The Spirealm (2024)

This series left me with an emptiness and sad feeling after watching the last episode … I already started missing the characters :( I wish it didn’t end.
The actors acted so well and the production was also so good.
I hope the hard work of the cast and the production crew in creating this masterpiece doesn’t go to waste. Thanks a lot guys!
I watched half of the series without subtitles cause I couldn’t stop myself from watching. Even If I couldn’t understand everything at least I could feel it. Lot’s of Thanks to the people who managed to download it before this masterpiece was deleted and people uploaded it for us to watch and also to the people who added subtitles. Thanks to everyone who was involved.

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Love the story (mostly) and characters, but it is not flawless for sure

Apart from the fact that the series is adapted from a BL work, I see no reason it would be taken down. In fact, suggestions of BL are few and far between even though the relationship between the two main characters approaches the intensity of romance.

I think the story has some basic changes from the original work, but the story in the series is pretty strong overall. It is highly engaging as the characters enter the virtual world represented by one door after another. The progress in the dangers of the different levels of the virtual reality game is also nicely calibrated. But the story would have been much less engaging had it not been for a group of interesting and likable characters that the audience will care about. A case in point is the character, Tan Zaozao, a female actress who starts off being a character one doesn't take seriously but ends up with one we might cry over.

It is a little ironic that a series that toes the line in so many ways is taken down after an hour, with most attributing the cause to censorship. If one has no idea that the series is based on a BL work, one might not even imagine that there is any romance going on between the main characters. No doubt, there is a strong bond between them, but it could either be a strong friendship or romantic interest that never really gets a chance to be expressed. I would even say that one of the major flaws of the series is how it toes the line politically, making it thematically simplistic. In the series, it is none too subtly suggested that America = Capitalist = Evil. (No prizes for guessing which country it is antithetical to.)

As a critique of capitalism, what the characters say may make sense at a certain level. However, it is a different matter to posit that evil Western capitalists will go out of their way to corrupt a virtual reality game (or some sort of game where the line between the virtual and the real is blurred) and fill it with violence. Look, in the series, it is not as though the capitalists can make money when:

1. people who start playing the game have no choice but to continue--they can simply go through any door and be transported to one of the worlds of the game even if they do not wish to play and presumably even if they are too poor to pay to continue playing the game.

2. people who die in the game also die in real life, so they cannot continue playing (even if we assume that they have to pay each time they play)--and it it VERY easy to die in the game.

3. people actually actively discuss the game on the Internet and it is quite possible for the game to gain such a bad reputation that not many are adventurous to even start playing it

4. such a game must take an immense amount of energy to power even if it were technologically possible: which profiteering capitalist will foot the bill?

Another issue here is the pitting of the main characters against the agenda of the evil capitalists. You mean as long as the main characters triumph, the evil capitalists won't be able to replicate an older, corrupt version of the game that can cause people to die?

I suspect the original work is more coherent than this, but alas, it probably runs into censorship issues. But if only someone had the foresight to see that the series would be catapulted to the status of a cult classic because it would be taken down after one hour of release, perhaps a decision could have been made to stay more faithful to the original work.

In the last couple of episodes, the series becomes quite perplexing. It does not make sense to have an "it was all a dream" sort of ending, especially one that ends up being self-contradictory. There are at least three key interpretations we have invited to consider:

1. It was all a "dream"--ok, but why would Ling Jiu Shi's dream reveal to him the names and even personalities of people he sees after the dream and not before, and why isn't Ruan Lan Zhu amongst these people?

2. The game has started earlier than Ling Jiu Shi realizes at first, but when he completes the game, he is transported to maybe 15 minutes after the start of the game. This would mean that all the so-called real-life characters for most of the episodes are game characters. Ok, but why are these characters so similar to random people Ling Jiu Shi later sees around.

