Meari21

Yes, I know. One of my closest friends is an avid CP fan of theirs so I know it was a big deal. But this is China we're talking about. Even I haven't been there yet despite having family there because my grandfather was anti-CCP and was blacklisted.

It probably came from the word, devour.

This! They are basically the fae or elves in JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth. They are capable of being both bad and good. But humans see them as a threat because of their great powers and immortality so they discriminate against them.

Yes, he did but those dramas were C-level at best, meaning there were hardly any promotions or fan events. Before this drama, Ao Ruipeng was relatively unknown. He got his first big break when he was cast as Lei Wujie in The Blood of Youth, which was a sleeper hit. Nobody thought that drama would blow up. Moonlight Mystique is an S-level drama because of Bai Lu and they did and probably will be doing more promotions for it. So yes, this is basically his first time doing something like this. What I know about ex-CP stars not being allowed to interact with one another is if there was a huge scandal or controversy surrounding them, like what happened with Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. Other than that, I haven't heard of anything that would prohibit them from interacting.

Crows Zero but minus the time travel. The High and Low drama and movies are about young gangsters too and it stars Yamada Yuki as well. If you haven't seen the anime, I'd recommend it. Another similar themed anime is Wind Breaker. If you're looking for another J-drama with time travel aspects, I'd say give Erased a try. It's also based on a manga of the same name.

I think we all know who she really is. What I mean is there is more to her than meets the eye. We don't know how she turned out this way and how she will be redeemed in the end. So I'm waiting to see how the story unfolds before I make any judgment. It's the same with the so-called plot holes that some commenters have pointed out. Most of the time there are explanations for them so they can't be called plot holes.

While I agree that Fu Ling is practically the devil incarnate at this point, killing indiscriminately, wreaking havoc, and even forcing Chong Zhao into submission to her simply because she's lonely, I can't really say I hate her character and I still want to see things play out before I make my judgment. I noticed that there is a pattern in the storytelling with these series of misunderstandings among the characters. The first was with Bai Shou and her father. She thought her father had always favored her sister, that he didn't believe her claims of seeing an immortal, and was even ashamed of her. But it turns out her father had only her best interests at heart and he had always doted on her. This pattern is repeated with Tian Hou and her relationship with her father and brother. She hated them for what happened to her mother but they also didn't betray her, and in fact, did everything to save her. Same goes for Rong Xian and Ling Long's story, which was basically a huge misunderstanding that led to the demise of so many people. This is also seen in Bai Shou's initial impression of Fan Yue. She mistook him for a ruthless and coldblooded murderer, but he's the exact opposite. I'm not saying that this will happen with Fu Ling as well, but like I said, there is a pattern in the way the story unfolds. I'm beginning to think that the drama's core message is that not everyone is what they seem, so never judge a book by its cover. We don't really know what's going on underneath the surface.

It makes you really think about how much effort he put into the stoic and cold portrayal of Fan Yue. I really didn't think it was possible for him to do these types of roles because he's the most unserious actor I know. I always thought he was more suited for comedic roles because he's such a goofball. From dorky Lei Wujie to swoonworthy Fan Yue! lol

Yes, it is. Xianxia usually have deities, immortals, and demons.

Agreed. I like him. I just recently watched him in Under the Skin 2.

Xuanhuan is usually dark fantasy with elements of wuxia. One example of a xuanhuan drama that aired recently is Fangs of Fortune.

Yes, he's quite short in China. Just 174 cm. I have a male Korean friend who lives in China who told me that if you're an East Asian guy and you only stand 165 cm to 170 cm, you should just kill yourself because you'll be criticized for your height your whole life. I found that very shocking. But then a female Chinese friend of mine told me that women tend to prefer dating guys that are at least 180 cm. Apparently, that's like a beauty standard for men there.

I believe Wang Hedi is 6 feet tall, Ao Ruipeng is more than 6'2, which are ideal for men in East Asia. I guess that's why most male actors/idols are at least 180 cm tall (which is 5'11). Luo Yunxi is only 5'9 and Tan Jianci is 5'7 which are considered short there. But they're both very talented and good looking so their height hardly matters anymore.

I actually saw the news on Weibo via the Super Topic. I don't quite understand how it works, though. But that was early Saturday. Maybe because it was Weibo Night so the hot searches focused mainly on the event and the stars attending.

Really? Not sure about this because both Bai Shou and Fan Yue have been topping the Douyin character list. I think yesterday it was Fan Yue at the top with Bai Shou coming in a close second. The day before that, it was Bai Shou at number 1 then Fan Yue on the third spot.

Any idea how their characters are doing on VLinkage?

I try not to get bothered by it. I read manga that have been ongoing for years and some events are often explained hundreds of chapters later. For ongoing manga that are released weekly or monthly, you can say that the manga authors sometimes fix plot holes as they go along, especially when there are complaints from readers. But these dramas were written and completed months or years before airing, we cannot call them plot holes simply because the explanations came later. Sometimes things aren't revealed until later because that's what the writer wants and there might be a purpose for it. Like the revelation about how the Cloud Spring Demon King got into the Outlander's territory was supposed to show the extent of their betrayal and give it more impact. If they had revealed it earlier on, then the deception would've been revealed too early. The audience are not supposed to find out until later. We could only speculate about it until it is confirmed. I normally don't complain too much about the writing until I've seen everything. But yeah, I get why it can be frustrating sometimes.

Their VIP can enjoy 4K resolution now. That must be the reason why.

It's not a plot hole when there's an eventual explanation for it. It becomes one when the drama ends without explaining that bit at all. So for long series such as this one, I normally reserve judgment until I've seen everything before I conclude that there are plot holes, retcons, suspend-your-disbelief stuff, and such because some of the things that don't make logical sense at first might not be so illogical later on.

He normally does comedic and playful roles. He displays a range of facial expressions in these roles. I was beginning to think he was getting typecast. I wasn't quite convinced he could pull off the stoic tsundere type but he proved me wrong. I didn't think he could make effective use of micro expressions.