One of the gems in the C-drama world this 2023 masterpiece won the Annual Member Impact Drama Award!
Directed by : Ren Hai Tao & Go Hu
*MysteriousLotusCasebook* has dominated the iQiyi general list and TV drama list for 5 months (tied for first place in the overall list) and has maintained a long-tail popularity of more than 5,000 for 86 days, ranking second in the history of iQiyi. 2023 has come to an end, and Lotus Tower is also the first and only drama so far this year to have a single episode with 1 million online views and a double episode with 2 million online views simultaneously. Congratulations to Cheng Yi and MLC team!
My Picks for 2023 Drama Fav. Awards - Supporting Female Character
✨[Event Info]✨ - Open to all!
Dai Si as Feng Shayan in "I am Nobody" 🥳
The duality she had going was amusing, and I loved her fashion sense. XD
SPOILERS under the cut
I really hoped her ship with fiery boy would sail. They had similar personal issues that they could have resolved with each other's support. And they color-coordinated! :3
Everyone (myself included) was so surprised to find them recovering from their injuries together. XD
It’s here! I feel like I say this every time, but truly, this year, I had less time to devote to dramas. Also, there were few dramas that held my full attention from beginning to end, so this year's list will be pretty short! (Check out my favs from 2020 , 2021, and from 2022.)
As usual, these are mostly Chinese historical/period romance dramas. I do have a category for modern dramas but I didn't watch any this year, so I'll be taking it off for this year. :)
Best Overall Drama
Lost You Forever (Season 1): A brilliant first episode played by talented kid actors who just drew you to this solemn, aching world of xiao yao and others. Technically, the drama isn't over, but my goodness, the characters are so good. The actors are chef's kiss.
Most Delightful/Fun Drama
The Starry Love: Knowing xianxia and wuxia genres, I expected this drama to have more angst, but I was laughing more than I was crying. A strong ensemble cast too that made everything more fun. I love this drama so much.
Most Impactful Drama
Lost You Forever: I still mull over certain scenes, cry over the characters' back stories and motivations and what gives them grief. I am still patiently waiting for season 2.
Drama with the Best Soundtrack
Circle of Love: Bangers after bangers. I still play it after all these months. The drama is such a wild intense ride, it was super entertaining.
Best Costume/Design/Set Drama
My Journey to You: Everything felt so elevated and elegant and sharp and mysterious and dangerous. Love it.
Best Short Drama
Butterflied Lover: This director never misses. Adore the two couples, even though the plot slowed down a little bit about 2/3 of the way. Beautifully shot, interesting storyline, happy ending. Nothing else I could ask for from a short drama.
Most Unexpected Drama (aka the Dark Horse) / Drama(s) I'm Enjoying Right Now But Have Not Finished
Mysterious Lotus Casebook, A Journey to Love, and The Last Immortal. For all three, I was surprised I enjoyed them so much. For MLC and AJTL, I know there are some major characters deaths, so I have yet the heart to finish it but I know that I've enjoyed a huge portion of it and I know their endings will not ruin that.
The Last Immortal is still airing and could have a disastrous end since they have to cut a lot to fit the 40-ep max limit, but I am surprised that I really like the characters. Unlike their prequel An Ancient Love Poetry where I did not care for the male lead's God self, for this drama, I care much about gu jin/yuan qi and a yin. I hope this drama ends on a good note.
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That’s all for me! Did we share any favs? Which drama would you in what category? Feel free to let me know. :) Thanks, all! Here's to new and beloved dramas in 2024!
what your moots would be like as kpop idols! (an idol and what they’d be like as an idol!)
ANON IM SORRY FOR TAKING AGES TO REPLY TO THIS BUT HERE IT IS!!!!!!!!
moots as kpop idols! (doing this for the first ones i saw on my dash 🔥🔥)
@yenqa — yunjin ( le ssera ) & wonyoung ( ive )
now don't tell me that yen isn't yunjin's and wonyoung's long lost sister bc i won't believe you . would probably forget that she's an idol and thirst over men during awards (park jongseong). hidden comedian of her group but she is very much Aware of it. if she posted an artist she likes in her stories / weverse the next month the same artist would drop a collab with her (kinda like bebe rexha + ryeji) 😭😭 SO CAUGHT UP IN THE INDUSTRY'S DRAMA?? would know everyone's secrets thats absurd
@haknom — gaeul ( ive )
the sane one 💀 ngl i feel like kayla would still be a writer even if she was in a kpop group like .. she would go on weverse and ask which member of her OWN group should be the mc for her next series I SWEARR. kayla has such a nice voice i think her company would put her to voice the intros and outros for her group's albums ☝️☝️ now that i think ab it i also think that she would be a great leader and manage to keep her members tamed while still matching their energy 🔥 would also roast them absurdly well if they ever tried to insult her, even if playfully
@delcakoo — beomgyu ( txt ) & felix ( skz )
(def didn't put felix bc of my dog) ok now Listen . ema, gyu, and felix who are super kind and nice to everyone but would choke u in ur sleep if they wanted to. triplets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I THINK EMA WOULD BE SUCH A NICE IDOL ☹️ she'd def be one of those comfort idols who constantly check up on their fans, telling them to eat and rest well, or notice when someone faints / is feeling dizzy in the crowd </3 also would be a gamer idol!!!!! her fans would load her with trinkets and merch from her fav games during fan meetings. would pull pranks on her members and get away with it .. she exudes middle kid / maknae energy 😭😭
@taejays — heeseung ( enha )
for the girls. oh my gkd raven would be one PRICK of an idol constantly flirting with the fandom. he would have the funniest delulu fans ever i just Know that. “look who's sleeping in the couch again [video of raven giving a rose to a fan in the crowd]” — @ILOVERAVEN on twitter, 2023. AND THE DATING SCANDALS 💀💀 catching five new ones just bc he greeted someone during a music show or mentioned a group 😭 aside from all of that, i'm sure that he'd be a v hardworking idol, one that trainees would look up to. overall would have such an impactful but gentle stage presence !!!!!!!!!! would also come with deep meaning for his songs & concepts, and everyone would love it
plus his fans would post this but with his face don't test me Rn ik what i'm saying
Alen Fang Yilun as Zhi Yuan in "The Longest Promise" 🎊
Charismatic, passionate, and heart-breaking, as well as appalling and chilling, A'Yuan had range.
