dramatea88.wordpress.com

dramatea88.wordpress.com, 21 days ago to showerthoughts

I am generally wary of hyped dramas, and boy was this drama hyped. And since I don’t exactly have wonderful luck with xianxia as a genre, I wondered if I could get on The Legend of Shen Li train.

Fortunately, I had a long holiday in April, and I was in the mood to watch something adventurous. So I gave Show a try and ended up binging six episodes in a day. This is a good sign.

1. The story
2. Thoughts
3. Episode logs
   1. Episodes 1 to 6: Chicken little
   2. Episodes 7 to 13: Return to the Immortal Realm
   3. Episodes 14 to 22: Battling the miasma – the bad guy shows himself
   4. Episodes 23 to 30: Shen Li’s fall
   5. Episodes 32 to 39 – Secrets are revealed
4. The ending
5. What I liked
6. What I didn’t like
7. Final thoughts
8. Final rating: 8.5

The story

Pressured into a political marriage, Shen Li chooses to flee her fate and ends up injured and reverting to her original form.

She falls into the mortal realm as a phoenix but is mistaken for a chicken. She nearly ends up as someone’s dinner until Xingyun, an ordinary mortal, saves her.

But things are not what they seem, and this fateful meeting begins a love that may destroy the Three Realms.

Thoughts

This is a xianxia for adults.

A lot of xianxia dramas, I feel, have young adult-ish themes and romantic tales. So, the fact that we have more mature actors heading the drama was a big attraction for me.

Another thing unusual about Show is that it can be considered a slice-of-life drama.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about the slice-of-life genre: It’s a “narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a character’s life is presented, often lacking plot development, conflict and exposition, as well as often having an open ending.”

Fortunately, there’s no open ending for The Legend of Shen Li, but I’ll get to that later.

Still, I wasn’t sure about the slice-of-life vibe of Shen Li. In this drama, as per the conventions of the slice-of-life genre, the main plot is the side character.

So, we have times when the main plot (though I wonder if I can even call it that), grinds to a halt and we see Shen Li, Xing Zhi and various side characters hanging out at functions, cooking food, cleaning jade cups (I’m totally not kidding).

In fact, I nearly gave up on the show when they left the mortal realm and the immortal realm arc started.

But I persevered, and I’m glad I did.

Episode logs

Beware of spoilers! Do not read this part if you’ve not watched the drama.

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2024/04/shen-li-2.jpg?w=781### Episodes 1 to 6: Chicken little

Shen Li becomes an overpowered chicken when she gets injured and loses her human form. She is rescued from a market by the mysterious mortal, who, while he lives a simple life, isn’t a simple man.

Xingyun, as he is called, doesn’t seem fazed by a lot of supernatural events and can even cast spells. During this idyllic lull, our couple gets to know each other, free of the pressures of cosmic responsibilities.

Episodes 7 to 13: Return to the Immortal Realm

Shen Li returns to the divine realm and to her duties as a general. There, she meets the only ancient god, Xing Zhi, who looks exactly Xingyun.

My least favourite arc. Besides attending heavenly functions, our couple is busy trying not to give in to their feelings. Xing Zhi pretends he’s not the mortal that Shen Li fell in love with. And Shen Li resigns herself to her fate of marrying someone else.

This is the most boring arc of the show and I should’ve employed the fast-forward button instead of patiently waiting for something dramatic to happen. If you want to do so, I give you my blessings.

Episodes 14 to 22: Battling the miasma – the bad guy shows himself

I was so relieved when Shen Li and Xing Zhi returned to the mortal realm to battle some demon smoke and that we had something else to do besides attend heavenly functions and endure boring divine beings.

Anyway, they are in search of Shen Li’s wayward betrothed, the spoiled Furong.

A good arc where we not only saw character growth for Furong but also got to meet our ill-fated former ancient god in the first arc who is now trapped in a cycle of rebirth due to daring to love a mortal. I enjoyed Qingye’s tragic story, and I swear it could be its own show. A part of me hopes we get a spin-off for Qingye’s tale even if the likelihood of this happening is like 0.5%.

I love that Qingye got to talk to Xing Zhi. The actor portrayed that wise, ancient and even-tempered Qingye so well.

Episodes 23 to 30: Shen Li’s fall

The Three Realms (or rather, two, since the mortal realm doesnt know a thing), grapple with the loss of Shen Li.

Though us viewers would be going: I mean, seriously, Shen Li dead in the middle of the drama? Riiiiight.

