design. Maybe... a bit like Tomb of the Sea? How tots was mostly realistic looking but there'd be a fucking stuffed animal in a kidnapping living room. Little details you notice enough to oddly remember.

All that said? I Like the set designs a LOT. It feels like Watching a murder mystery novel. It's similar to Justice in the Dark in NAILING the right atmosphere, a good coloring gradient for realism but also Slightly distorted/unknown, in sets that look done enough to feel lived in and like actual places, and with the kind of unique small details a Real place might have (like a fake office might just have office stuff, but THIS Xue guys office has some unique knick knacks so it feels more like an actual place thay could exist, etc).

I'll probably give it more eps. It was my kinda thing. Didn't absolutely capture me in ep 1 but honestly I saw just enough familiar faces that I was partly playing guessing games of where they were from in my mind and so it'll probably take me a few eps to settle and just click or not with it

I loved it's opening and ending though and... usually if I like those 90% chance I like the shows

#desire catcher #lb #i like its vibe

35 notes · View notes

mejomonster · 1 year

Text

Justice in the Dark, more on ep 2 since I can't shut the fuck up apparently even tho I just wrote a whole essay ToT

I get why the casting is who it is. In retrospect. In sitting here now lmao. Like I said I like who they cast performance wise they're doing perfect. But looks wise not all match exactly what was in my head. (Tao Ran does perfectly utterly in every way though lol). I think Fei Du was cast cause he looks a lot like fandom drawings of fei du. Not my personal image of him (my personal image of him is like slightly to the left of his most usual drawn look). But I can see a casting director thinking "yeah he'll look so much like the audio drama art and fanart etc" (also any skin smoothing just further highlights that). And Luo? Parts are clearly from the book, parts are from Zhao Yunlan (I imagine they wanted a specific kind of appeal you see in certain lead actors which he's also got here), and then i in reflection like how he looks "less intense" than fei du.

1 because fei du looks like he needs a home-cooked meal and Luo looks like he can cook it (which goes a lot more into their both romance dynamics and bigger dynamic of Luo being Feis path to healing, life, warmth, growth, him looking visually more soft and touchable and healthy and in touch with a realistic world all add to him being that For Fei Du).

2 Luo looks a bit older, just actor has quite distinct eyes (they could be similar age actors idk) and Luo seems Iike the increased stubble is more a present thing (with no facial hair in past scenes) so I think there's some choices there with age trying to be a noticeable trait. Versus Fei Du where he feels Iike a rich fantastical cold masked character out of an anime or out of Flower of Evil (he Screams protagonist from Flower of Evil energy but with even less convincing "ordinary approachable guy" ability to act, actually I think in general Flower of Evil fans and Beyond Evil fans would probably really like Fei Du). If costuming and makeup love me, over time fei dus visuals in the show may look less almost unreal and become more "looks like a random person you'd walk past" Iike Luo and Tao. As he opens up more and Luo becomes a part of his life more. So like... I get the choices on who to cast and why someone thought they'd look the part. Luo also we are seeing from Fei Dus pov (like most of the show), and Luos often snippy and ordery and it's in a way funny we see him as plain when Fei du does. In the scenes emotionally charged between them, I think Luos actor is shot quite handsomely, who's to say if that'll also be a trend of him looking more Model esque when Fei Du is emotionally open around him. (I also now that I'm settling into this show, appreciate that Luo looks like a plain everyday man sometimes. He's got model looks when the lighting flatters him. But also it not purposely played up constantly reminds me of the book - fei du in the show visually is constantly Model esque, in the book he's constantly dressed up and has peach blossom eyes and it's part of the Performance, and these visual drama choices echo that Feeling of the characters).

For the people like Me who prefer (or even need) action in their romance, im happy to report this is indeed a Flower of Evil situation! Lots of dollops of murder mystery, romance, and action! A nice little car chase was in episode 1 to set that expectation. I personally love me a good action scene, and the car scene looked significantly better than my (very low) expectations (Till Death Tear Us Apart cdrama looked decent to me though so temper yourself). Just wanted to happily report thank goodness there's murder and action in this.

Luo is handsome. (Don't trust my rants dissing on him lol) Like the scene of Fei Du as a child? I totally get why he's Captain Luo, why he's the guy who "wanted to save the whole universe." Why that day when he saw Fei Du absolutely destroyed, scared, he wanted to do anything to help him. And why he kept helping him for years after and still keeps track of him now. This is the "superhero" Luo that his team at their fondest see him as, that Tao sees him as at his best, that Fei Du saw him as when he was a child until Luo failed him (the whole world did) and Fei as a child blamed Luo for all of it to cope with the hopelessness he felt.

