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.
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.
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.
MyDramaList is a really useful app - helps me organize my drama watchlist & helps me be more strategic with the way I watch dramas. I have a "plan to watch list" and pick just one or two from the list to watch at a time. It has proven to be super effective - I'm able to focus and absorb a drama better rather than jump from drama to drama.
Here are the #CDramas#Kdramas I plan to catch up with this year:
I love #KDrama#CDrama folks in the Fediverse.
In other fan places people insist you must not "spread negativity" by saying negative things about a show or actor. I have even been warned not to post "things like this" or "you get what you deserve".
If I don't like a show I will very well say it. And if I think an actor's performance needs work, I will state it without prejudice.
I rarely do this, but I find fandom gatekeeping annoying & am so glad it doesn't happen here. #KDramas#Cdramas
I have actors in a personal blacklist whose dramas I will never watch because they are so bad at acting. I don't like Till the End of the Moon, couldn't tolerate Love Between Fairy and Devil and thought Hidden Love was boring. The Untamed's popularity is perplexing to me.
But why get upset over this? The world is vast & our tastes are diverse. Me not liking your fav show does not discredit or devalue your love for it.
Fandom parasocial behavior is weird. #Cdramas#KDramas#KDrama#CDrama
I wish people would stop
casually spouting anti-China things at me when I talk about China. (And I talk about it a lot cos I love #CDramas). Although I am not a CCP fan, I am STILL CHINESE and it sometimes feels freaking Sinophobic and hurts, OK?
You complain so much about Nazis but are OK with painting Chinese people in a bad light (namely they are brainwashed, have no agency etc).
Like, stop already.
I am tired of this.
Watching #BlossomsShanghai in the original Shanghainese is SO INTERESTING.
I understand ZERO and yet I understand something hahaha.
I wish I could read the Chinese subs so much. Frustrated lol. It's also great to listen to Hu Ge speaking Shanghainese. (He speaks Mandarin & Shanghainese in the show.) Shanghainese sounds like a blend of Hokkien, Hakka and Mandarin or really off-tone Mandarin.
PS: It's a very gorgeous show. As expected from Wong Kar Wai.
A hilariously accurate representation of my taste. Mostly 😆 However, this graph is not 100% accurate as I went on a documenting spree in May last year when I joined Mydramalist and had been watching #KDramas for some time. In 2023, I watched mostly #CDramas and they were definitely not romance dramas.
I prefer #KDrama romances over #CDrama ones, so I tend to skew there. Also while I tend to pick a show for its fantasy angle rather the romance, but these shows are often are romance focused too.
From MyDramaList's 2023 year summary. This is actually a good reflection of my taste in dramas. (Note the lack of romance dramas lol and lots of wuxias & thrillers hehe.) And apparently 90% of my dramas are rated 7 or 8, and about 8% or so are 9.
What I love about #ThreeBody is that it shows countries around the world working together with China to defeat this threat. They are all equals in this conflict. There was a conversation between our main lead with one of the leaders of a European nation which I found moving. It showed that they were both humans with loved ones to protect.
I have real worries that Netflix adaptation would forgo this cooperative element and paint some countries as baddies.
This is a PSA that you need to watch the Chinese TV adaptation of #ThreeBody before you the #Netflix version. I have little confidence that Netflix or the folks who butchered Game Of Thrones will do it justice.
At least absorb the unique POV this #Cdrama offers before the Netflix defines your vision of Liu Cixin's books.
You can watch it on the WeTV, Viki apps. The first 2 eps are available on Youtube.
When you watch and realise what that infamous "ship scene" in #ThreeBody REALLY means.
PS: I REALLY liked how subtly they implied the FULL horror of it all in this episode. I don't know how Netflix will replicate the growing dread, and horror of that scene.
So a Discord group I am part of asked - what 12 dramas will I recommend people?
So this is a list of my favourite #CDramas and #KDramas. Have you seen any of them?