3. Ling Jiu Shi is still in the game (not mutually exclusive with 2). Maybe there is a challenge he must overcome. Who knows? He chooses to spend the next 50 years creating a replica of the game (presumably without the awful parts) or basically Ruan Lan Zhu and other people he cares about during the previous 70+ episodes we see him. Ultimately, though, this seems to be an act of self-deception... it it suggested that no matter how real we make the virtual world or "merge" it with the real world, we can escape the fact that our physical bodies age in the real world. That is unless we ditch our physical bodies (die physically) and upload ourselves into the virtual world (which can be sustained by god knows what)... I guess this is one way of achieving a happily-ever-after for our leads. Then again, it is a solution that involves cutting oneself off from the people in a different realm.

I think the series makes things unnecessarily complicated and not quite in a purposeful way. This is where it falters despite being a really engaging series to watch about 95% of the time.

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Must watch

I never watched censor adaptation of novels but this one It catch your attention from the first episode. I have been addicted to it. Even tho subs was not accurate enough .I just watch it and then read the novel to understand (yes i was this much addicted ) .

I will recommend this to you if you like to watch plots like gaming( detective games ), virtual reality, friendship(ahm ahm), and different stories in one series.
there were 12 gates in this story and story of each gate is worth to watch. You will never feel bored of it. Its sad that it got banned but I hope it get the recognition it deserved. The acting was so good each actor give their best.
I will definitely re-watch it again when subs will be accurate :)))

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They threw the whole story into a huge plot hole in episode 78

I give it 10 points.

And then I deduct:

-1 for censorship/propaganda
-1 for that horrible ending in the last episode. They crafted such a nice vehicle over the course of 77 episodes and then crashed it into a wall in the last episode. Don't worry, it's not an ending that makes you cry because something horrible happens. It just makes no sense at all. And it is crammed into an episode lasting 6.5 minutes.
-1 for missed opportunity in the bromance department. For me, the bromance was what carried me through the series. They were very good at portraying that the two lead characters are deeply in love without saying it out loud. However, I was surprised how they didn't give us any fan service at all (unlike others censored BLs like Advance Bravely or Stay with Me). There is basically no physical touch between the two leads. Not by accident, not in a platonic way, and no acts of service, like a wet towel bath, etc. And while every "door" forces them to have sleepovers, only in the very early doors do they share a double bed, then later it is always bunk beds or separate beds - why?? Another example of a missed opportunity: in one world, they have to walk in the rain under one small umbrella, and if they get wet, they will die. Wouldn't you try to be extra close? They didn't :(

Which leaves us with 7.

What I liked additionally:
- the actors are all very good, with only rare exceptions
- many lovely side characters
- while it was repetitive, I liked the music
- the visual style

Also, why was the face of the programmer friend from university never shown but hidden inside a hoodie? I expected a big reveal in the end. Didn't happen.

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Spirealm has a misunderstood happy ending

Heavy Spoilers
Do watch the series, it's very good. A lot of people are saying it's a sad ending but it actually has a very good, albeit unconventional, happy ending.