Just. This entire scene. I really felt that awful hopelessness. Luo Wenzhou realizing its hard to save even just one person, the looming threat he will soon try and fail to protect Fei Du and fail and fail and it will haunt him and cling on and he'll try so hard to Keep Trying as hard as it is and as much as Fei Du pushes him away and how awful it feels to Keep failing fei du. Fei Du looking at him for help, the only hand he can reach out to for it, and the realization that even this man who's like a superhero to him and an angel... can't. That no force in this world can fix this.

#rant #lb #justice in the dark #yep i am in deep now #im so messed up over that scene

6 notes · View notes

mejomonster · 1 year

Text

Devil Summoner Raidou is my favorite smt game i... am always missing it

It's like spyro, it's full on become a comfort game to me.

It's action playstyle but simple for when you wanna just mash buttons to fight (a la yakuza games), it's got demons that work like Pokémon you summon and party members that auto fight but you can give them directions (so like turn based controls of what to do) which works well. The demons are both enemies you fight and random people in town you can do little stories to help out, which I always appreciate them not being only enemies. While there's a good portion of fighting (which I think has some freedom for creativity to win and some leniency on perfect strategy so you can in some ways bumble through if you don't want to be in depth - which is nice compared to some super difficult smt games and jrpgs) there's also a solid reliance on mystery problem solving. Instead of typical puzzles in games (which I find frustrating), often there's sections where you need to have investigated people around town for the proper prior information (much like detective games and story choose your adventure games) and need to have the right demons with you in certain areas (so if you forgot to bring your demon friend who read minds you go and put them back on your party, or the demon who can set stuff on fire etc). It's not the kind of puzzle that's frustratingly annoying to figure out or easy to miss a critical item, but it does require some exploration and thought into this Ally does This and That so who can help me. I find it a nice break from only fight game play, and it complements the detective-solving-mystery story style of the game.

Then just. The plots charmingly bonkers. Reminds me of Guardian cdrama. You help a demon with their date, you run into a businessman who's possessed by a tentacle monster, Rasputin fights you in a church by the bay. There's Catgirl demons in the military base. Your partner is a talking black cat <3. I named my main character Zhao Yunlan and had a great time. (I imagine Persona 2 must unfold to an equally bonkers plot since I like that game a lot and the more bizarre mesh kingdom hearts like a game or story the more I get pulled in tbh, also why Yakuza Like a Dragon and all yakuza games work well for me - they mesh very bonkers side story slice of life with very heavy angst crime drama). There's also a long haired charismatic shady guy who might be ur boyfriend or Watson or something. Idk it's quite fun (and yeah Persona 2 I also enjoy for the demon chats you can do rather than fights ToT). Also the collecting demons like Pokémon, and the demon Mashups you make by literally visiting Victor Frankenstein in town, are very fun to do and quite straightforward in that I didn't puzzle over it confused like I have with persona games, and VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN IS THERE that's just so fun.

#rant #devil summoner raidou #i just. i reallt love that game its still shocking to me How fun it is

0 notes

mejomonster · 3 years

Note

Youtube recced me this trailer for a drama called Phoenix warriors and I thought maybe this is something that you can dig youtu.be/ZZPgD2A9voE I haven't watched it, I don't know if it's worth watching or not, but only for the scifi in ancient fantasy China set up is worth a shot.

first of all, OKAY LOOKS LIKE I'M CHECKING IT OUT

i have not heard of this, and there is always the chance its a total hot mess. you are completely write though in that I rarely ever see sci fi cdramas let alone fantasy combo ones (sci fi fantasy mash is my fave genre and of course to no surprise Guardian is near and dear to my heart)

Phoenix Warriors trailer: https://youtu.be/ZZPgD2A9voE

Phoenix Warriors ep 1: https://youtu.be/DSX6D-tsdX0

However - idk how much we will like it. so i will maybe just check out one ep :c I just looked it up on mydramalist and apparently the alien spaceship is in only one scene, the sci fi elements are rarely mentioned, and the drama is mostly Historical/Romance/Tragedy. Now... this was a mydramalist recommendation though so who knows if the show's way better than that, which is sometimes the case. Reviews do say the lead actress did amazing. They also said the overall story is good, the ending is sad which was most people's mixed opinions. For most people the lack of sci fi wasn't an issue (though I kind of lol want sci fi ToT)

