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shen-daozhang · 2 years

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A while ago @majestictortoise got an ask about c-drama recs for someone who has watched The Untamed, and opened the floor for more recommendations from other people. I have a Part 1 here, but I ran out of time/space, and there were still a couple that I wanted to mention- specifically for someone who is looking for more danmei-inspired shows. I have a watch list here that's filterable by genre, as well as some other things, but like my first list I wanted to pull out a couple that I think are good for people who are looking for something to watch after The Untamed that might not be the first shows you'll hear about here on Tumblr (so, no Word of Honor, Guardian or TGCF).

Since this is my list and I can do whatever I want, I have also included a movie and some donghua ^^

Want found family and food porn? A delightful cast of flawed people trying their best who grow and change throughout the show? Then check out...

THE SLUETH OF THE MING DYNASTY 48 episodes. Viki.

In 1478, three very different men- low-level magistrate and foodie Tang Fan, imperial guard Sui Zhuo, and palace eunuch and teenaged head of the Western Depot Wang Zhi- team up to solve mysteries and stop a major conspiracy

The found family in the show is one of my favorites in all of tv, and I love that it expands beyond the "two adults and a kid or two" setup you see a lot. Nearly all of the characters start off a strangers and the relationships that grow between them are just really well done. This show also touches on mental illness (Sui Zhuo has PTSD from his time in the military) and while it's through the lens of it being the 1470s, I just really like how it was handled in terms of how it impacts his relationships, but also how his relationships impact his mental health. I highly recommend this show if you enjoy historical mysteries with some basis in reality (while the events of the show are very much fiction, the Emperor, Consort Wan and Wang Zhi were all real people).

This is inspired by the danmei webnovel of the same name by Meng Xishi. While there is the addition of a female love interest for Tang Fan (who imo is an interesting character in her own right), Tang Fan and Sui Zhou literally end up living with each other and basically adopt a child together - I think it's pretty clear what's going on between them aside from a platonic bromance. You might recognize: Tang Fan is voiced Su Shangqing, who overdubbed Meng Yao in The Untamed and Cao Weining in Word of Honor.

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Looking for a short show with a unique take on the mystery procedural and fantastic chemistry between the leads? Then...

UNDER THE SKIN 20 episodes. Viki.

Artist Shen Yi has a remarkable talent for constructing eerily accurate portraits using limited information about the subject. Seven years ago, that talent was used to murder a police officer investigating a human trafficking ring. Newly hired as a police sketch artist, Shen Yi clashes with the headstrong police captain Du Cheng who blames Shen Yi for his colleague’s death. As cases with connections to the trafficking ring begin to appear, can they put aside their differences and move on from the shadows of the past?

"Wait, hold up," you say. "This isn't a danmei adaptation." Technically you're correct but hear me out. I tend to avoid modern mystery shows for personal reasons, but when this come out earlier this year I thought I'd give this a chance mostly for the language practice. I'm really glad I did, because a show I thought was going to be something I was just half-watching ended up grabbing me by the throat and not letting go.

This is a good show that's made exceptional by the acting of and chemistry between Shen Yi and Du Cheng. I actually stopped watching an episode to check if this is based on a danmei webnovel because the enemies-to .... bros was just so strong (it's completely original for the record). In fact, most of my faults with the show lie in the episodes where they don't interact as much.

I already thought Tan Jianci was a good actor going into this (he's a stand out in Winter Begonia and steals the show in Secret of the Three Kingdoms) but this is easily his best performance. He's fantastic as both the edge-lord Shen Yi of seven years ago, and the haunted, driven man he became. Jin Shijia is perfectly cast as the earnest, heart-on-his-sleeve Du Cheng, and is a wonderful foil to Shen Yi. Seriously, I could go on and on about the chemistry between the two of them. The art aspect of this show is also really interesting! Unlike a lot of shows with a "gimmick" this show actually keeps up the art thread and uses it in new and interesting ways. I will say that I think this show loses a little steam in the middle (though it regains it again); however the characters more than make up for any faults to be found in the plot. I also wanted to mention that I really liked that there were two young women in the show who weren't there to be love interests, who develop a caring friendship with the men. I found that really refreshing.

I just want to give a heads up that there are some cases involving sexual violence (all handled in a PG13 manner). Feel free to message me if you need more details. I also go into more details about the content in my entry for this show on my watchlist.

You might recognize: Tan Jianci is playing Gu Yun in Winner is King Two actors from Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty appear in this. Baby Zhang (Qing Ge in TSOMD) is a co-worker, and the Emperor shows up in one of the cases.

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Are you in the mood for a beautifully designed and evocative show about the importance of the arts in a time of rapid change?

WINTER BEGONIA 49 episodes. Viki.

As the threat of the 1937 Japanese invasion looms over Beijing, two very different men- Western-educated businessman Cheng Fengtai and eccentric and talented opera singer Shang Xirui bond over their shared love for Peking opera.

(Full disclosure I'm still watching this at a glacial pace - this is a show I have to savor rather than binge - however I still feel the need to recommend this show because it's just so good so far)

Going into this, I'd heard this got regulated to just a bromance (you know how it is), but upon watching this I just have to say I have never seen more soft looks and soft-focus camera lenses used in so many shots with two men gazing at each other. Seriously, get yourself somebody who looks at you like Cheng Fengtai looks at Shang Xirui.

