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lyxurious · 11 months

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So you like Luo Yunxi: A drama recommendation list

So you watched "Till the End of the Moon", and all you got is heartbreak, brainworms, and a shiny new lowkey or highkey obsession with Luo Yunxi (perhaps other people from the amazing cast too, but we're focusing on him here)? You want to see more of him, but you don't know where to start? Fear not, for this list is here to hopefully help you out with that.

Here be some (non-spoilery, but might mention if it generally ends well or not) spark notes on all his past dramas with him in the first male lead role, that are currently available with English subs (+ 2 very important supporting roles + 1 bonus). In chronological order, from most to least recent!

Light Chaser Rescue

Type: Modern, rescue missions, human drama, romance

Episodes: 40

Available at: WeTv, YouTube, viki

What's the deal? Jaded and cynical lawyer meets cute and icy doctor lady who is not here for his bs, and discovers the joys of love and most importantly, volunteer rescue work.

On the one hand: Detailed and extremely realistic scenes of all sorts of natural disasters happening. The production team collaborated with a real life team where anyone can volunteer and get training as a rescuer. They built a wholeass glacier for the final episodes and you could never tell it's fake looking at it even on HD. The side characters are mostly likeable (which is something you can't say for every drama), although flawed and human. FL is a cool-headed independent grownup woman who bottles up her feelings like a fine vintage.

On the other: The pacing is rather choppy and makes it feel like they planned out the disaster scenes/rescue missions first and everything else was added later to link said missions together and give the characters stuff to do in between. Since this is a drama and they have a limited cast, the team's abilities are a bit exaggerated at times (they turn up for everything that happens anywhere, doctor FL is a swiss army knife of specialties). Ending feels a bit abrupt.

Watch it if: You enjoy seeing Luo Yunxi suffer physically, you like stories with ordinary people being heroes while also remaining very much ordinary people.

Lie to Love

Type: Modern, romance, office, suspense

Episodes: 32

Available at: WeTV, YouTube

What's the deal? Local woman is convinced her one night stand during a mountain hike killed her father, so she returns after 2 years to go undercover in male nerdy Paris Hilton protagonist's glitzy hotel business and cancel his entire existence. Spoiler alert (but not really because this is actually not even the first 6 eps): he is a good guy and didn't do it and they fall in love and together they set out to uncover the truth and take down his shady uncle.

On the one hand: Objectively speaking, the plot for this is on the better side for a drama of its type. It's got suspense, it's got plot twists, it's got fluff, it's got drama, it's got more communication between the main CP than one would expect on a regular day, misunderstandings don't last long, the nice side characters are likeable, and 2nd ML is doing an incredible job at being a 2-faced creep. LYX is serving many a great business wear look in the 2nd half especially.

On the other: The FL is Cheng Xiao. A severely miscast Cheng Xiao in a role that is core in the plot and on paper, challenging. For fans, winner winner chicken dinner. For the rest of us, it's up to each viewer to decide if overall as a drama, the points in the above section are strong enough to balance this casting out.

Watch it if: You have a thing for men in suits and glasses (that makes two of us), you prefer ignoring the FL in dramas so you can make elaborate headcanons shipping the ML with the psycho stalker 2nd ML or the goofy rockstar 3rd ML instead.

Broker

Type: Modern, office, medical research, suspense, romance

Episodes: 42

Available at: YouTube, viki

What's the deal? Spy is ordered to infiltrate a lab and lowkey honey trap his way into stealing female scientist's multi-million research, is uno reverse carded when she fixes his broken heart and trust in humanity.

On the one hand: The rare case where he is a morally grey character in a modern setting. The other rare case where he gets to do action sequences in a modern setting. There's a shower sex scene (sit down, implied and partially dressed of course, this is still a cdrama), and one where he gets whipped on a table. There is a very badass sidekick girl who is just as broken as him if not worse, and very shippable with the FL's perky and spoiled little sister.

On the other: The premise is cool but sadly, there's way more filler office drama (in the lab) and 2nd CP being a frustrating snoozefest than spy activities. It's a drama that was held up for a long while in censorship limbo, and a considerable chunk of the ML's backstory and scenes were left in the editing room, which unfortunately throws the show off balance by a lot.

Watch it if: You are a diehard Luo Yunxi, Victoria Song or Xu Kaicheng completionist (in which case you have permission to come cry on my shoulder), you find yourself trapped in a cave, the rescue team is 48 hours away, and the only thing in there with you is a device that has no other data on it but all 42 episodes of Broker.

Love is Sweet

Type: Modern, romance, office

Episodes: 36

Available at: iQiyi, YouTube, amazon prime

What's the deal? Local woman applies for a job in huge investment banking company where she runs into her childhood friend -slash- nemesis after 10 years, they both gradually discover time makes people grow and occasionally fall deeply, ridiculously in love.

On the one hand: Sugar and fun and shoujo manga tropes aplenty! God tier CP chemistry! Some of the most epic makeouts to ever slip under the nose of the review committees. Characters that have actual profound growth under the "every romcom ever" cheeky banter. 2nd ML also offers shirtlessness and angsty backstory if you cannot live without those. There's even an adorable and very plot-relevant corgi!