(i am always up for mutant, sci fi, sci fi/fantasy mash recommendations if you see any! I already know of: Guardian - very good mix of sci fi/Fantasy and one of my fave shows ever, Bureau of Transformer - sci fi modern era very Star Trek or In The Flesh esque and written intensely well, Rattan - pretty grounded about the mutants premise and very realistic vibe in general, Fairyland Lovers - actually this ones SUPER good they actually kind of play with the extraterrestrial idea and a mix of comedy/heaviness, Demon Girl - I heard its a mutant premise in republican era but haven't seen it yet)

For a sci fi fantasy mash I DO know is a fun time: L.O.R.D. Critical World. Featuring Zhang Ming En as the cutest bastard joxer-like character ever, surprisingly gay, includes a bdsm princess who won't chill whom I love, includes the girl who was in a romance with Sunglasses from the Lost Tomb Reboot who plays a badass here, just in general has some intense Xena smashed with Drakengard vibes. Zhang Ming En's character is kidnapped a lot, the show is comedy and darkness combined and will just be so ridiculously dumb then punch your heart. It's by no means the 'best quality' but its entertaining and Something and managed to suck me in. It's also the only 'old fantasy'/sci fi mashup I cdrama I can think of - which is part of why it reminds me of Xena (old-fantasy/historical-ish but also gods and magic) and Drakengard (heavy fantasy-historical esque vibes but some weird sci fi stuff throughout). Also just the tone - slapstick comedy in a bleak af reality, that sometimes gets to your heart (Drakengard's fucked up party members and dark setting but comedic at times, Xena being so slapstick but set in a warlord torn world with character losses that shatter you, pretty gay).

also apparently??? Main Lord Silver in LORD Critical World is ALSO a main guy in Phoenix Warriors! (Maybe he tends to pick sci fi/fantasy mash stories, in which case I should look into his works more lol)

#phoenix warriors #rec list #to watch #replies #anonymous #i wish i was getting YOUR youtube recs lol #its so hard to find sci fi cdramas

6 notes · View notes

mejomonster · 3 years

Note

i am LIVING for all the hikaru no go moments i haven't gotten to yet orz. i am serious this is like the 1% of times when the source material was already excellent and the adaptation (by another country no less) made it even better. how did we managed to get blessed with this adaptation idk but i definitely didn't continue watching yet bc i don't want it to end haha...

o3o

As someone who hasn’t seen the original, this show felt so good and wonderful and i was glued to watching it until i was through. it was so nicely written, paced well for me, and had such heart in what it was trying to convey <3 i really appreciated the story, and could see why people might fall in love with it - it definitely made me want to see the original.

ok not to burst the bubble. T-T but i have heard a few small genuine critiques of the adaptation?

and i think you may find them on point as the show progresses. some lacking in female characters (compared to the original? you would know, i haven’t seen the original). the arc when Chu Ying leaves and Shi Guang copes is a bit shortened in the drama (and the way its handled is fairly correct, but fans tend to think the original did a better job at the emotions and how shi guang ultimately changed his mind, at showing how ppl interacted during that arc). And not necessarily a critique - but the drama spends more actual time post-shi guang getting back into go/being with yu liang. And for fans who just wanted it to end soon after Chu Ying disappeared, perhaps this was unnecessary or drawn out/could have been time spent focusing more on Shi Guang giving up go and getting back into it.

I haven’t seen the original, so I can’t say how much these critiques will affect enjoyment. I thought the way the mom was handled was nice, I felt there were few female characters but the ones there were handled well (idk if there were more in the original tho, would always be nice to have more), i felt the Shi Guang giving up arc was handled well especially due to the really Great acting by Shi Guang’s actor - although I do think it could’ve been delved into MORE but i get the show not wanting to focus on the heaviness SO long cause it’s already like 4-5 solid eps. And i particularly love the ‘happy ending’ edition of the last 2 eps, even if they aren’t strictly necessary. I felt like they really tied up things and especially the Very last scene, as blatant as it is, i LOVE the parallel set up in the very last scene, it reminds me of Chu Ying and all the connections he made, Shi Guang and all the connections he made, and i think really supported the themes as a closing moment.

oh also. there was a small critique that right in the middle the pacing weakens a bit, at the go academy, for a few eps. i did not notice, probably because i was marathoning it and it kept my attention. but for a slower watcher it might be noticeable. Though... i can say compared to like Eternal Love the pace never dropped as slow as some eps of that. I’ve seen a Lot more cdramas with even slightly worse pacing, and with Much worse pacing.

