Thin Ice (2023)

Walking on thin ice

The story starts with our cp: Chen Qian and Yu Chunyang stand on different sides. Chen Qian is a military agent, a famous hero with the code name Lu Bu. Yu Chunyang is a member of communist party. Their first meeting leaves deep impression on Chen Qian. Then Chunyang is asked to participate in a rescue mission for Chen Qian bcos her leader values Chen Qian's ability and believes he will be a great help for CCP. The rescue mission goes well, but they have to go separate ways.

After a while, Chen Qian and Chunyang reunite under new identities. They eventually work together to complete their mission: lurking into the Japanese army HQ in Shanghai to eliminate them. Chen Qian decides to join the CCP for two reasons: he wants to be with Chunyang, and believes that the Chinese should help the Chinese.

Besides the Japanese, Chen Qian has another enemy: the military. The military and CCP are enemies. Chen Qian now works as a CCP spy, helps them to escape the military grasp and tries to protect Chongqing.

WARNING: This is NOT a romance drama. If you're looking for some sweet cp moments, you will be disappointed.

Trivia:
Chen Qian > Asai Mitsuo (Japanese envoy disguise) / Qian Jing Guangfu (chinese translation).
Ida Yuutarou > Jing Tian Yutailang
Ida Yukako > Jing Tian Youjiazi (Ida Yuutarou's niece).
Ninomiya > Er Gong (Ida's assistant, the moustache guy).
Watanabe > Du Bian (Ida's right hand man, the glasses one).
Yamaguchi Akiko > Shan Kou Qiuzi (Ida's housekeeper/butler).

Acting:
I watched this for Chen Yuqi and Chen Xiaoyun. This is my first Peng Guanying and Gao Hanyu drama. I must say, none of the actors did bad. They all nailed the characters so well. The tension between Peng Guanying vs Fu Dalong will give you cold sweat. Gao Hanyu serves as a hateful character brilliantly.

Production:
They definitely did a great job capturing all the essence of China in 1940s. The cinematography is beautiful. The styling for both male and female characters are handled with care.

Missing points:
1. The Japanese don't speak Japanese, even during private times. They said less than 10 Japanese words.
2. The writer didn't give depth to Chen Yuqi's character as the FL. She feels more like a cameo than the FL. All the ladies except Chunyang have solid backstory, while her story is told by words.
3. Main cp has sweet moments only on ep 29, 35 and 39. They have mutual understanding as comrades and subtle moments when they stare at each other, but they have no time to talk about love. So their relationship progress feels lacking.

Overall I like this drama for the tension of watching Chen Qian and Yu Chunyang walking on thin ice and how they survive from the sharp eyes of the enemies.

Read More

Not much romance between the main CP, but it’s a decent Republican era drama.

Thin Ice is a Republican spy drama in Shanghai in 1943, starting with Peng Guan Ying as Chen Qian and Chen Yu Qi as Yu Chun Yang as the main CP. Fu Da Long, Gao Han Yu, and Chen Xiao Yun as the 2nd leads.

Republican drama is not my genre either because of too much propaganda about the communist party and the fighting of the Japanese. Too many dramas have been done in this era, so it is predictable, boring, and too much of a rehashing of the past.

However, I like Peng Guang Ying because I think he is a good decent actor, and in this drama, his character disguised as a Japanese envoy and went deep into the enemy's camp. It would be interesting to see how his relationship develops with Yu Chun Yang and Wu Ruo Nan throughout his spy duty.

One of the things that annoys me is the fake Chinese/Japanese accent of his character and other Japanese characters.

I think Chinese dramas should move away from this genre or not create repetitive dramas about the 1930s and the 1940s because every drama is about the same plot, fighting the Japanese, the civil unrest, and the Communist party. Too boring.

This is one of the decent Republican era drama that I have watched.

Read More