On the other: The tremendous main CP chemistry has made this drama the exception for many who otherwise avoid both modern dramas and romcoms, but if that doesn't carry the show for you, I'm afraid there's not much else to see here. The 2nd CP is fuel for the "2nd CPs are annoying and waste screentime" complaint fire. (although, protip: even on the first watch you can probably skip their scenes without missing anything of value). The tear allergy is a bit of a ridiculous premise, but it's a real thing (who knew!), and it's not addressed much after a point.

Watch it if: You need something sweet and cute to fill the gaping hole Till The End of the Moon left in your chest, you love the tsundere overbearing CEO archetype but you also prefer it when he is more than a dry irredeemable asshole, you love romcoms because you enjoy both the "will they won't they" and the cute "we're an item now" domesticity.

And The Winner is Love

Type: Costume, wuxia, romance

Episodes: 48

Available at: iQiyi, YouTube

What's the deal? Dashing, elegant, fan-wielding dreamboat young master falls in love with girlie burdened with the heavy responsibility of leading a sect with bad rep and protecting a very powerful and thus dangerous cultivation manual. Supposedly.

On the one hand: Luo Yunxi looks like this:

for the whole drama. Every novel writer who ever wrote about a flirty and sophisticated young master whose beauty made flowers bloom along his path and women as well as men fell in love with him at first sight and all that purple prose-y stuff, has actually written about Luo Yunxi as Shangguan Tou whether they were aware of it or not. He is The Archetype and his popularity among bilibili fmv editors is proof. There's some great wire work in the first half. The soundtrack is pretty solid.

On the other: If you're looking for plot, run away and don't look back. I've watched the whole thing and I could not tell you how the story goes. I went in with a "idc about plot, i just want to look at Luo Yunxi in costume for 40 hours" mentality and I still struggled, make of that what you will. Chen Yuqi is the FL, saddled with a poorly written role and a choice of VA who arguably wasn't the best fit for her or the role. Chemistry is passable depending on your standards, but for most of the 2nd half of the drama it takes a nosedive together with the plot. Luo Yunxi got injured while filming this so they had to cut action scenes by a lot, so in the last 3rd or so it's wuxia without the wuxia. It's the only recent case where he also had to be dubbed (covid didn't allow him to get in the studio and do it himself, as he usually does).

Watch it if: You are a yumejoshi and need material to self-insert into a costume drama FL's position, you are more determined to watch lyx look pretty in costume, all else be damned, than Samwise Gamgee was determined to make sure Frodo throws the One Ring in the flames of Mount Doom.

Princess Silver

Type: Costume, court drama, romance, some wuxia elements

Episodes: 58

Available at: YouTube, viki

What's the deal? Princess RongLe wakes up one day with amnesia (no, hear me out) to the news that she is to be sent to another kingdom and marry a prince she's never met for political alliance reasons (no, hear me out!). There, she is faced with unexpected revelations and finds herself looking for the truth while she gets embroiled with the aforementioned haughty prince, a shady general, and her (sometimes a bit too?) caring and overprotective brother.

On the one hand: (mild spoiler alert?) His character ends up stealing the show. FL can act and has good relationships with other female characters (arguably better than with any man in this, even in the chemistry department). Story and plot are quite decent. It's one of those rare cdramas that builds up as it goes instead of deflating in the last stretch.

On the other: LYX is 3rd ML in this, so if he's your main motivation to watch, be prepared for limited screentime, especially in the 2nd half of the drama (until the final 8-10 episodes where it's all about). If you're not into the FL with either 1st or 2nd ML, the first half can be a drag, like, personally I started appreciating this drama for real after episode 25-30.

Watch it if: You are patient, you like getting emotionally sucker-punched, you love a good, earthshaking final plot twist.

Ashes of Love

Type: Costume, xianxia

Episodes: 63 (or 60, depending on the version, content is the same either way though)

Available at: Netflix, YouTube, viki, WeTV, amazon prime

What's the deal? Bottom of the food chain grape fairy who was deprived of the ability to feel romantic love and her life was honestly better and carefree like that, trips and falls into a love triangle with overconfident golden boy Heavenly Prince Phoenix, and his older brother, abused wallflower Heavenly Prince Dragon. Things go very great and not complicated at all from there. :))

On the one hand: Xianxia 101, it hits all the items on the checklist. The lavish costumes, the sprawling sets and world building, the entanglement over multiple lives, mortal arc, immortal arc, demon realm arc. CG that still holds up well for the genre 5 years later. The epic and emotional OST (someone has yet to surpass Sa Ding Ding's 左手指月 for the title of "best cdrama ED song", i don't make the rules). Arguably, The most iconic 2nd ML in a cdrama, responsible for a significant chunk of its long-lasting chokehold on the audience. Even if you've never seen the drama, if you're in the asian media adjacent internet, you've most likely seen this:

On the other: Xianxia 101, a double-sided coin. All the clichés are here, and if you're not here for them you get aboard the struggle bus. The show's views on romantic feelings can be a bit, let's say, old fashioned, even for the genre's standards. If you're not into the main CP, you're in for an uphill battle of frustration. If you're Team Runyu prepare to hate almost everyone for there is no justice in this land. (In AoL one is either Team Runyu or Team Xu Feng, no middle ground, and if you're reading this, especially because you liked lyx as Tantai Jin, I don't see how you could end up Team Xu Feng, so I'm gonna run with this assumption). (in theory you can also be Team No One, but in practice if you're that, sitting through this entire drama must have been as fun as having a tooth pulled out with no anesthesia)

Watch it if: if you're any degree of a lyx fan, period. Runyu is a mandatory class.