#replies #@a-whump-muffin #hikaru no go #IS SO GOOD i loved itttttttttt #i was watching another thing??? OH YEAH KNIVES OUT #AND THEY PLAYED GO #AND !!!!!!#anyway below the cut is some small critiques i have heard #which as a new watcher i did not notice #but if someone knew about the original they may find those critiques to be more noticeable in their experience

4 notes · View notes

mejomonster · 4 years

Text

saw the first episodes of the lost tomb reboot, and wow yes it is absolutely my jam

YES the sets look so much better. so much. they look more like actual movies or the outlast games or the tomb raider games, there’s dust and contours and rock formations and a lot of different regular house/building/location sets that look like they might be actual places and not just stock-house or stock trailer-apartment. aghhhh soooo much better then the lost tomb 1 sets. so much. Costumes, same - also so much better. all the characters feel lived in like maybe a movie people thought about these details, even though you know this baby is gonna be what - 50/70 episodes?

whereas of course there’s a heaping plenty of cdramas where their costumes and sets look whipped up to some degree (Romance of Tiger and Rose tried, but had this look, Granting You A Dreamlike Life to a degree, Go Princess Go, Men with Sword season 1 especially, Romance of Rua Hong, The Untamed to some degree). this one looks pretty like... idk like they had a stars or hbo kind of budget or effort put into it. As a side note: I also checked out The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty yesterday, and I do think that show looked pretty solid as well in this regard (also I felt Goodbye Princess looked pretty solid in this regard).

and it just. wow it just looked good. it looked so good. the tomb settings looked like good hollywood movies (the scene in the beginning with Third Uncle reminded me a bit of The Mummy but at night and modern and getting creepy fast lol). It looked good AND THE SCARES AND TENSION WERE BUILT UP WELL. It was paced great, Wu Xie and Pangzi have great chemistry and feel like old best friends. They’re funny and relaxed, or tense and tired and lived in with each other. Their intimacy as far as being long time friends/practically family since they live together, is clear in every scene they get. They easily can joke or insult or be concerned, they touch easy and move like they consider each other family (some great acting agh). Also their dynamic feeling so like... mundane and grounded and familiar really contrasts well against the creepy/tense scenes they’re thrown against. It helps balance the tension so that the moments are either their easy familiarity or else building outside threats.

I am so overjoyed the pacing and the tense scenes are well done (so far). I think its an area this kind of genre show really relies on, and the 1st old drama i thought did not as strongly here as it could have (the old 1st drama i happen to like, and i think it does a good job character/acting/plot wise, the biggest fault i’ve really had with it was pacing since its genre is a lot weaker when its struggling to be action-paced and tense/scary).

anyway WOW this show is my jam rn.

i went in because hello Zhu Yilong. i know he can act well, i am overjoyed it looks like so far everyone else can act great too (Pangzi is doing a fantastic job in his performance so far, at least to me). also i get.. maybe why zyl got picked. way back when i heard this show was coming out, i looked into dmbj just hopeful zyl would be in another action show. i saw wu xie in the first drama and... i was like how is this bright bushy tailed young tomb raider going to be zyl? not that he couldn’t do it but like? he’s maybe not what i’d have pictured, compared to the previous actors that got picked (but i haven’t seen wu xie 2nd drama’s acting, so maybe its more worn-out/grounded). I also had no idea what Reboot wu xie was supposed to be like, except for 10 years+ older - which this part, yeah I get zyl being picked.

So in the actual show, (pretty early spoiler) Wu Xie is dying and doing one last thing he wants to find out before he does, so he won’t regret. OF COURSE Zhu Yilong was the choice. Of course. He’s really good at carrying some heavy weight stuff, of course he can do a character Going Through It and just bullheadedly stubbornly pushing forward possibly obsessively. It was also really fun to see him in the first episodes, playing Wu Xie before he realized this - unkept hair, no interest in life, sarcastic and a bit of a chill mess. And then when he goes to his 2nd Uncles and its Wu Xie trying to appeal to family, with the clothes they expect and the aqcueising neutral behavior hoping it’ll work, which reminded me a lot of the more fresh bushy tailed naive Wu Xie from the 1st drama as far as the impression this Wu Xie was trying to give his second uncle. And the scene! Where Wu Xie insists he’s still young and business comes first, almost like his character ‘insisting’ he’s still like he early-days Wu Xie character... then his uncle goes ‘you’re not young anymore you’re almost 40!’ And Wu Xie’s face changes, realizing this front he’s putting up isn’t going to fool anyone anymore anyway, and its like a clear sign THIS Wu Xie is no longer that young one. He is older, he IS different, he’s grounded and rougher and broken into something new by life, he can’t be who he used to be even if he steps back into his ‘old role’ of adventurous explorer. WOW I loved that so much.