I had sworn off Republic-era dramas because the costuming and prop design tends to be... not great and those are two of my special interests, but I am so glad I gave this show a chance because it's beautiful. They walk a good line of being decently period correct while still telling you a lot about a character at a glance, and the opera costumes are stunning. It also looks like they sourced a good number of actual vintage props as well. A lot of care and effort was clearly taken to recreate the world of 1930s Beijing (called Beiping during this period), and the show really immerses you in a world that's rapidly changing. I think they also do an excellent job of involving audiences in why opera- which has become an acquired taste for modern audiences - is something that is so important to these characters.

You might recognize: Hei Zi (Gao Chong in Word of Honor) as Commander Cao Tan Jianci (Secret of the Three Kingdoms, Under the Skin, Winner is King) as Chen Renxiang

A film and some donghua under the cut!

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Open to film or animation? Well, then that case...

THE YIN YANG MASTER: DREAM OF ETERNITY (film) Netflix.

When a demonic serpent awakens, polar opposites Qingming and Boya must team up to stop a dark conspiracy that threatens their world.

Another "this technically isn't a danmei adaptation but there is no heterosexual explanation for what's going on"

This is one of my favorite movies! In particular, I'm really taken with the art direction, which is a blend of Japanese and Chinese influences. The costuming in this movie is drop-dead gorgeous. If you like opposites-attract, and sorta-enemies to.... "bros", you'll love how Boya and Qingming go from literally spying on each other because they don't trust the other one, to the other being the one person they are willing to lay down their life for :') There's also a side-romance that's checks off a lot of tropes for me that I can't get into with getting spoiler-y, but suffice it to say this movie gave me more feels than I expected from a New Years SFX extravaganza.

You might recognize Deng Lun (Boya) from Ashes of Love

NOTE: This movie and Yin Yang Master (Shi Shen Ling) are not related! They're both on Netflix and about the same characters, but they're completely different takes, with different stories and tones. I also really like that movie too and recommend it (in particular Chen Kun is fantastic as a more openly chaotic Qingming), but there aren't any of the implied feelings between Boya and Qingming in that one, even though that Qingming exudes chaotic bisexual energy

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Do you like stories with a main character who is trying to remain true to his principles and survive in a corrupt environment, while their foil is very "I don't see why I can't be both the love interest and the antagonist?" Then check out:

THOUSAND AUTUMNS 16 episodes. WeTV.

Devout Daoist sect leader Shen Qiao believes in the fundamental goodness of humanity. Demonic sect leader Yan Wushi firmly believes that all humans are fundamentally evil. When an assassination attempt leaves a poisoned and blinded Shen Qiao in Yan Wushi's hands, will Yan Wushi be able to corrupt him? Or will their relationship change how they both see the world and their place in it?

Obviously I love this show (and the webnovel it's adapted from, also by Meng Xishi), given my username. Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao- and how they play off each other- are some of the most fascinating characters in fiction, in my opinion. In addition they cast one of my favorite voice actors as Yan Wushi, and somehow made it more explicitly gay than the novel at this point in the story- which never happens- so it's just fantastic all around, honestly.

There is an unofficial resub that I highly recommend checking out because the the official one leaves a lot to be desired and frankly doesn't do justice to the show by a long shot. Send me a message for a link! You might recognize Yan Wushi is voiced by Wu Lei (voice of Shen Qingqiu in Scum Villain)

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Want a modern fantasy with interesting world-building and a story that stretches back millennia? Do you like two main characters who are both kind of terrible people and are incredibly full of themselves, who are also just really fun to watch? Then.... DROWNING SORROWS IN RAGING FIRE 12 episodes. Funimation.

3,000 years ago, against seemingly insurmountable odds Sheng Lingyuan united humans against the monstrous yao threatening their survival, and won. But despite being heralded as savior in his youth, Sheng Lingyuan is remembered by history as an infamous emperor who committed many ruthless and cold-blooded atrocities before throwing himself into a lake of fire. In the modern day, Xuan Ji- who works for an organization dealing with magical beings while being one himself- has a big mess on his hands because someone just raised a demon Sheng Lingyuan from the dead, and their reasons for doing so are probably bad news for everyone. And also Sheng Lingyuan is an emotionally manipulative asshole, honestly. But why do Sheng Lingyuan and Xuan Ji seem to have an inexplicable connection? And what's the truth behind Sheng Lingyuan's actions so long ago?

I feel like this sells itself - the main character is a cocky bisexual fire bird-man, and the love interest is a manipulative demon who blows up an elevator because he doesn't understand Arabic numerals, and they're both terrible people and it's fantastic. This is based on the webnovel of the same name by my favorite author, Priest, which I also highly recommend.

I watched this as it aired and I went from skepticism (don't care for the animation style or the character design, makes me think of Pokémon) to LOVE by the end of the first episode when the two main characters started interacting. And really, the interactions between the two leads is what really carries this show, but I also have a soft spot for Aloujin. My biggest compliant is I personally found some of the humor from the ensemble characters to be a swing-and-a-miss, and the show starts off a little funky, but my love for the main characters more than overpowers those elements.

You might recognize: Sheng Lingyuan is voiced by Jiang Guangtao (Xie Lian in TGCF- he's the complete opposite in this and it's great) Xuan Ji's sugar daddy Xiao Zheng is voiced by Guo Haoran (dubbing actor for Zhao Jing in Word of Honor)

So that's that for my recommendations for the moment! I've been thinking about doing one of these for webnovels (which I also have a list for) ...

#cdrama recs #slueth of the ming dynasty #tsomd #under the skin #猎罪图鉴 #winter begonia #yin yang master dream of eternity #shjx #thousand autumns #drowning sorrows in raging fire #lhjc

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