Children's Hospital Pediatrician

Type: Modern, medical, romance

Episodes: 42

Available at: YouTube

What's the deal? Aspiring surgeon -slash- frustrating disaster girl makes a huge blunder on her first day of her hospital residency, and can only stay as a pediatrician. She hates it and makes her literal saint of a secret husband's life miserable. We watch as she gets to grow as a person to the detriment of everyone else's mental health. Secondary cast has subplots of various dating entanglements.

On the one hand: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, hmmm..... well... there's a scene where lyx takes off his shirt for a physical exam, if that's a bonus (ep40, 27:13-28:05, you're welcome)? Queen Zheng Li is in it? I am scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

On the other: It's way too long for absolutely no reason, the FL is the most frustrating and irrational baby I've ever seen (which is by no means a low bar), 90% of characters who are not the FL get their development butchered to make her look better, 2/3rds of the cast are incompetent at acting and the other 1/3rd is being wasted in this mess. I am trying to be as objective I can in these, but I've got nothing for this one.

Watch it if: You have chronically low blood pressure that no medication can fix, you have watched literally everything else on the list and having a manic episode where you will chew on the walls if you don't look at Luo Yunxi's face in something you have never seen before, you want to watch some other mid drama, so you want to watch something worse first in order to appreciate the other drama more.

Fox in the Screen

Type: Costume, xianxia

Episodes: 22

Available at: YouTube, viki, amazon prime (as The Screen Foxes)

What's the deal? Orphan girl wins by drunken mistake a magical screen that houses 3 fox demon guys, they help her with her screen shop and also with crossdressing to pass the exam for the position of palace screen painter. She earns a grumpy boyfriend with a tragic past in the meanwhile.

On the one hand: It's short and goes fast, and in all honesty, considering it was made on a budget of 3 paperclips and a piece of gum, the story is much more concise and watchable than I, at least, personally expected. You get to witness the caterpillar stage of lyx on this path to guzhuang drama godhood. If you're one for tragic love stories there is one hiding under the DIY production. White Fox and the prince are a solid ship.

On the other: It is very much made on the aforementioned budget of 3 paperclips and a piece of gum, and it very much shows. Everything is rough, the costumes, the makeup, the editing, the acting for the most part. Having even half an expectation is the wrong way to approach this drama.

Watch it if: you have the heart of a mother watching her kids at the school play and admiring what a great job they are doing or if you are like Marie Kondo and love mess in an affectionate way.

Bonus: PhantaCity

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PhantaCity was a tv show back in 2018, whose concept was making short plays and having actors perform them live in a single, do or die take for a studio audience. Luo Yunxi and Wu Jinyan, both with a background in ballet, are paired up in a short musical, acting as the hands of a newly repaired clock. If you ever wanted to see him dance, sing and act all in one thing, don't sleep on this. It's short and beautiful, and the official upload embedded above is subbed in English!

#luo yunxi #drama recs #till the end of the moon #(only tangentially related but i will have to use the tag)#light chaser rescue #lie to love #broker #love is sweet #and the winner is love #princess silver #ashes of love #children's hospital pediatrician #fox in the screen #Youtube #i tried to be as objective as possible to not color impressions #i think i deserve a cookie for how civil i was with one of these #iykyk

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mirageofadesert · 9 months

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So I watched most of Luo Yunxi's (allegedly) mediocre filmography ... here are some thoughts.

⭕️Ashes of Love (dropped it, will come back for it later) ❤️ ✔️Princess Silver ❤️❤️ ✔️ And the Winner is Love ❤️ ✔️ Love is Sweet ❤️❤️❤️ ✔️ Broker ❤️❤️ ✔️Lie to Love ❤️ ✔️Light Chaser Rescue ❤️(❤️) ✔️Till the end of the moon ❤️❤️❤️ ❌ Immortality 🤡🤡🤡

First off, the words (allegedly) mediocre and "TTEOTM" or "Love is Sweet" are not allowed in the same sentence. That's why I wont discuss them here. These dramas are talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique ... next question.

As for the rest... I have some thoughts and I'm willing to share them:

First of all, I enjoyed all of them and that came as a surprise. I had seen fans joke about his filmography with one smiling and one crying eye, voicing that they hope he would soon be a position to pick better scripts. However, on paper I think the scripts weren't bad per se, but the execution is a bit questionable.

The kind of roles he picks ...

... are actually really great. He seem to gravitate towards deeply conflicted and complex characters, that allow emotional and nuanced portrayals. Non of them are perfect, but they try. Sometimes, the script or directing doesn't allow the characters to be as convincing, as they could be. In other cases, the actors he share a scene with, are utterly unconvincing in their performances.

I appreciate that all his chosen dramas have actual plot besides the romantic story and I didn't have to sit through something as boring as a pure romance without any substance (looking at you, Hidden Love). I also would guess, that he chooses his show based on the roles he plays, because those are often considerably better than the script overall.

Trapped by lackluster writing ...