Spirealm ended with seemingly “it was all a dream” type of ending but my interpretation of the ending was that Lin Jiu Shi , through the act of completing the game, “saved” the game as his childhood friend intended. “Saving” the game in this scenario, reverts all the tragedy the game has caused without erasing anything that’s happened… kind of. The way the story goes about it is a little convoluted but through picking up the themes of this story, is not indecipherable.
Proving that the game did all happen; there are three main points that infers this. The first, most tangible point is that, at the end of the series, LJS wakes up in the middle of the traffic. Assuming everything that’s happened after the traffic accident at the end of the series was dreamt up, it does not explain why the internet cafe boss at the beginning of the series– who’s seen the game before the traffic accident– has no recollection of LJS having played the game. The second point, if everything in the game had not happened, it would make no sense for LJS to accurately know the name of people he’s never met before. The third point, which is the most confusing one, explains one of the main themes and why the director probably chose to take this route.
One of the main themes of Spirealm is the legitimacy of the “virtual world”, where the characters have debated multiple times if everything that happens “virtually” in the game is real or not. I forgot which episode it was but, LJS in the latter part of the series pondered “If the feelings in Spirealm are more sincere than real life, what really is the difference between virtual and reality?” ( Also not a direct translation, I’m too lazy to go find the exact episode and translate it) The point of this quote is, even if the memories don’t exist anymore, the feelings and relationships that were formed during the time in Spirealm were “real” and sincere. We can see this through the way Chen Qian Li fhaving familiarity towards LJS at the end of the series, despite acknowledging that he doesn’t actually know him. This is a little more debatable but you could also argue that the differences between the depiction of the people around LJS before and after he woke up also shows the effects of the game. One could interpret Tan Zao Zao being an influencer instead of an actress as something unconsciously influenced by the events of Spirealm. While being in Spirealm, TZZ felt like she constantly had to mask herself as an actress, you could argue that her being a influencer instead of an actress in the new world as a choice she made unconsciously due to the feelings of restriction she’s felt in Spirealm. Same with instances like Chen Yi Xie watching horror movies as a hobby and Li Dong Yuan being content working as a street vendor that makes little money.
In the last scene of the show, when LJS goes back into Spirealm, he sees TZZ where she tells him “it feels like I woke up from a long dream”, referring to life outside of the game. This further emphasizes how the game is actually “real” too, since when LJS is outside Spirealm, Spirealm is referred to as a “dream”. Whichever reality they are in is the real one, so by proxy, they are both real.
Another point to consider is the relationship between LJS and RNZ. If everything was a dream, then essentially, LJS dreamed up a lifelong companion (boyfriend) in elaborate detail seemingly out of nowhere… It makes more sense if RNZ did exist, but was simply erased from existence due to the game also having been erased. The whole last arc of the story also repeatedly states that he would be erased once the 11th door was complete.
The game bringing people back to life, erasing everyone’s memory, and altering reality also seems entirely reasonable when the whole basis of the game is based on its ability to kill people and warp time. Realistically speaking, there was no real way to depict RNZ and LJS saving the game besides erasing the game completely, therefore, the erasure of everyone’s memory and the game’s existence is the intended effect of “saving the game”.
I also believe that LJS reprogramming the game essentially is the equivalent of him fulfilling his friend's wish of “restoring the game to its original state” as the game he ended up recreating was essentially the original intended game.
I believe that the ending of Spirealm was the perfect happy ending, Everyone is alive again, they get to live their life to the fullest, and in the end, LJS finishes the game where he likely decides is his new “reality” with RNZ. They all live together happily as Chen Qian Li wished for in the 11th door. This is the 12th door, LJS’s completed door of happiness.
That’s mostly all I wanted to say, I’ll probably rewatch the series when Subs (that are comprehensible) come out so I can make exact quotations and give actual episode numbers (plus there are probably more things I have missed). But for now that’s all I’ve wanted to say. I’m open to debate the ending since I feel like the ending was definitely left a little ambiguous but I feel like a lot of these things were changed from the novel with the intent of creating this ending specifically. (ex. Slight novel spoiler: TZZ being a famous and acclaimed actress in the Novel while being mildly unpopular in the series)
Add my discord if you want to talk about this show with me, it lives in my head rent free: krudy7kk

TLDR: Spirealm was not a dream, everything that happened got erased due to LJS completing the game. Everyone gets transported into an altered reality where they are living their happiest lives (indirectly bc of games events) and LJS reunites with everyone towards the very very end where they all live peacefully together.

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A good adaptation

Considering there are so many topics the drama cannot depict (ie. BL, gore, senseless violence, ghostly retribution), this is a pretty good adaptation of the novel. The story flow makes sense. There is no moment where I thought, "Oh, they should've just skipped that part instead of twisting it into something it's not." But at the same time, the changes make the stories less frightening and more generically appealing.

The actor who played Lin Jiushi is their weakest point. He cannot do emotional scenes, except the one where with he was disappointed by his estranged mother. His outbursts, either grief, anger, or horror, felt as if they came out of nowhere and rather superficial. Other actors, while still mediocre, are more relatable than him. My fav character is Zhuang Rujiao. She is like the seasoning that makes them taste better. 'Cuz once she showed up, all the main characters seemed somewhat more engaging.

