:dancing_panda: Creation of the Gods I is on Netflix! Just in time for Chinese New Year.
This is the xianxia I remember - where the gods care for something beyond romance, but is there to guide and protect humanity. Based on the 16th-century Chinese novel, "Investiture of the Gods".
Here are the three most buzzy iQiyi dramas of 2023 🌸 I liked them all in different ways. If I had to choose, then I think "Mysterious Lotus Casebook" is the best.
Watching Cheng Yi as the nerdy judge in Draw the Line and then watching him as the swordsmaster Li Xiang Yi in #MysteriousLotusCasebook will give you massive whiplash, guaranteed. I mean, I totally know this is the whole point of acting, but he just looks. SO. NORMAL. in #DrawTheLine lol.
Anwyay, Cheng Yi is one of the very few actors who does convincing and balletic fight choreography. I love his fight scenes 😍
Oof the acting is so good in Draw the Line that I winced at episode 17. Our lovable Judge Fang has a massive argument with his wife and when I mean massive, I mean massive! Mean words were thrown at each other. It's like I am watching my parents fight 😬
I like that in this drama we are shown how real these people are. They are by no means superheroes. #Cdrama#CDramas#DrawTheLine#TV#Entertainment
Surprised that I ended up binging 16 episodes of this in a week! (For me that's fast OK lol). I wanted to write a funny Substack issue about how I am enjoying Chinese propaganda just to poke the bear 😂
Yes, it depicts China's justice system in a mostly favourable light, but they also show the loud disapproval of the public over some decisions & how the judges are personally conflicted (and at times mentally stressed) by their decisions and the public's reaction.
Huh. I just used #AI to translate Chinese audio to English subtitles.
Wild.
Probably one of the few uses of AI I support 🤣
Am trying to create English subs for Blossoms Shangai 😆 Wish me luck!
Ps: Succeeded. The subs are rough but you can at least understand what's going on. If I was hardworking enough I would fix it but I am not lol. But I CNA imagine a translator using this as scaffolding for her work, quickly speeding up translation work.
Had a hard time deciding what to watch. Had thought I wanted to watch one of the two Sword + Fairy dramas, but they don't appeal. Thought I might re-watch Guardian, but it is so different from the book, I prefer not to muddle my brain. I still have a sense that some big dramas will drop soon so ... I decided on a light, fluffy drama,"Golden House Hidden Love" 🌸 Looks like a cute, ghost-human love story with an adorable height difference.
Have now finished watching "Under the Skin" 🌸 I don't usually watch crime dramas but tried this one, based on a recommendation and I'm glad I did. The friendship between the main characters develops from mistrust to trust and the villain is caught at the end. There is a season 2 this year, which I'm looking forward to. The last scene with the portrait implies that there is more to the artist beneath the surface.
If you need something light, sweet, and fluffy to watch and enjoy an enemies-to-lovers story, this drama might be the one for you. But don't expect anything solid or top-tier.
Watching the first episode of Draw the Line and it is fascinating to see how the courts in China work. This drama is about various cases that these judges solve. Apparently they are based on real-life cases.
Admittedly, I started watching this because Cheng Yi is starring in it, but I am enjoying how high quality everyone's acting is here. Such light years of difference in terms of quality from the typical idol drama 😅
Ps: I love how bitchy Cheng Yi's character can be 😆
Dudes I am so indescribably happy that there will be another Jin Yong adaptation. If I am not mistaken, a series of dramas will be made based on Jin Yong's stories. The trailer looks magnificent and really reminds me of the wuxia dramas I used to watch. Oh please let this be good 🙏
A #Cdrama that most Chinese folks around the world would know would be Journey to the West (1986).
My dad would tape every episode into VHS and us kids would replay the drama over and over again. It was a sad day when the VHS tapes ended up having mold growing in them, rendering them unwatchable.
Journey to the West is a “shen mo” - a Chinese fantasy genre that revolves around Chinese mythological characters.
I realised something recently - why I avoid shows such The Glory and palace harem dramas.
Bullying. There's so much bullying in them.
And because I suffered from a lot of bullying in different periods of my life, I do not like being reminded of it nor do I enjoy watching people suffer from it. It's stressful!
Revenge dramas however, are a favourite. I wonder why. Bwhaha.
i remember when i used to avidly read conversations about #CDrama and #KDrama eagerly looking for more to add to my watch list.
Now I just keep reading until I find the post which tells me I won't be able to cope with it and this is another series I should probably miss.
How do you stress addicts manage it? Like seriously. How do you cope with all of the cortisol and stress reactions from your entertainment?
Would I recommend Three-Body just to anyone? Probably not. However, if you're patient enough to sit through a few slow patches, you will be highly rewarded.
And watch this before the #Netflix one.