... is a serious problem, especially when it involves cringey lines as well as wattpad level backstories. I think "Lie to Love" had the weakest script, "Broker" had some really over the top and cringe backstories, while "Lightchaser Rescue"'s biggest problem lies with the directing and production. "Princess Silver" was great overall and I wish he played a bigger role. I'm still not sure what went wrong with "And the winner is love", but I guess it's a combination of everything. Kudos to the actors, that pull off these bad or cringe lines with the same level of dedication and passion... I'm sorry, that I had to skip them anyway.

Acting circles around other actors...

... it's not a regular thing, but it tend to happens with some of his FL. It's not even that they are bad actresses per se, but often written with so little character, that there isn't much anyone can bounce off of. Su Xieyi (Cheng Xiao in "Lie to Love") and Chong Xuezhi (Yukee Chen/Chen Yuqi in "And the Winner is Love") are particularly guilty of this. It's also not something that can be blamed on lacking chemistry between the lead actors, as those two did not convey any chemistry with anyone in their perspective shows. A lot of the female characters in cdramas are hard to watch - and it's the main reason I have not been able to watch Ashes of Love yet.

I recently read a reddit post, that pointed out that Luo Yunxi always has good chemistry with his FL, but that those don't necessary give back the same energy. This leads to his characters always seeming more in love with their romantic partners. Luo Yunxi sells every love story... I really wish he would be paired up with more emotive actresses portraying well written characters.

His strengths ...

... lies in costume dramas for sure. He just looks like he came right out of a painting. This is also where his dance background shines the most. His wire and fight scenes are always excellent. However, I do understand that those are strenuous to shoot, particularly in the summer. In addition he excels in portraying suffering and a storm of conflicting emotions. He is a great actor, with exceptional facial expression and good voice acting. As an audience, you can feel his commitment to all of his roles. This becomes even more obvious, once you find out how often he was injured on set and still pulled through. I wont forget that one leaked clip of him doing wire stunts with his wheel chair waiting on the side ...

What I want to see him play in the future....

... is a more comedic costume drama. "Love is Sweet" but with long hair and fight scenes! I also would love to see him as a villain (again), but I guess he has outgrown these roles - at least in dramas. I also need another show similar to TTEOTM, that is more mature than most dramas of this genre and doesn't focus on the romance. Lastly, a 3rd drama with Bai Lu would be great!

What I learned from this going forward ...

... is to give less popular shows a try. So far, some rather popular or loved dramas (Hidden Love, Ashes of Love, Immortal Samsara etc) failed to impress me. I also learned that I need at least one character to latch onto, while starting a show or I will not get into it. A lot of shows sadly lack these convincing and obsession-worthy characters.

#luo yunxi #cdrama #till the end of the moon #love is sweet #lie to love #broker #cdrama review #and the winner is love #princess silver #light chaser rescue

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dingyuxi · 2 years

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LIGHT CHASER RESCUE 追光者 (2022) dir. Zhang Tong — Why don't you make a wish? Once we get out of here, I’ll help you fulfill it.

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storge · 2 years

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Luo Yunxi | Light Chaser Rescue

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simply-whump · 1 year

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Light Chaser Rescue (追光者) Whump List

Whumpees : Luo Ben played by Luo Yun Xi and Zhou Ming Ming played by Marcus Li

Synopsis : A devastating earthquake has occurred in Xichuan. Lawyer Luo Ben has gone to the disaster-stricken area to look for his younger and mute sister Luo Yuan. It's there that he comes into contact with the Light Chaser Rescue unit. Luo Ben bears witness to the people's sense of camaraderie in the face of adversity and becomes deeply inspired by the volunteer efforts. He joins as the new recruit to the team. (MDL)

Genre : Action, Thriller, Romance, Rescue

Warning ! Possible spoilers below !

Luo Ben

Ep 1-2 : None

Ep 3 : Worried for someone, panicking — Entering the rubbles of a collapsed building, ears ringing, remembering his traumatic past — Worried for someone

Ep 4 : None

Ep 5 : Drenched because of the rain — Caught a cold, coughing

Ep 6-7 : None

Ep 8 : Participating in a tiring training under the rain

Ep 9 : Participating in a firefighting drill, remembering his traumatic past — Scolded

Ep 11 : None

Ep 12 : Drenched in the rain, worried for someone, enters a half buried house, concern for him — Trapped because of a landslide, covered in mud — In pain, concern for him, says he’s okay (is clearly not) (Gif Set)

Ep 13 : Still trapped, talking about traumatic memories, oxygen levels decreasing, has difficulty breathing, saved — In the hospital

Ep 14 : In pain when his injury is touched

Ep 15 : (⚠️TW for attempted suicide⚠️) Jumps from a building to save someone while being secured by a rope, almost falls to his death when the knot unties, pulled up, worried for someone — Blaming himself, grabbed by the collar

Ep 16 : Sad — Training hard — Anxious, blamed and blaming himself

Ep 17 : Anxious — A shelf falls on his back while he is saving someone — Teary-eyed

Ep 18 : None

Ep 19 : Feeling down, blaming himself

Ep 20 : None

Ep 21 : Tired after a long search for a missing kid in the wild, resting his head on female lead shoulder

Ep 22-31 : None...