Anyway, I loved this arc because this is where Xing Zhi is finally rattled out of his “I need to do right by the world so I cannot show that I love Shen Li” mode. By that I mean he totally lost it.

I thought Lin Geng Xin acted the heck out of that moment when he gave in to his grief, froze the sea and brokenheartedly tried to search for Shen Li’s body. His last words before collapsing into Furong’s arms were: “I really regret it, Shen Li. I do like you.”

He gets his second chance, and boy does he ensure that he makes up for lost time. No more being a noble idiot.

We get a sabbatical in the countryside part 2. After the harrowing last arc, our main couple deserved some quiet time. But real life and responsibilities intrude on them soon enough.

And yes, episode 31! Some say that the scene was really awkward, and the kissing was not that good or something. But I thought it was perfect because, come on, Xing Zhi is an expert at being emotionless and composed, but he is a total infant when it comes to expressing his feelings and just letting go of his inhibitions. Dude demonstrated that he learned quite quickly toward the end of the drama, I assure you.

And that scene with Lady Jin giving Shen Li and Xing Zhi knowing looks and slyly teasing them that they both “did it” and our couple wilting from embarrassment? Comedy gold!

And is it me, or is Xing Zhi jealous when Jin “flirts” with Shen Li?

PS: Turns out that Jin is a lesbian in the novel and had a thing for Shen Li. Hahaha. Also, Jin is older than Xing Zhi, which explains a lot as well lol.

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2024/04/jin.jpg?w=941### Episodes 32 to 39 – Secrets are revealed

Everything comes to a head. All I have to say is that if I had watched this while it was airing, I would’ve been the first one to buy the express episodes package. Secrets are revealed. And I just wanna say that I really loved Xu Hai Qiao as Feng Lai (below)! Last time I saw him it was as the despicable Ou Yang Xu in A Dream of Splendor, and he’s so different here it took me a while to recognise him.

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2024/04/shen-li-fenglai.jpg?w=900And I admit that I shed a few tears in episode 38 when Xing Zhi emerged from the vortex and said, “A-Li, let’s go home. I’ll cook for you.”

At that moment, Xing Zhi knew he was dying, finally at the end of his lifespan, but his deepest and most desperate longing was to return to that simple time with Shen Li. Something that was not to be as he was near his end as he had finally lived out his purpose as an ancient god.

The only time I ever shed a tear for a xianxia character was Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. And now, with The Legend of Shen Li. This is because it was wonderfully acted by the actors, and I think it says something if Lin Geng Xin can squeeze a tear out of me, as I have a heart of stone and hardly ever cry when watching dramas.

The ending

Click HERE to read my thoughts about the ending. There are spoilers, of course.https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2024/04/shen-li-end.jpg?w=900Oh dear lord, after a slew of promising dramas with tragic or open endings, we finally a good ending. Nay, a great one that is fleshed out, happy and clear. Not a 10-second, hey look, that could be our dead character back alive. Instead, an entire last episode is devoted to Shen Li and Xing Zhi giving each other maximum skinship, cooking for each other, playing mahjong (!) and hanging out with their best pal Miss Jin.

Was episode 39 necessary? Some people may say that it should’ve ended at 38. It would’ve been a neat and tidy ending. But I love watching Xing Zhi and Shen Li enjoying their “retirement” from official heavenly duties. They deserve it.

What I liked

• It is nice to have a manly, mature man for once as the male lead of a xianxia drama. Lin Geng Xin doesn’t have the typical delicate, elfin-like looks idol male lead xianxias typically has, but that’s what I love about him. He is charismatic in a way that is hard to define.
• OMG they filmed in actual locations! I’m so used to green-screen xianxia sets that it felt weird to see these high beings wandering around real streets, real fields of flowers and dwelling in real cottages!
• I love that Shen Li is such a smart, strong and confident woman. I love her straight-talking ways, and I love that she doesn’t suffer fools, even if they happen to be an ancient god like Xing Zhi. She puts him in his place a few times, once telling him, “I am not stupid”. Zhao Li Ying, of course, played her very well.
• I totally adore the food porn and cooking vlog sequences. They are a hoot and just puts me in a holiday mood. And all powerful ancient god and a great cook? Who can resist this man?
• The quiet, “cottagecore” moments when Shen Li and Xing Zhi are out in the countryside, free of their heavenly responsibilities are my favourite moments.
• When I grow up I want to be Ms Jin. What a sass madam! In fact, I love her so much that I’m so happy that she got her own side story in the last episode.

