/r/CDrama
Hi there! Here we have discussions and talk about all aspects of Chinese dramas. At our sister sub r/CdramaRecs, you can ask for cdrama recommendations.
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/r/CDrama
I'm at ep. 24 and the energy seems to have completely evaporated from this story. As soon as Xiao Yao >!returned to court and became a princess!< the whole tale just started to crawl. This drama got good reviews, so I'm wondering if it will pick up again or just keeps slogging along. There's lots of nice eye candy among the MLs, especially Deng Wei, but it's not enough without any real suspense or tension in the story. Thoughts?
Does anyone else feel like they have no idea what's going on in Fangs of Fortune? I feel like the scenes don't line up with each other and it's told in more flashbacks than chronologically, which makes it feel like a weird dream where nothing ever adds up or makes sense. Are there things I'm missing in how I'm supposed to be watching this?
As the weekend approaches, I'm sure you're all gearing up for some well-deserved relaxation and fun. 🏖️ Whether you're binge-watching a drama, embarking on a thrilling adventure or cozying up to a good manhua or webnovel, we want to hear all about it!
So, what will you be doing this weekend? And what Chinese dramas do you recommend for a weekend binge-watching session? Tell us about it below in the comments :)
Note: If you are discussing plot points or events that others may not yet have watched, please make sure to use spoiler tags. Consider also sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") as this thread fills up quickly.
Guess what? I'm back! Did y'all miss me? First off, Youku app definitely did me and apparently others dirty by NOT releasing the episodes at 12pm Beijing Time like they were supposed to...I had to wait over an hour to finally see the first episode. But, hey it worked out. I watched the first two last night and finished 2 this morning. Remember...I type these as I watch so it's kind of a commentary of the episodes lol Here's my warning, don't continue if you don't want spoilers for the episodes listed.
Here are the links
Episode 1
Couple of things that strike me immediately are the visuals are striking, I figured that would be the case given the drama posters and the trailer. You go from this kind of Little Mermaid vibe and then this story goes dark and has a very gothic kind of dystopian like tone. Totally opposite of The Rise of Ning high I just came off of lol so this will be interesting. Already I feel like Zhao Lusi is showing her acting chops with the first few scenes, seriously, this place just seems like a hellhole. No wonder she's willing to risk everything just to get her freedom papers.
Is shrimp the same little actor as Han Pu in Who Rules the World? What a cute reunion
Liu Yu Ning just gives me pirate vibes...these are jewelry merchants but definitely giving me pirate vibes. Also the contrast in costume between Tang Xiao Tian...is Liu Yu Ning the ruthless merchant and Tang Xiao Tian the good business man? I'll be honest if I didn't actually look into this drama much other than watching the trailer and wanting to watch it because of Zhao Lu Si and Liu Yu Ning so I'm not 100% sure the preface/background info I should have.
Lady Eight is being cruel, but she also seems like she's trying to save Duanwu from the dangers of this assignment.
What is the point of trying to get the pearl divers killed? Are these guys jewelry makers that need those pearls? I guess to just drive the point home that pearl divers are less than human?
Alright, I know real Pearl Divers can hold their breath for a long time, but the fight scene underwater...a bit far fetched how long they're down there. But I get what they're trying to convey.
Duanwu's friend Lala is already annoying, she's definitely one of those can't rely on herself has to rely on others type of characters.
This upper pearl cave...city?...Dwelling? (What is it? lol) is gorgeous.
Episode 2
Hao Du and LiYan Mr. Yan is already interested in Duan Wu, he finds her interesting. Already personality wise, they're both pretty cynical
What is that gold leaf? Is he royalty?
Oh...he's a "Sworn brother" of Prince Ying
Yikes, her bestie betraying her was definitely not on Duanwu's bingo card this year.