Ep 32 : Trapped in a room in a burning building, thrown through a window by an explosion blast, falls from several floors — Leg broken, doctor suggests amputation, says he will never be able to walk properly again

Ep 33 : In the hospital, loved ones worried for him, learns the doctors might have to amputate his leg, teary-eyed, choses an operation that will save his leg but might endanger his life, asleep on the operating table, oxygen mask, waking up in a hospital bed — (Out of the hospital) Limping, sudden pain in his leg, concern for him — Doing rehabilitation for his leg, in pain, concern for him — Limping

Ep 34 : Doing rehabilitation for his leg, in pain

Ep 35 : Learns the truth about his parents death, upset, crying, feeling betrayed — Sitting on the floor depressed, angry, shouting

Ep 36 : Teary-eyed — Trades his place with a hostage, hands tied, taken hostage, in a chokehold — Desperately tries to keep someone from falling

Ep 37-38 : None

Ep 40 : Walking in a snowstorm, worried for someone, hit by a falling icicle — The rope that maintained him suspended above a crevasse breaks, falls, hits his back, groaning in pain, concern for him, snow and ice fall and blocks the entrance of the crevasse (he is kinda buried alive) — Concern for him, rescue team tries to break the ice with little results — Unconscious, wakes up, heavy breathing, groaning in pain, back hurting, realises he is trapped — In pain and probably freezing, searching for a way out — Lots of underground crawling, finally gets out, passes out — Found, wakes up briefly before passing out again (Gif Set) — Big time skip so no aftercare shown…

Zhou Ming Ming

Ep 3 : Leg injured, bleeding, faints at the sight of blood — Limping, wound treated — Donating blood, waking up in a hospital bed

Ep 4 : Still limping when waking

Ep 5 : Hit, has a nosebleed (comedic)

Ep 18 : Muscle pain after a harsh training, can hardly walk (comedic)

Ep 19 : Blamed, mocked, feeling down

Ep 21 : Throwing up after a mission

Ep 24 : Drunk

Ep 25 : Diving underwater, losing oxygen, taking off his oxygen regulator, sinking, saved

Ep 34 : Upset, drinking

#Light Chaser rescue #whump list #asian whump #whump #cdrama #chinese drama #luo yunxi

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moononmyfloor · 1 year

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Not many Cdramas caught nor retained my attention in the 2nd half of 2022, but the few I did watch were pure gems. However I didn't think I have enough entrees to fill 30 days with, so I cut the number down and also conjoined some. Without further ado here we go!

My C-Drama Review of the 1st Half of 2022

(Concept loosely based on anniedelavoye' s. I did hers last year but then realised I simply cannot submit only one entry per day NOR wait a whole year to do a review. I do things by bulk 😆. So I broke the reviewing into two halves so I can do this with fresher memory and also more dramas will get the spotlight.)

1. First Drama I finished in the 1st half of 2022

Love Between Fairy and Devil! Lots of praises have already been sung about this show, I don't have anything new to add.🤭

2. New Favourite Actor/Actress

Zhai Zilu, Zhou Dawei, Wang Youjun, Chang Long.

All caught my attention this year, all very promising! I hope they have successful years ahead! (And please don't end up being evil people :( 🙏)

3. Best Performance

Wang Xiao and Yan Bingyan as Zhou baba and mama in Examination for Everyone. These two veteran actors brought this two characters and their dynamic to life SO realistically and endearingly, you could almost touch it. It was like seeing my own parents onscreen. Mad respect.

4. Favorite Drama OST

This is an odd answer but the first few seconds of the opening theme song of Fei Teng Ren Sheng captivated me. I was like: "Hold on. That's one BEAUTIFUL melody?" And I replayed and replayed that part over and over. The rest is good too but it was really the part before the verse that I felt was quite unique.

I also liked this song from Side Story of Fox Volant.

5. Most Watched Genre

I think I should remove this question here onwards. I never pick a drama by genre, I have no aversion to almost any. I do have a preference to Period dramas and Slice of Life but they are not really taken to account if everything else about the story doesn't appeal to me. So this question goes nowhere and indicates nothing in my case.

6. A Drama I Dropped

Light Chaser Rescue. Its first episode was one of the most annoying I have ever seen in my life. The ML cool-hero driving and the FL sassy-heroine force hitching a ride and the entire sequence of the car crash rescue had me 🙄. A show either has to own up the wackiness or should be full on realistic, for me. This was neither here nor there.

7. Favorite Character of 2022 2nd Half

I don't think there was anyone I fell head-over-heels for this time, but did like Madam Danchuan in New Life Begins a lot. I just love her aura of power, how fiercely protective she's of her women, AND how she will always allow you to have the final choice. She never forces her authority to make decisions for others, no matter how good she might internally think it'd be for you.

I also liked Bai Lu a lot, she's just a minor character but she stood out most to me among the Solar Term girls. She's sassy, and I think if I am to travel into NLB verse I'd like to be Bai Lu. Just like her I don't particularly care for men, I want to mind my own business and just chill with my jiejies lol.

8. Best Cinematography

I should remove this question too because I feel like I'm not professional enough for this, haha. Sometimes I love the visuals of some dramas only to find out that from technical aspects it actually sucked.