What I didn’t like

• Seriously, the Heavenly Realm folks have got to be the most useless and indolent Heavenly Realm folks in the universe. What do they do besides hang around gossiping with one another and throwing banquets? Don’t deities have jobs like protecting mankind or something?
• I also don’t quite get how this world works. I have long given up on xianxia trying to follow any traditional Chinese mythological structures. Call it “fantasy with Chinese characteristics”, but it’s a world whose rules are vague, so I don’t quite understand how it functions.
• I wish there was a better premise than they can’t be together because “Natural Law won’t permit it”. Something about emotions and Xing Zhi losing control and Three Realms destroyed cos … Xing Zhi will act out? It feels like a flimsy reason to keep our couple apart.
• Overuse of internal monologue. Awkward moments where characters just stare at each other as they internally monologue. There are better ways to convey this than internal monologues, really.

Final thoughts

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2024/04/shen-li-5.jpg?w=900I think the reason why The Legend of Shen Li spoke to me so much is because it touches the deep longing we have in our hearts as adults. Like our couple, some of us are weighed down by our family and work responsibilities. However, ours are far more mundane than battling demons or holding the fate of three realms on our shoulders. ( Though, I think for some of us, our family and working lives may actually be as angst-ridden as a xianxia!)

So, a lot of us long for a simpler life where we can just retreat to the green surroundings of the countryside, grow our food, cook, and nourish our loved ones.

This is a rare drama that you can watch when you just want to feel good. A xianxia version of “Meet Yourself”, if you will.

I never in a million years think a xianxia drama could fit the bill, but here we go.

However, Show is far from perfect, which is why I’m giving it an 8.5 rather than the 9 I would’ve given if the storytelling and pacing had been better and the world better fleshed out.

Still, I would say it’s one of the best xianxias you can watch; a rare gem that caters to more mature viewers.

Final rating: 8.5

https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/04/29/the-legend-of-shen-li-review/

image/jpeg
image/jpeg

dramatea88.wordpress.com, 3 months ago to television

Vigilante centres around a man with a secret identity: By day Kim Ji Yong is a police cadet, by night, he hunts down criminals who have escaped the law or received mere slaps on the wrist. When he was a child, he witnessed his mother beaten to death by a man and then saw him get a light sentence for the murder. As the Vigilante, Ji Yong swoops deliver the justice these criminals truly deserve.

What I think about the drama

I was really taken aback by how violent you show is.

I don’t know whether this is a recent thing with KDramas, especially now that international streaming platforms are buying them, but I am not really enjoying this more violent aspect.

I never realized how much I kind of appreciated the fact that censorship tones down violence. Chinese dramas and Korean dramas have very strict censorship laws, and I always chuckle when knives are blurred out in Korean dramas, which I thought was damn hilarious.

In Chinese dramas, the censorship can be over the top, but you’re not supposed to show too much blood and gore, though blood spitting is a thing. It took me a while to realise that I truly appreciated that, because after one year of watching almost exclusively Chinese dramas, watching Vigilante felt like a slap in the face, because oh, wow: Violence, violence! Ouch!

And the violence was so repetitive. Here is an episode with our hero beating up a bad guy. And here’s another. And another. And it disturbs me that he seemed to take pleasure in beating up his targets, so much so that I almost feel sorry for his victims! And he doesn’t just beat them up but kills them.

At first, I thought they’re going for a more Dexter-like character: A serial killer of killers. (That would’ve been intriguing to watch.)

Yet, Ji Young doesn’t give me that vibe either. So, I wasn’t sure what to think about his actions. I felt like his character isn’t fleshed out properly. Although we know why he is doing what he is doing, the lack of a moral arc makes him difficult to root for.

However, this is a slick, high quality production. And maybe you’re in the mood for a dark, cathartic drama about bad guys getting the justice they deserved.

But for me, it felt like watching an endless reel of people being beaten up. It wears you down after a while.

Final Verdict: 7.5

A slick production without much soul. Watch it if you’re really mad at somebody!

https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/02/13/vigilante-kdrama-review/

#Kdrama #Kdramas #Korea

dramatea88.wordpress.com, 4 months ago to random

So, I decided to list down all the dramas I watched this year. I didn’t review all of them on the blog, but I was pretty shocked that I had watched so many dramas!

I usually only spend an hour or two after work watching CDramas and I rarely binge unless it’s on the weekends. Even then, I’m so busy during weekends that I rarely watch more than three episodes per row.