I'm confused by YJZ, but I'm sure the show will clear it up eventually. I'm assuming he actually is part of the previous Yan family. Kind of bold to use the same last name or is it a different Chinese character? or if y'all know and want to save me the research lol
I'm not going to lie, I saw Lady Eight being her mom a mile away but didn't stop me from tearing up at this scene. What a way to find out and then to watch your mother die in front of you? Life did not deal her good cards to start off...being captured and living on a Pearl slave farm always having to protect yourself and watching your back then to find out the lady who's been in charge of you is your biological mother then you watch her get killed protecting you. Ooof poor girl
So flashbacks...so Lady Eight is actually Lady Yan meaning she's related to Master Yan? Well I can't wait to see how this all unfolds later.
Liu Yu Ning...your characters seem to always have some sort of ailment...A Journey to Love...Legend of Anle...now The Story of Pearl Girl, they really like when you play some chronic invalid.
lol this role reversal for this pirate merchant girl (19?). I like that they call her "sir" lol
Duanwu has almost died like 3 or 4 times at this point and we're only on episode 2 and it's only been a few days. Yikes
Episode 3
Man everyone just assuming Duanwu started everything...seems like a bunch of people will be after our girl now. Cui family...YZJ...this will be fun
Mr. Zhang seems like a genuinely nice guy. I'm kind of shipping them already, even though he's SML. But seems less toxic. We'll see how this story progresses
Yes! Duanwu taking down Steward Cui, she is really gritty. I love it.
However, I am now super curious the relationship between Yan Xijing and FL's mother are now. He also has a f-ed childhood seeing his own mother killed.
lol ok sorry we have this badass ruthless pirate merchant and here he is the master of the Erhu
Duanwu really is smart and scrappy. I like that she's not perfect and it's not like her plans always work. Seems like YZJ is going to keep her around and teach her to survive?
I appreciate the Kang Ju and YZJ little comedic bit got a good chuckle out of me.
Little Shrimp is so cute, he's definitely more of a people person lol
Episode 4
So the workers are really nice, I'm kind of glad Duanwu doesn't have everyone out to get her
I love that DuanWu was not afraid to take on Cui Shijiu, Cui Shijiu as a character doesn't quite make sense to me. YZJ with the spite "she doesn't want to see you...then I'm going to make sure she sees you all the time" haha
Aw, but seriously I really do kind of ship Mr. Zhang and Duanwu right now. Look at him bringing awareness to how dangerous and bad the pearl industry can be...blood pearls I guess you can call them.
Overall, it's off to a good start, I'm a little confused here and there but I'm pretty sure that's on purpose and the show will clear it up.
I haven’t seen much discussion on this drama but I wanted to just share my thoughts on these 4. I’m on Ep 22 and getting increasingly uncomfortable with the obvious incestuous relationship between these 4. Especially the ML & FL who as of now believe they are blood brother/sister. Idk maybe it’s normalized, and maybe there is some doubt with who their parents truly are but they should start the drama with that knowledge imo. Just my thoughts.
I'm now at episode 3. This drama is not my usual cup of tea but it somehow successfully captivated me.
First off, the pacing is good. Not as slow as the manhwa I'm reading. Second, the Mu Sheng didn't show signs of falling in love with Miao Miao right away, which makes it realistic. Third, generally good aesthetics that fit the character. Special mention to Chen Du Ling. I'm really bored with her character as Bai Ze goddess in FoF but in here, she is so pretty and not that lifeless!!! Fourth, her (Esther's) voice is not super baby voice. I feel that her baby voice in this drama is less grating than in LBFAD. Fifth, the comedy is spot on. Like, not trying hard to be funny. I keep laughing when she died a lot of times, just to change the medicine. She even told the ml to kill her everytime she fails hahahahaha. Lastly, I appreciate the part where her tasks are not concentrated in vying for Liu Fuyis attention.
No spoilers. I just started Fangs of Fortune and fell in love with the music, especially the song with lyrics ‘Heartlessness births a dream”. I’m an American and would love to get this music to listen to. Anyone know the group that produces it/is it available internationally?