9. An Older Drama I Watched

Red Sorghum (2014). It's a CRIME that Red Sorghum's drama version has only ep 1 eng subbed, but also, having watched the movie I know how brutal it can get so maybe its a good thing only ep 1 is subbed, and after all ep 1 ends in a kind-of conclusive place so it does feel like a standalone story of its own, and I HIGHLY recommend watching it.

Do yourself a favor and watch this single ep because baby Zhou Xun and baby Huang Xuan are SO CUTE! Like toe-curlingly cute, I was squealing the whole time! 😍😍😍😍😍😍

Also it has some GORGEOUS backdrops!

https://youtu.be/zh55pwzBNag

10. A Drama that kept Me on Edge

Nothing really. I mean I did eagerly wait everyday for new eps of NLB and Da Kao but that's not the same.

11. A Drama Location I Want to Visit

I kind of want to visit Hengdian replicas of real locations, then visit the actual thing (such as Forbidden City) and try to compare and contrast lmao. I wonder how similar they are!

12. A Popular Drama I Didn't Enjoy

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty. Not due to any particular fault of the drama itself, the production and visuals and aesthetics all were excellent, and all the ingredients were right there. I simply felt it didn't particularly offer anything I haven't already seen. The first ep reminded me strongly of Legend of the Demon Cat, which was a movie I loved a lot and still had a pretty fresh memory of. Sometimes strong acting and unique execution will carry a story that is otherwise pretty tried-and-tired, but unfortunately that was not the case here either.

13. Best Scriptwriting and Directing

Though I wouldn't say they were the best overall scripts, New Life Begins had the BEST female character writing I've seen in ages, and Da Kao (Exam for Everyone) had the most thorough writing of family dynamics.

Directing-wise, I liked what I saw but nothing that particularly blew my mind.

14. Best Production

The Long River. Even though I didn't get to properly see it yet, I heard they made an artificial Yellow river simulation for all the flooding scenes and there are LOTS of those scenes in this drama and... whew. It's not often you get a proper serious historical drama and when you do, it's usually difficult for any other drama to beat them production scale wise anyway😆.

15. A Drama that Made Me Laugh

Mr. Bad. The "character from a story comes to real life and messes with the other lead's life" premise will always be full of potential for unhinged shenanigans, and Mr.Bad doesn't fail. The main leads are so fun and the dynamic never boring, and Chen Zheyuan is SUCH a hoot with his expressions.

16. A Drama that Made Me Cry

NLB and Da Kao did, but they were more like tears of exhilaration. Instead lemme share this very good crying scene by Wang Yibo and Wang Jinsong in Being a Hero haha.

17. Most Satisfying Drama

New Life Begins owns my whole heart and soul! You can read my review for ep 1-14 here, and my current opinion of the drama remains the same if not better!

Even though it is a fluffy and ahistorical drama, lots of "proper" period dramas could learn from NLB about how to write your women as intelligent, dimensional individuals and not caricatures fallen victims to irrational jealousy and hatred. Since it's a feel good romcom everything always turn out for the better and that may not always be the case in history, yes. But this approach that these women tried to make a difference still holds valid regardless the genre.

You should learn that Past =×= 100% Oppression, 0% fighting back when it came to women, the same way Modern times doesn't mean 0% Oppression and 100% feminism (laughs in sarcasm). The foundations of how far we have come has been laid since centuries ago, AND there are lots of fronts that we have actually backtracked/regressed in compared to the past as well. Progressiveness is rarely linear.

Ok I digressed. Back to review 🤭.

18. Most Dissapointing Drama

Hu Tong. Life in Beijing hutong neighbourhood across eras told through 3 women of 3 generations of a family is quite possibly one of of the most interesting premises I've heard, but the first episode dissapointed me thoroughly with its unconvincing, in your face and over the top characters and storyline. Such potential, gone down the drain. If the drama didn't take itself seriously, neither would the audience.

19. Favorite Wardrobe

Hao Jia's wardrobe in NLB and Dongfang Qingcang's in LBFAD. The fine details and embroidery are 😘🤌. 100% would wear both styles, depending on the day lol.

20. A Drama That Deserves a Shoutout

Our Times. An omnibus type of drama where you'll be told slice of life stories of people in such interesting and niche jobs that you rarely get to see portrayed realistically in dramas. Such as traditional Chinese theatre dancers, or a sports coach in a rural area with minimal facilities. Also if you get uninterested with one story you can jump few episodes ahead to the next, so that's kind of a plus too, haha.

21. A Drama that Taught Me New Things

Are You Safe. Taught me lots of valuable tips about cyber safety. Unfortunately that was the only positive thing about this drama and I think it won't be presumptuous to say literally 99% people who watched it will agree with me.

22. Best Relationship

The care and nuance all the families were written in The Examination for Everyone was through-the-roof excellent. Unnecessarily stereotyped toxic Asian family portrayals out, empathetic and 3D Asian parent-children dynamics in! Gosh, I saw myself, my family, my society, my culture in this drama. Thank you and much love.

23. A Drama I Wanted to Watch but Couldn't

The Long River. No subs 😭

24. An Upcoming Drama that I'm Excited for

JoL 2 and Under the Microscope! 🤩 (Please come 😭)

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thegreymoon · 1 year

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I’ve seen many people do end-of-the-year rankings of the dramas they watched, so here is mine! I’m ranking them in order from the ones I enjoyed the most to the ones I enjoyed the least. This is not a reflection on the actual quality of the dramas and is based exclusively on how much I subjectively liked them.