I think what worked for me, compared to previous years, was that I was more focused with my choices this year. I did not waste time on watching dramas I dislike. I drop them quickly – usually if it doesn’t grab me by the first or second episode, I drop them and move on. This gives me a better chance on landing a drama that I’ll truly enjoy.

Another tactic I used is to only watch one drama, two at most, at a time. This has enabled me to really focus on the story and enjoy them, and yes, ultimately complete them.

Completed

1. Wonderland of Love ❤️🔥
2. A Journey to Love ❤️💔
3. Story of Kunning Palace 🙄
4. Love and Redemption ❤️🔥
5. Zhang Gong Zhu Zai Shang ❤️
6. The Deliberations of Love – 🥱 so meh I remember 0% of the plot
7. Ripe Town ❤️🔥
8. Dong Lan Xue ❤️
9. Tiger & Crane ❤️
10. A Familiar Stranger ❤️
11. I am Nobody ❤️🔥
12. Qing Luo ❤️
13. Meteor, Butterfly, Sword ❤️🔥
14. Back from the Brink ❤️
15. Mysterious Lotus Casebook ❤️🔥
16. Dream of Splendor ❤️🔥
17. Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty ❤️
18. Oh no here comes trouble! 🤔
19. The Blood of Youth ❤️🔥

OK, I’m absolutely gobsmacked that I watched that many dramas. I thought it was less than ten lol. But quite a number of them are short dramas or mini dramas.

As you can see, I rarely complete dramas I dislike … because I drop them almost immediately. Well, except for Kunning Palace lol.

Dropped (usually after 1-5 eps):

1. Love Between Fairy and Devil 😵
2. Till the End of the Moon 😵‍💫
3. Only for Love 😆
4. Reset 🥱
5. Rising with the Wind 🥱
6. Egg and Stone 🤷
7. Incomparable Beauty 🥱
8. The Moon Brightens for You 🥱

https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2023/12/30/all-the-cdramas-i-watched-and-dropped-in-2023/

dramatea88.wordpress.com, 4 months ago to China

I’ll confess to you – this is going to be a short list. Many reasons:

• I’m generally quite picky and drop a lot of dramas
• I only watch one or two Chinese Dramas at a time, and Cdramas are so long that I will take some time to go through them.
• Half my CDrama watches this year are from previous years such as Dream of Splendor (2022) and Meteor, Butterfly, Sword (2010).

PS: You can also listen to the podcast episode.

Here are my Top 5 CDramas in descending order:

No. 5 I am Nobody

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/i-am-nobody-1.jpg?w=900Imagine seeing an anime or manga come to life, and you’ll get I am Nobody’s unique flavour.

In fact, it was originally based on a popular manhwa, and it actually has a Japanese anime version.

Show has frenetic energy, an irrepressible spirit and loads of humor. I found myself laughing out loud at so many scenes. I really enjoyed this drama’s wacky, cartoonish vibe, and how it mixes wuxia tropes into the background of modern China. Just such a breath of fresh air in Cdramaland.

The plot is fast-paced, there was never a moment where I wanted to skip. The tone switches seamlessly between silly and crazy to serious and heart-wrenching, and unlike another show, Back from the Brink which failed at this juggling, these moments never felt out of place and were never jarring in this show.

The characters were also unique and I can seriously say that I like almost everyone on the show, including the villains. Some really surprised me because I really ended up caring for them.

>> Read my review of I Am Nobody

No. 4 Wonderland of Love

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/wonderland-of-love-1.jpg?w=900I enjoyed Show for what it was: Pure entertainment.

Because I watched this when I was having my first bout of COVID, I am admittedly a little more affectionate towards it. I desperately wanted something happy to watch when I was sick, and Wonderland of Love delivered happiness in spades.

Still, this was an idol drama that punched above its weight. There were shockingly surprising flashes of brilliance in Wonderland of Love.

Like, in episode 30 and 31, it demonstrated that it could rise above its idol roots to become something more. I swear, I felt like I was watching a movie in those episodes.

But, it is still very much an aggressively idol drama where our two leads are prettied up to such a big degree that I can’t take them super seriously as war leaders.

There’s also pathetic villains, plot holes, convenient solutions. They really diminish the drama and it could’ve been a really, really good show if they had sustained the cinematography, emotional gravitas and storytelling of episodes 30 and 31.

At the end of the day, whether you will enjoy Wonderland of Love, depends on how far you can ignore its flaws and go along with the flow. It is best for people who like the drama’s tropes: brotherhood and star-crossed lovers.