As we have new members joining all the time, and as we still get reports about spoilery posts, I think a weekly reminder about the importance of marking your posts with spoilers tags is in order.
If your post or comments contains discussions of major plot points (especially about deaths and endings), mark your post with spoiler tags or it will be removed. Here's how you do it.
This will work in Fancy Pants Editor mode, so switch to the mode by clicking on the “Switch to Fancy Pants Editor” button located at the top right corner of the text box.
To mark your entire post as spoiler-y:
Note: Your post will now have the symbol Spoiler next to the title.
To mark content on the text of your post body using the Fancy pants editor:
To mark your post as a spoiler:
To mark a comment with spoiler tags:
Use this syntax to mark spoilers on mobile: >!spoiler text!<
This will hide the text between the exclamation marks and display the spoiler text when clicked.
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Make sure that your post title does not have spoilery plot points. For example, posts with titles such as "Love Show - everyone died!" or "Love Show - our main couple finally kissed in episode 20!" will be instantly removed, regardless of how many comments are under it.
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Add spoiler tags to spoilery comments
If you're discussing a Show's plot point in a post unrelated to the Show, please tag your spoilers with spoiler tags, especially if you're dropping the comment on a post that has nothing to do with the Show.
Although I'm generally more lenient with comments with non-spoiler-tagged comments in posts marked as "spoilers", comments without spoiler tags under a post that has nothing to do with the show will be removed.
Posts such as Episode Discussions, discussions about a show's ending must be marked as spoiler or it will be removed.
What it said.
That's it!
Happy discussing!
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Guysss I thought Cheng Huang and Original Goddess arc is the loneliest. But I didn't expect Qing Geng x Fei story is sadder. Like 😭😭. What makes it worse probably is that Qing Geng is full of hatred when Fei died, only realizing later on that she voluntarily asked to be sealed and that her hatred was poured on the wrong things.
The underwater scenes and the concept of pearl diving, along with the inhumane treatment faced by pearl divers, present such a unique and compelling narrative. It’s a theme that neither C-dramas nor K-dramas or any other have explored. Remarkably, Zhao Lusi herself performed all the dives, adding authenticity and depth to the portrayal.
Ling Miao Miao, accidentally enters the mission system of the novel Monster Hunting and becomes a villainous supporting character. To return to the real world, she must complete the system's task—winning over the mysterious and twisted young man, Mu Sheng.
MyDramaList link https://mydramalist.com/684889-black-lotus-tactics-manual
Airing on Viki, iFlix, Wetv
Episodes: 32
🗨️ All discussions on the drama
🗨️ Episodic drama discussions
Look out for the poll where we ask the sub to rate the drama a week or two after the final airing date!
🗳️ Results of the poll (post only appears 1-2 weeks after the drama ends)
Summary: Duan Wu, a pearl diver from Hepu meets Yan Zi Jing, a businessman from Xiyu (Western Region), and Zhang Jin Ran, a humble gentleman. She joins Yan's caravan and embarks on a journey filled with struggles as she enters the world of jewelry. However, during her trip to the northwest, she unravels the secrets of her life and gets entangled in Yan Zi Jing's quest for revenge. (Source: MDL)
MyDramaList link https://mydramalist.com/749429-zhu-lian-yu-mu
Airing on Youku
Episodes: 40
🗨️ All discussions on the drama
🗨️ Episodic drama discussions
Look out for the poll where we ask the sub to rate the drama a week or two after the final airing date!
🗳️ Results of the poll (post only appears 1-2 weeks after the drama ends)
So far it looks interesting the storyline would either be too simple or too complex I watched the whole episode on Youku however I didn't liked how they used AI for intro and outro OST, still I am not complaining looks like there gonna be a love triangle judging from the first ep and it will be something like Long Ballad rivals to lovers another baddass role of Lusi after WRTW, I know in LLTG she was baddass too but she wasn't in action like in this and WRTW so far I am hooked I don't like the styling of Zhao Lusi here to be honest it looks too modern for a period drama she was the best styled in WRTW.