1. Monarch Industry

Favourite drama of the year and possibly my favourite drama ever! It’s so good! Xiao Qi owns my entire heart! Warmly recommended 🖤

2. Black Sails

A most excellent show. Highly recommended.

3. Love Like the Galaxy

I loved this drama so much! Shaoshang is the best female lead of the year, hands down! I adore her! Plus, this is the drama that turned me into a Wu Lei fan, I’ve watched ep. 48 so many times!

4. Gold Panning

I was very antagonistic towards this drama when I first started watching it but luckily, I stuck with it and it turned out to be SO GOOD. It’s very grimy and dark, but it was such a good watch! Highly recommended. It is the type of drama that you can admit to watching and recommend in any company without feeling embarrassed. I want more roles like this for Chen Feiyu.

5. The Great Shaolin

This one started out SO GOOD, I was certain it would top all the dramas I ever watched, but then it devolved in the second half and did not live up to its promise. I’m still mad, but Zhou Yiwei is perfection and the good parts of this drama were amazing, so it still made it pretty high up on this list.

6. Kevin Can F*** Himself

I am normally not a fan of comedies, but this one was excellent. Highly recommended!

7. Kingdom

I’m just not a fan of zombies, so unfortunately, this one cannot go higher, but it is so well done! I very much recommend this drama if you like horror and have high tolerance for gore.

8. Love Between Fairy and Devil

This was such a cute and hilarious watch, I loved it so much! It does not quite reach the level of the best drama of the year for me the way it did for some people, but it was still a good time! Highly recommended!

9. King’s War

I still can’t believe I made it through this entire drama without skipping! I loved it, but I’m cautious about recommending it because it is very long and very grim. It is just perfect for history lovers but maybe less so for people just looking for some entertainment.

10. Kinnporsche

This one would have made it way higher on the list if it had been a few episodes shorter. I completely lost interest when the whole Tawan subplot took over and I never really recovered it.

11. The Longest Day in Chang’an

I fully admit I watched this only for Zhou Yiwei. His performance alone would put this drama right at the top, but unfortunately, the rest of it just dragged and was full of plot holes and unlikeable characters. Lots of people sing praises for this drama but other than Zhou Yiwei’s part in it, I did not enjoy it at all.

12. Light Chaser Rescue

This is definitely not the worst thing I ever watched but I only recommend it if you are a Luo Yunxi fan, lol.

13. Killer and Healer

I cannot think of a single thing to recommend when it comes to this mess.

#monarch industry #black sails #love like the galaxy #gold panning #the great shaolin #kevin can f*** himself #kingdom #love between fairy and devil #king's war #kinnporsche #the longest day in chang'an #light chaser rescue #killer and healer

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endlessnine09 · 9 months

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Luo Yunxi characters and dramas performance data! 🤩👏

©️罗云熙丨老鸭汤烹饪组

#罗云熙 #luo yunxi #长月烬明 #till the end of the moon #and the winner is love #ashes of love #princess silver #love is sweet #children’s hospital pediatrician #light chaser rescue #lie to love #broker

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crouching-fandom · 9 months

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youtube

Fanvid rec: watch me dance by bittergrace

#luo yunxi #罗云熙 #till the end of the moon #ashes of love #love is sweet #princess silver #light chaser rescue #fanvid #atwil #and the winner is love

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whumperer-86 · 2 years

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My whump watching conclusions

When I watch a good whump scene from specific actor ,, I ran to youtube or other sources looking for other whump scenes from his other dramas and I find some of them are really good may be better than the original scene that I liked him in

Chinese and korean dramas are the most whump filled dramas

The best whump dramas are the ones that has good Bromance or very caring care taker but for me I find brothers or male friends are more impactful in whump scenes than female care takers

#whumpee #whump #whumper #asian whump #emotional whump #drama #chinese drama #bromance #suffering #chinesedrama #asian whumper #light chaser rescue #追光者 #luo yunxi #trapped #collapsed building #whumptober2022

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lyselkatzfandomluvs · 7 months

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Luó Yúnxi 羅雲熙

Harper's Bazaar China x ZhenGûoLì 真果粒 - September 2023.

#luo yunxi #leo luo #till the end of the moon #ashes of love #light chaser rescue #princess silver #love is sweet #and the winner is love #immortality #cdrama #chinese actors #harper's bazaar china #mom I wuv him #my Cloud-Boy!!

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zerozeroluckybang · 2 years

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.currently watching.

.recently watched.

.most anticipated.

.soon.

#light chaser rescue #the eclipse the series #moonlight chicken #oh my boss #the three gentlebros #between us the series #love in the air #my tooth your love #mr. bad #roommates of poongduck 304

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mirageofadesert · 9 months

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Rating cdramas I watched as a newbie pt. 3

!! Spoiler Warning!! You can find part 1 and part 2 here!

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty 8/10

Acting: 9/10 World-building: 8/10 Production: 8/10 Storytelling: 8/10 Re-watch Value: 7/10 Pacing: 8/10 Bonus: I loved the intro and OST so much, I added it to my playlist.