>> Read my review of Wonderland of Love

No. 3 Ripe Town

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/ripe-town.jpg?w=900I looked at Ripe Town as more than a serial killer crime drama.

To me, the story that really impacted me the most was not the whodunit, but to watch the effects of corruption on a once-great dnyasty.

For quick context, this takes place towards the waning years of the Ming dynasty, and Ripe Town is like a focused view of how corruption affected one village and her people. You get the idea that this decay, multiplied many times over throughout the whole country, was what enabled the Manchus to take over and for the Qing dynasty to begin.

With the rot infecting the justice system, the entire foundation of the empire was going to crumble sooner or later as good men are sacrificed on the altars of deceit and vengeance, to the detriment of the entire civilisation.

This was such a surprise drama for me in 2023. I’ve long resigned myself that the Cdramas of old, where cinematography can be beautiful and like works of art, are gone.

These days, it’s all about “let’s just make a minimum viable product, push it out quickly, rake in the cash and move on”. Why bother with setting up the lighting properly, or giving our characters appropriate costumes? Let’s just cast traffic actors even if they don’t fit the role!

But here, not only do they shoot the dramas beautifully, the set, the costumes are characters of their own. The village building’s moss-covered walls, the characters wear clothes made of rough linen and even have patches of odd-coloured fabric to show that the dress has been mended over and over again. There’s dirt on people’s faces, and the lighting is appropriately moody and overcast.

Ripe Town gives me hope that there are still some people in Chinese entertainment industry who are still willing to invest the time in making good dramas, so here’s hoping that more dramas of this calibre will be shown in 2024.

>> Read my review of Ripe Town

No. 2 Mysterious Lotus Casebook

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/mlc.jpg?w=900This is one rare Chinese drama where I wished there were 80 episodes. 40 episodes flew by like that, and was just so well done.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook is about honor, courage and doing your best to live and rise above bitterness and hatred.

It’s a classic wuxia tale of brother, chivalry and honour. If you love stories about heroes going on adventures in the jiang hu, you will like Mysterious Lotus Casebook.

If you want to hear my full thoughts about Mysterious Lotus Casebook, you can read my review on the blog or the first Drama Tea podcast episode.

>> Mysterious Lotus Casebook review and podcast episode

No. 1 A Journey to Love

https://dramatea88.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/journey-to-love.jpg?w=897This story gets its high marks due to its mostly tight storytelling, an outstanding cast, great character development, and strong portrayal of women.

Of all the dramas I’ve watched this year, A Journey to Love has the best designed characters who develop organically. The female characters are especially well-written, especially Yang Ying, who grew from a scared, sheltered pampered princess to a fierce lioness and budding political strategist.

What I am actually impressed with is that even bit side characters like Official Du and Emperor Wu turned out to be well-fleshed characters that we end up caring. I loved how every character, no matter how small, got a character arc.

However, it tried to squeeze in too much at the end, and the vague-ish ending didn’t help matters either. Seriously, what happened? There are some parts that I wished they had cut out such as (ahem) Li Tong Guang’s airtime so that we could make more room for a proper fleshing out of the resolution.

It is tragic, however, that due to the many negative comments on social media, many people would give this drama a pass. Because A Journey to Love was a beautiful journey.

It’s not a perfect drama for sure, but I’ll talk about the drama in depth in my next podcast episode which would most probably air at the start of January 2024.

>> Read the A Journey to Love review

Honourable mention: The Blood of Youth

Tang Lian, from The Blood of YouthTechnically, it started in 2022 and finished airing in 2023, so I will include it as an “honourable mention”.

I wasn’t enthused on its video-game vibe and “finger fu” fighting scenes, but the drama had solid casting, interesting characters and great storytelling. Out of curiosity, I watched the original donghua and loved it too.

Worth a look!

>> I’ll be sharing the review of The Blood of Youth by the end of this week. Stay tuned!

https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2023/12/27/2023-top-5-chinese-dramas/

#CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #Fantasy #TV

image/jpeg
image/jpeg

dramatea88.wordpress.com, 5 months ago to tv

The Story of Kunning Palace was one of the popular Cdramas of November. But does popularity = good storytelling? I weigh in.

I’ve also written an in-depth ⁠review for Story of Kunning Palace⁠ – it includes a watch log where I make quips and observations of what happened in (almost) each episode.

https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2023/12/10/season-1-episode-6-story-of-kunning-palace/

#CDrama #CDramas #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #TV