As the title says I was a bit confused and it felt as if the first episode was the second episode...or that I was supposed to have read the novel or something.
Some questions:
Does Zhaou Yan remember meeting Wen Xiao in the past?
What is the Baize goddess?
Just want to say a big thank you to our hosts for November 2024 drama discussions:
As Kill Me Love Me is still currently airing on Viki and Netflix, the previous discussions will still be included in the November edition.
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Honestly, I'm struggling to think of too many Yéyes right now. But I do remember really liking the one from Lost You Forever.
GIF: New Life Begins
Starring Esther Yu and Ding Yuxi.
Previous trailer posted in the sub.
Another trailer with English subs
32 episodes. Tencent, Viki (in 1 day's time) and Netflix (November 10).
The production team dropped trailers for Episodes 3 (see previous post) and 4.
“The mischievous girl, Ling Miao Miao, accidentally enters the mission system of the novel Monster Hunting and becomes a villainous supporting character. To return to the real world, she must complete the system's task—winning over the mysterious and twisted young man, Mu Sheng.
“Along the way, they team up with Mu Yao, a member of a monster-hunting family, and Liu Fu Yi, a monster hunter. Together, they fight monsters and level up. As the missions progress, they gradually resolve the animosity between humans and monsters, rewrite the fated ending, and save the world.
“Adapted from the web novel "The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus" (黑莲花攻略手册) by Bai Yu Zhai Diao Gong (白羽摘雕弓).”
Starring Esther Yu and Ding Yuxi.
Previous trailer posted in the sub.
Another trailer with English subs
32 episodes. Tencent, Viki (in 1 day's time) and Netflix (November 10).
The production team dropped trailers for Episodes 3 and 4 (see next post).
“The mischievous girl, Ling Miao Miao, accidentally enters the mission system of the novel Monster Hunting and becomes a villainous supporting character. To return to the real world, she must complete the system's task—winning over the mysterious and twisted young man, Mu Sheng.
“Along the way, they team up with Mu Yao, a member of a monster-hunting family, and Liu Fu Yi, a monster hunter. Together, they fight monsters and level up. As the missions progress, they gradually resolve the animosity between humans and monsters, rewrite the fated ending, and save the world.
“Adapted from the web novel "The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus" (黑莲花攻略手册) by Bai Yu Zhai Diao Gong (白羽摘雕弓).”
Starring Zhao Lusi, Liu Yuning and Tang Xiao Tian.
40 episodes.
The production team just dropped a new trailer a few minutes ago.
Previous trailer with English subs
“Duan Wu (Zhao Lusi), a pearl diver from Hepu meets Yan Zi Jing (Liu Yuning), a businessman from Xiyu (Western Region), and Zhang Jin Ran (Tang Xiao Tian), a humble gentleman. She joins Yan's caravan and embarks on a journey filled with struggles as she enters the world of jewelry. However, during her trip to the northwest, she unravels the secrets of her life and gets entangled in Yan Zi Jing's quest for revenge. She experiences the loss of close relatives and betrayal by her beloved.
“Renamed Su Mu Zhe, Duan Wu courageously ventures into Yangzhou in pursuit of the truth, refusing to be consumed by hatred. Letting go of the past, she teams up with Zhang Jin Ran and confronts fierce struggles together with Yan Zi Jing, who initially planned to bear the burden of stigma and hatred alone, but finally finds solace in his heart and eases his knot.
“After the storm settles, Su Mu Zhe reaches the pinnacle of jewelry art at the Jewelry Competition Fair, inspiring many women to take control of their destinies.
“Adapted from the novel "Kun Shan Yu Qian Zhuan" (昆山玉前传) by Tan Tian Yin (谈天音).”
I really think this is one of her best works - her performance was captivating