In theory, the drama can go on forever. And I wouldn't mind watching another 100+ more episodes of their adventures through the doors.

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BL or bromance? Who cares! It's just good and I am not surprised it was banned in China

Ok... Now, few hours after finishing, I think I'm ready to write this review. When I heard it was banned but Chinese fans were smart enough to download all episodes, I was really excited to watch this. In the end, not dissapointed.

I totally loved all main characters, even tho I was kinda lost in their names, but that is fault of not official subtitles, which I truly hope will get better. LJS and RZM were amazing and their chemistry really did spark. To be honest, I'm not surprised Chinese government had to ban this drama, but it's pitty, because the story was just perfect. In the first place, this is drama about dangoerous deadly game and few people trying to survive. BL aspect was just part of it. I'm about to read novel, so I 'm looking forward the scenes which didn't make it up the drama.

I don't really like horrors so I was asking myself: "Am I really watch this just bcs is censored BL?" The answer was clear, to be honest... But I really loved the story. Sometimes it was really scary, sometimes not. Sometimes I felt butterflies in my belly, sometimes I fet like I'm about cry the whole night.

Every single doors containes different story and characters have to find clues and find our what's goin on. It's not easy, but when they work together, it's not even hard. The story is full of tension which made me watch whole drama in few days and I really recommend this one.

But I have some reservations towards the ending. I mean, I can't say I didn't like, but neither that I did. The last scene just doesn't make sense to me. Overall. I really enjoy this. If you are afraid it's just bromance and you want BL, don't care. Yes, it is bromance, but as I said before, I'm not surprised China bannes it.

SPOILER ALERT >>> I haven't read novel yet, so maybe I just didn't get it correctly, but why did he have to make whole new world? Why not just new NPC? I mean, it was possible for his friend to create NPC which is able to come out of game, so why not do it again? I know it's not easy, but this is supernatural or rather kind of scifi show and it was possible one time. Why not again? And I would like to know who was that friend from high school.

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It’s definitely worth your time.

I've been looking forward to this ever since I heard it would have a drama adaptation cause the novel is one of my favourite. I almost had a heart attack when I heard it was released ( for one hour). The drama did justice to the arcs and characters; the actors were perfectly cast and had great chemistry. However, they changed some things ( added some characters / removed some) and removed my favourite line, which made me a little upset. One thing I didn’t like was the change in the plot for the last doors. I was looking forward to seeing the plot twist from the novel, but because of censorship, they changed the concept to gaming, which also altered the plot twist. Nonetheless, the actors, actresses, and crew all did an excellent job. The songs were also great, and the script was very well done. I'm glad I lived long enough to watch this.

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Welcome to the world of doors!

Oh my gosh, I loved this so much. I’m still pretty overwhelmed as I am writing this but I try my best to give my review a structure lol. There could be minor spoilers, but I won’t spill any major ones. :P

◢ What is the drama even about?
Ling Jiu Shi just quit his job and spends his time playing games, when he gets hands on an apparently very new game: “The Spirealm”. But as he starts playing he notices how real it feels and suddenly one day, when he opens a door in his apartment, he instead finds himself in a corridor with 12 doors, pushes open one of them and is sucked right into the game, where he also comes across veteran player Ruan Lanzhu.

From here on our journey starts. 12 doors being 12 eerie worlds to survive for them to pass the door and return to reality. As you can guess, there is no choice avoiding it, as the door can just appear anywhere and anytime. And if you die in the door, you also die in real-life.

◢ The Stories inside the doors are all kinda creepy - but never really scary. Perfect for a scaredy-cat with a thrill-loving heart like me. I found the stories all very interesting, intriguing and never dragging. I think they had a pretty nice pace. The 78 episodes were over super quick, I didn't even notice. Very binge-able!

Inside the doors, the “players” encounter a certain setting and have to try their best to survive by finding the key to the exit-door. They have to gather clues to the story and taboo-rules to comply so they won’t get killed by the creepy gate-keepers. Kind of like a riddle x survival video game.

