Historical Dramas Club

 Estelll:

Though they may have gone a little overboard with the old-school feel of it (which I suspect was intentional) -- I'm all for old-school wuxia, but I still prefer my picture quality crisp & crystal clear! And those logos & posters are a bit cheesy.

Thankfully, they didn't add old-school make-up! xD In fact, the make-up in this drama is one of the most-natural I've seen, and not only the make-up, the whole aesthetics, e.g ordinary people indeed look like ordinary people!

I've just started the first 2 episodes today (I've got more than 10 dramas on my CW, it's crazy!  And I haven't even started on Court Lady yet, yikes!) and I 100% agree with your evaluation.  This drama really takes the old school vibes to the next level! It actually feels like a throwback to older productions, I'm surprised this is a 2017 made drama lol.  But I like the (extremely) fast pace, it's quite insane.

You're spot on about the makeup, or the lack of it, as well. There are many veterans in the show and I recognise some HK actors in it.  They're not kidding with the title - fully justified with the amount of swordplay choreography in it  :D

 justanotherrey:

Hello, I'm an amateur when it comes to historical dramas but would like to explore the genre more. So I would like to join this club.

I'm planning to start a historical, so which one should I start with? (obv it's not my first time, I've seen some but sadly none of them was my cup of tea)

From the ones on your list I would recommend: 

- Joy of Life (haven't watched it, but heard only good things about it from friends) 

- Nirvana in Fire (just started it myself recently, lots of people recommended it to me) 

- The Untamed (one of my favorites in Xianxia genre) 

I'm not watching any historical right now .... suggest me some airing ones ....I don't want to stay away from historical for long

 justanotherrey:

Hello, I'm an amateur when it comes to historical dramas but would like to explore the genre more. So I would like to join this club.

I'm planning to start a historical, so which one should I start with? (obv it's not my first time, I've seen some but sadly none of them was my cup of tea)

Hey and welcome!! ^_^

I'm not sure what vibes you would like, so I'll try to suggest a little bit of everything. (Be advised, these are only my own opinions/views on the dramas!)

Joy of Life is pretty fast-paced & plot-driven, so it's pretty addicting and easy to get through even for beginners.

The currently airing The Long Ballad is also a good choice in that respect.

The Longest Day in Chang'an is a historical thriller that, reportedly, will keep you at the edge of your toes.

Ashes of Love and Love and Redemption are great if you want angst and drama, and great introductions to xianxia.

Eternal Love also has a similar setting, but it takes a while to pick up (about 10 episodes or so), though it's slightly more mature and less angsty in my opinion.

The Untamed is a unique character-driven xianxia with lots of feels!!

The Princess's Man and The Princess Wei Young are both great mixes of romance and light politics, and they're good introductions to sageuks and Chinese historical dramas respectively. 

Queen for Seven Days is also good.

Sound of the Desert is lots of fun for a romance-heavy drama, with war and politics mixed in, as is Singing All Along (with the latter having more action, but also more misery).

Other more light-hearted historical romances you could try are The Romance of Tiger and Rose (reportedly great comedy!), The Romance of Hua Rong ("trashy" romance & adventure at its best!), The King in Love (love triangle done right!), and Arang and the Magistrate (supernatural romcom).

The Story of Ming Lan is a slice of life historically accurate portrayal of noble families during the Song Dynasty, with a slow-burn romance.

Other serious dramas are of course Nirvana in Fire (highly regarded as one the best Chinese dramas ever made, for a reason!), Story of Yanxi Palace (for when you're in the mood for a great palace drama), Six Flying Dragons (the best mix of action, politics, mystery, and drama in a sageuk in my opinion), and its sequel Tree With Deep Roots.

For youth/school historical dramas, you can try the classic K-drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal and the recent C-drama Qing Qing Zi Jin.

For pure comedy, you can watch the reportedly hilarious Mr. Queen.

And, finally, for feel-good vibes but in a serious historical drama setting with great production all-around, watch Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People.

 Sam:

I'm not watching any historical right now .... suggest me some airing ones ....I don't want to stay away from historical for long

Hey! :) In case you or anyone else isn't aware of it, I regularly update the Currently Airing dramas at https://mydramalist.com/discussions/general-asia-forum/59877-historical-dramas-club?pid=1610589&page=1#p1610589 !

Anyway, +1 from me for The Long Ballad!! It's very fast paced, and more than 2/3 of the episodes are already out with English subs, so you'll be able to binge for a while!

There's also Court Lady with Xu Kai & Li Yi Tong, though I haven't checked it out yet (wasn't in the mood for palace dramas currently), the fist episodes are said to be very funny, thanks to Xu Kai's antiques mostly! :D

I wanted to watch Love Like White Jade, too, 'cause it's been a while since I watched a light-hearted romcom costume drama, but last I heard the subs are still machine translated :( (If anyone knows where to watch it with better subs, please let me know!).

The Imperial Coroner just aired & it's on WeTV, so I plan to check it out very soon!

And then there's Bossam: Steal the Fate airing in a couple of days!! :)

 Sam:

Do you know about Ni Chang

I know nothing about this drama personally, and the leads are also completely unfamiliar to me, that's why I didn't mention it. 

The synopsis & tags kinda reminds me of My Heroic Husband, but more female-oriented (less on the business & comedy, and more on the sweetness, romance and drama). 

I'm personally 50/50 on whether I'll pick it up one day -- it has a trope that I hate (amnesia), but also one that I love (nice male lead)!

It also has to do with embroidery, which seems to be a reoccurring theme this year! 

At least four 2021 C-dramas have a lead (or a major supporting character) skilled in embroidery or making clothes:
My Heroic Husband, The Sword and the Brocade, Weaving a Tale of Love, and Court Lady... and I'm sure I'm forgetting some!!

I think we've been blessed with more currently airing or currently getting subbed historical/costume dramas than any other time since I've started this club (13 and counting)!! ^_^

There's actually 2 more I've heard about, a Chinese Republican era TV-drama that's currently airing, I've heard its a comedy but I know nothing else about it.

Also, there's the millionth ;D remake of A Chinese Ghost Story, in drama form -- Marcus Sim on YouTube mentioned it has 12 episodes & it's on Youku. I think it's this one, but I'm not certain: https://mydramalist.com/699193-phantasmal-night-affairs-the-enchanting-story-of-qian