I started to watch this drama a while back, but gave up after the second episode, because I couldn't follow the plot. I'm glad I came back after having watched more cdramas. Those gave me more background knowledge to follow to complex political structures and plots. After finally understanding the backdrop of the story, I was surprised to find out, that this show was vaguely adapted from a danmei novel.

While the story-line was interesting, it were the characters that really got me hooked, especially Wang Zhi. His character and story had so much more potential and I would love to watch a whole show with him as a main character. It kind of blew my mind that he was that young - and while his actions made you forget about it at times, the show manage to remind you of his youth in really great scenes.

Overall, the show suffered from the same problems many shows do: The story-line becomes to convoluted, the stakes don't fit the established tone of the show and some plot-holes are hard to overlook. For example, there should have been a better way to set up the empress as a warrior, because that came out of nowhere (twice). While the action scenes were great at first, when trying to raise the stakes during the last few episodes, it became over the top and felt out of place. In addition, some serious topics they tried to address (e.g. PTSD, domestic violence, human trafficking) didn't go anywhere and lacked consequences.

In spite of these problems, I loved the show and their main characters a lot. They did have great chemistry and I'm curious how a BL adaptation of this show would have looked like.

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Destined 7/10

Acting: 8/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 8/10 Storytelling: 4/10 Re-watch Value: 6/10 Pacing: 5/10 Bonus: For Gu Jiusi charming mumbling and Liu Xueyi as the villain

The first episodes of this show were so great - I was having so much fun and I loved how the tone of the show switched by episode 9. In hindsight, I should have seen this as a sign, that the script would become messy: Stringing together too many impactful scenes, without letting the the story enfold. The problem with this is, that they lose their emotional impact and start to feel over the top and unrealistic. Somehow the ML is a playboy that does not care for women, but is also secretly one of the best martial artist out there even through we never see him practice during the episodes that follow his every day life in detail? It was just a bit too much lazy writing, trying to establish the path of the main characters. The idea was great, but the execution was a bit lacking. It's such a shame.

I think the riches to racks to riches story they wanted to tell was to convoluted even for 40 episodes. The ending was especially disappointing for me - but not because of how the main characters' story ends, but rather because of how they solved the succession problem. After making the question, what makes a suitable ruler, a focus point of the show, they make the next (next) crown prince some never before mentioned character off screen? It felt so unsatisfied! I feel like the show lacked a clear meta plot, a massage beyond the love story.

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Light Chaser Rescue 5/10

Acting: 7/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 4/10 Storytelling: 5/10 Re-watch Value: 3/10 Pacing: 6/10 Bonus: For not centering the plot on the love story alone.

I'm currently on a mission to watch Luo Yunxi (allegedly) mediocre filmography and Light Chaster Rescue was next on the list. It turned out to be a decent show! My biggest grievances is, that the rescue scenes lacked suspense and I think that's a budget and production issue. Some of the characters were quite flat and annoying and I'm not sure how much of it was insufficient acting skills or a bad script (I lean towards the latter).

In addition - and it really pains me to say this Luo Yunxi's character was not written well and I'm not sure he was the best fit for the role. In the beginning Luo Ben was supposed to be self-centered and annoying. Still, the dialog was just not well written and no amount of excellent acting could save come of the lines. The whole over-protectiveness over his mute little sister was also not done well and made me dislike Luo Ben. Now, this might be quite controversial, but if they cast an actor, that does not fit the typical build of an rescue worker, it would have been better to actually make this part of the story. Ignoring it most of the time, made Luo Ben unconvincing. I think they tried to set it up in some ways (e.g. pointing out his tactical skills, driving ability and how the other members don't see him as suitable at first), but the drama failed to deliver it. In my opinion, it would have given the show a bit more depth and realism.

On that note... I would like to know if Luo Yuan actually signed CSL or if it was just some gibberish. Adequate representation of dis/abled people in media matters, so I really hope they got it right. I also had mixed feeling that she was only mute and not hard of hearing. I know it's possible, even if uncommon. It's obvious why they made that decision, but it felt (again) unconvincing.

Overall, I still enjoyed the show and the pacing was quite nice. I liked the long build up to the different characters joining the Light Chaser Rescue and how they did the big revelation later on!

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Broker 6/10

Acting: 7/10 World-building: 6/10 Production: 6/10 Storytelling: 6/10 Re-watch Value: 4/10 Pacing: 6/10 Bonus: A research focused plot!

This one came as a surprise to me. After Light Chaser Rescue I expected another okay-ish drama, I only planed to watch for the lead, but I ended up really enjoying it. The initial premise of cooperate espionage is interesting and I wish they would have focused on that in the later part, instead of it become a family conflict with high stakes. The backstories of the characters were also a bit too wattpad. However, I got rather invested into the characters and story. The acting was good as well, with the exception of the white actors they hired, who were just horrible - barely being able to say their lines. It gave it some unintended comedy. As someone who has worked in research for the last couple of years, this show was really fascinating to watch (even through it's not realistic), but I liked to see a story-line like this in a drama! The patriotism was a bit hard to get used to, but I can't deny the anti-Chinese racism within the scientific community.

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Thank you for reading my rumbling on the internet! I think next I will do a post about why I dropped certain shows and what I learned about myself as a cdrama audience by doing so!

#cdrama #the sleuth of ming dynasty #wang zhi #destined cdrama #light chaser rescue #broker #luo yunxi

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