◢ The Bromance was very strong in my opinion. I wouldn’t believe the main-leads were just acquaintances for even a second. Their bond was that strong. The things they said and the way they looked and cared for each other didn’t leave me with any doubts about their relationship. And knowing this being an adaption of a BL novel did the rest.

But the story also had other elements: like the progressing friendship of the members of ‘Obsidian’ - Lanzhus organization for helping people through their doors. There were many interesting and likable characters I enjoyed watching.

◢ About The Acting, well, I’m not an expert but I’m an average drama-watcher who also cringes at very bad acting - didn’t have that here tho. I personally think the acting of the main characters was pretty strong. Juishi was well portrayed by JunJie (Lan Zhu too, of course). All mains fit their roles, actually. Especially also the actor playing the twins with completely opposite personalities. The only ones whose acting wasn’t that good were some of the little side-characters. But I don’t mind.

The music was nice and fitting. Cao Giai's “I know” is still giving me flashbacks and heart-clenches.


◢ Novel vs. Drama
Of course there were some major and minor changes in the drama. The most obvious, of course, was the censorship of the romance - but also the toned-down horror-stories. In the novel there was way more gore…

Lanzhus character was also censored lol. In the novel he is a drama-queen who enters some doors in drag - which is super fun to read. Gladly, in the drama he majorly kept his personality traits, just, well.. toned down.

And then the whole game-setup. While the drama played with the theme of virtual reality, the novel was completely fantasy. The doors here were not a game or a curse even, they were a chance (although a morbid one) for people who were about to die to extend their life big time.

Other drastic changes were the ending and the twist. The twist in the novel is slightly different from the drama - with a very big impact tho, and more mind-blowing. It was better explained in the novel, but also a bit more confusing for me lol. Absolutely stunning! <3

◢ The Ending evokes rather complicated emotions in me - as it was not what me and others would have wished for - but it also wasn’t the worst outcome, I guess. It was pretty much up for interpretation. While the novel ending is super awesome in my opinion, there were also things to be sad about.

◢ So, what was better? Novel or Drama?
Generally, I prefer the novel because of the romance, the twist and the ending. Though the novel still leaves open some questions I had. The stories inside the doors of the drama were very close to the novel, so I liked them in the drama better as I prefer watching over reading when it comes to things like this. I liked that in the drama the friendship and bond between the members was more vivid as the viewers got more scenes with them to grow attached to. Of course I also prefer how the gore was excluded lol.

◢ When it comes to flaws, there was only one that bothered me: I personally found the differences between low-level doors and high-level doors too little. Although the danger increased, the taboos and clues were always on the same level. Most weren’t that hard to guess.

◢ The Spirealm has many good points: the interesting eerie survival games making the drama partly episodic, the clue discovery, the mystery, the bromance, the friendship, the twists... if you like all that, then you might give it a try. ;)

Now, after finishing the drama and the novel, I feel very empty inside. I wish I could forget everything just to experience both once more for the first time. I loved it very very much. One of the best dramas I’ve seen. :)

-Info: I watched the drama version that got taken down. Who knows what they will cut out for the new release on iQiyi etc.

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Sometimes bromance is better than bl

This review is from someone who has not read the novel nor new anything about this drama so I watched it casually and it was awesome . I saw the hype and decided to give it a try and it was worth it.
I have watched untamed word of honour and gurdian this was my 4th bl and it was amazing . The chemistry between the male lead was amazing it had an open ending you can take it as you want . I am glad they did not include kiss scene because Chinese people are so bad at kissing in dramas (if you have watched Chinese dramas you will know kissing scenes are not good but they manage to give so much intense chemistry) . Everything about this drama is awesome and I will patiently wait for other dramas. To be honest I like xianxia and wuxia themed danmei modern danmei are not my cup of tea I am still waiting for heavens official blessing drama 2ha and winner is king . Let's wait for other dramas . 10/10 recommend to everyone.

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