I made a screencaps post about him when I finished the drama: ["This is an A'Yuan Post"]
TBH, his character in "A Journey to Love" could be here, too, but I haven't finished that drama yet. In any case, Alen Fang might be my fave actor I discovered this year, but I didn't write a post for that category.😅
Runner-up:
Riley Wang Yilun as Bai Xiaosheng in "Back from the Brink"
Loved his dedication, loyalty, and humorous expressiveness. Watching him regret his little matchmaking project was funny. XD
Hottest 2ML
Zhao Junkai as Hu Ke in "My Chinese Chic Boutique" 🎉
He served visuals; face and body. Much appreciated.
I didn't take any screencaps of his abs-closeup but, below the cut, you'll find some photoshoot pics from his weibo:
OK, this kind of needs an explanation. You see, "Word of Honor" was the first cdrama I ever watched, and Li Daikun became my fave actor from it. "The Untamed" was the second drama I watched, and from that, my fave was Wang Zhuocheng. Then I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be awesome if the two did a drama together?😍 ... Nah; what are the odds?! That's never gonna happen." And then, two months later, they started filming ChongZi. 😸 So this *gestures at screencap* is something I'd been waiting for for two years. XD
I fell head over heals for her character Xin Tong in Tiger and Crane. This was my first time watching her in a Drama and wont be the last! She was not only fierce but head strong and I am glad the Director and Screen writers gave her character time to bloom and let her have her own shining moment of glory thank you thank you! 😭
Character from Tiger & Crane :
Zhao Xintong, leader of Zhao Sect. and later the chief commander of the three armies. All her fight scenes were well thought of despite having to fight with a long ass spear 😤
I am glad I did not go by the reviews and gave this drama a try, even though the ending was not what I had expected!
There could have been more loving moments between Hu Zi and her, that vagueness was unsatisfying.
All in all she's a pretty and graceful actress to have come across and I hope to see more of her work in the future ❤
(*) This is so we know when to look out for the posts. You can post any day(s) of that week; you can make one post or several; whatever works best for you!
And please reblog 🔂 so more people see it and can participate.
(Tagging some of this year's popular dramas to expand reach / extend the invite)
(All 2023 dramas welcome, but I only know cdramas so I tagged those + some random kdramas I found on MDL 😅)
For living in my brain rent-free all year - "The Journey of Chong Zi"
That has to count for something XD
Thank you for reading! 💜
These awards are completely subjective, reflect only the personal preference of the blogger, and are just for fun. They do not indicate any advocacy for the quality of a thing. Also, I didn't watch every single drama that came out this year.
My Picks for 2023 Drama Fav Awards - Hottest Villains
✨[Event Info]✨ - Open to all!
Both male and female.
Hottest Male Villain under the cut for "Love You Seven Times" SPOILERS.
Wang Yifei as Si Ying in "Till the End of the Moon" 🎊
and...
Edward Zhang Xiaochen as Emperor Eyelashes in "Love you Seven Times" 🎉
These awards are completely subjective, reflect only the personal preference of the blogger, and are just for fun. They do not indicate any advocacy for the quality of a thing. Also, I didn't watch every single drama that came out this year.
I had to split this one into subcategories, because beauty comes in different flavors.
Most Elegant ML 2023
Luo Yunxi as Tantai Jin et al in "Till the End of the Moon" 🎉
Cutest ML 2023
Yan Zhixian as Liu Xuanming in "My Uncanny Destiny" 🥳
These awards are completely subjective, reflect only the personal preference of the blogger, and are just for fun. They do not indicate any advocacy for the quality of a thing. Also, I didn't watch every single drama that came out this year.
Bai Lu as Ye Xiwu, Li Susu, etc. in "Till the End of the Moon" 🎉
And I'm adding this one because I can't tell for sure because I didn't finish the drama, but, as far as I watched, if it continued that way, it would have been a draw for me:
Yang Chaoyue as Xiang Yun, etc. etc. etc. in "Love You Seven Times"
These awards are completely subjective, reflect only the personal preference of the blogger, and are just for fun. They do not indicate any advocacy for the quality of a thing. Also, I didn't watch every single drama that came out this year.
The sets were absolutely gorgeous, the CG was well done and pleasant to look at, the camerawork was flawless, both in terms of framing/composition and lighting.
Runner-up: "Till the End of the Moon"
These awards are completely subjective, reflect only the personal preference of the blogger, and are just for fun. They do not indicate any advocacy for the quality of a thing. Also, I didn't watch every single drama that came out this year.