It really dug in that this new story is about a NEW Wu Xie who’s gone through enough life he really has changed as a person, and on almost a meta level its like the show really slamming home this is ZYL’s Wu Xie, this is not a person filling a role of the same Wu Xie you remember when the novels began. Its such a good way to establish the character, and to establish how Reboot in some ways is solidly distinct from the previous several novels. That scene just... of course zyl is Wu Xie, this Wu Xie... this older different Reboot Wu Xie who is in a different part of his life, who’s changed and grown, who’s not interswitchable with the young curious adventurer who hadn’t been shaped by all of this yet. It really feels like time has passed, like the character we’re being introduced to is someone grown and changed and new to us now. A lot of the scenes really hammer this home - obviously Wu Xie with his messy hair and robe and disinterest in tomb exploring do in the beginning. But just... this show’s really hammering home that even if he cleans up, looks like Wu Xie ‘ought’ to and does what Wu Xie always ‘does’ like explore and chase mysteries, he is very much not the same person that he used to be - he can’t just undo these changes life caused him. (And if he does, I imagine it’ll be a developing process we can watch). You know - in contrast to those shows/games where the character ‘retired’ but once they’re brought back in some montage, they for all intents feel mostly or fully like their old selves like no life experiences changed their personalities significantly? Whereas when Wu Xie does that ‘quick revamp back to shiny tomb raider’ its abundantly clear its him putting on an ‘act’ that he’s ‘cleaned up.’ That act was for Pangzi, to get them to go on the search for his uncle. Just like Wu Xie putting on the white sweater and going to 2nd Uncle’s was an attempt at putting on an act for uncle - an act he Failed, toward the end, when he realized no one was buying it anymore. And he keeps losing the act with Pangzi too... the difference I think is that Pangzi wants to keep believing his Wu Xie is still that old Wu Xie, because its something he’s insisted on even as Wu Xie outright refused to be it for years. The act is more to seem stable enough in front of Pangzi to be not interferred with, since Pangzi in the end sees him as family and would rather stop him/help take care of him than let him get obsessively into something that looks like its straining him.

And wowwwwww I just love that I’ve got so much thought out character stuff going on AND acted well, in my genre show... I love exciting adventure suspense stuff so damn much, I love great character stuff. I love that this show is nailing both. All the actors, probably in part because of their age just feeling grown and lived in so idk i can relate to what they’re going through, and in part because they’re just all putting 110% into these characters they could easily get away with lazy moments instead. Like... we’ve all seen action movies where this stuff happens, where the characters just don’t like, have as much depth going on. But I can tell Pangzi both wants money and adventure and also just his best friend and to take care of him and genuinely cares for him a LOT, and i like that there’s depth in his acting instead of just being this flat ‘one thing’ defining some of his moments. Even when he’s acting greedy, or insisting, you just KNOW if Wu Xie looked out of it he’d immediately drop those lesser interests of his and prioritize - which we see in the Weather Station. Wu Xie’s obviously been great.

Even 2nd Uncle’s got some cool character establishing stuff going on with him... he’s this anal cold suburb-uncle acting rich guy but he’s also brutal with criminal money dealings with only-implication, he’s ‘mundane’ like some dad playing video games not worrying about crime dealings but also a selfish dad/uncle clearly just based on that scene alone, he’s got no wife but deeply concerned with family-looks as far as ‘expectations’, he pushes money issues onto Wu Xie again mundanely, looks at the suggested future-gf options for Wu Xie all mundane parent trying to push then slides into mundane gross older man who checks them out, then when Wu Xie leaves that cold blooded ruthlessness comes back and its clear he knows a TON and was putting on his own act in front of Wu Xie by just avoiding the topic/noting what Wu Xie was asking about. Like... wow a ton of character establishing in a few minutes on screen... and again a character that could have been flatter, but wasn’t and was instead very developed and well thought out (and still repulsive, which it always impresses me when an actor gets a bad-person character and can make them feel like a bad person you’d meet in real life instead of a caricature pure evil cartoon villain or trying to portray something sympathetic - this character was repulsive, unlikable, not trying to insist he’s ‘good’ to the audience, but he also felt lived in and like a real person you might deal with instead of some tomb raiding murder gun hiring boss).

I’m not sure how much of it is source material good writing, the drama’s good writing, or the actor’s great performances so far. But like... in a way I’m happy I can’t even tell yet, which to me feels like that means they’re all pretty strong areas.

anyway wow this show is good...

if you like action stuff/creepy stuff, and also good writing/show looks/characterization, so far this show is hitting every point really damn well. i went in just hoping for the bare minimum of some great acting from zhu yilong, and maybeee some cool genre stuff from the show since i like this kinda genre. i’m happy i’m seeing a lot more beyond that. this show’s settings and writing and pacing so far are so gooddddddd

0 notes