The story is all over the place. Good thing there aren't that many episodes left...
I can't believe the one I actually am growing to like is the cheating husband. There seems to be some genuine affection toward the wife he's cheating on, LOL, and he has some childhood trauma about cheating too, that's... interesting. I think he'll be a dark horse of the story - or at least I hope so. They might just go with the simple trope of over-jealous/possessive husband and leave it at that, but it still looks like there's something more.
The chairwoman is still way, WAY over the top. And just as I was going to give her AT LEAST the fact she does (ruthless) bussiness, it turns out that the money-washing mastermind is her lover?! That she also cheated on her husband with, while said husband was alive (and aware?!) That's lame.
And then the late chairman's words are what is tying the FL down to this dysfunctional family, because WHY? It doesn't make any sense.
The action in these two eps - and the spy-like stuff were a bit... I mean - Rain's chara gets blown up and cut up and whatnot and he's back at work in two days? And the one doing the attempts is his colleague the K1? Who put her up to this? Is it the husband?! Because WHY the heck? And then SDY goes and does M:I stuff in under one day or something to get the ledgers that are in shoe boxes, right by the door?? What the f was that?
Anyway... 4 more eps and this ends. So sad to say this - I really wanted more of Rain but I can't with the rest of it.
We should make a Wu XingZi fanclub :D I can't wait for the first official volume - pre-order says to expect it around October 1st, it's so loooooong LOL. But so well-worth it :D (Yeah nobody's going to even think to film THOSE scenes, LOL. But even so, the rest of it is still hilarious and amazing :))
I am stuck somewhere in the middle of DVAWTK, though I quite like it. It's just that my jam has always been rebirth-themed novels and I tend to jump to them whenever an interesting one comes up :D
You're welcome. Some of these are getting (or already got) official English TLs, but most are fan TL-ed - I'm in awe and always grateful to the TLers!! :)
The short-list here, LOL, the long one is... long.
Wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan:
1. Bring in the Wine (Qiang Jin Jiu by Tang JiuQing). This one is one of the very best stories and it's so damn HOT (not even apologetically hot, LOL, nope, they're madly in love and showing it for the audience :D)
2. Copper Coins (by Mu Su Li). It has dragons!! Well, one dragon. And he's a sassy shou. (I like sassy and dangerous little lizards, errr, dragons :D)
3. The Governor's Illness (by Yang Su) - because fated assassins and a world-class villain/hero who is wicked smart go together! (And it is kind of similar to MYATB, come to think, though IMHO the story is better - the gong doesn' t really WANT to fall in love, but it's unavoidable just because the shou is who he is).
4. How to Survive as a Villain (by Yi Yi Yi Yi). This one is so freaking cute and also has a lot of heartbreak... but so cute!
5. You've Got Mail! (though I am pretty sure nobody DARES to put that to drama, LOL, too much fetish hahaha~)
And for some extras - maybe SVSSS (because dammit, SQQ is so hot :D... but I don't trust them to find the right way to deal with it), Golden Stage (because the leads are so smart and can work together), Glory After Rebirth (because that opening scene is so amazing), The Obsessive Shou Moves On (because it's so eerie), and so many others! And obviously 2ha/hyx and TGCF live-action who are ALREADY filmed and just waiting on release but I am starting to fear we'll never see either of them T_T
Modern-times danmei (including ABO and other isekai stories):
1. Rebirth of a Movie Star (by J112233). This is my go-to modern-danmei comfort read. I recommend it to anyone - if you've never read any modern danmei, or did but missed this one - try it! It's so cute and wholesome and the ML is the best!
2. Sa Ye (by Wu Zhe): this is the perfect coming-to-age danmei. If anyone liked Addicted, this is (IMHO) 100 times better (as a TL and as a story).
3. Accidental Mark (by Die ZhiLing): this is ABO, and also a transmigration story - but the cutest. That would work so well in an adaptation, why didn't anyone pick it up already?
4. Little Madman's Guide to Acting Good (by Li WenJiu): this is the perfect rebirth+revenge plot, and they SAVE who they have to save (yes, Signal, I'm freaking looking at YOU, dammit).
5. The Missing Piece (by Kun Yi WeiLou): this one is kind of heavy (the ML has trauma-induced amnesia, the MC is enabling it because otherwise the ML would just let himself die) - because one needs a bit of dogblood (well, a lot of it) from time to time.
And then there's Seizing Dreams (already filmed, no chance of release too soon...) and Indulging in Wine (ABO, gangster-like cold ML) and First-Class Lawyer (scifi :D) and a lot more others I haven't gotten around to yet :D
is dashing youth a prequel to the blood of youth? which one should i watch first
Yes it's a prequel, but you can watch TBoY first, since it WAS here first, LOL. DY will retcon the story of the seniors in TBoY, but that one has different main characters and deals with different plots.
Wow, this is such a high-budget production. I loved every fighting sequence (yes I know a lot of it is style and not coreography, I don't care, TBH - it looks freaking amazing, TBoY only had the seven drinks rain fighting scene to compare it with).
And is this a reunion of the I Am Nobody cast?!! I didn't read a lot into the cast because I wasn't sure I wanted to watch this, but Hou MingHao and Wanyan LuoRong together are going to be FIRE!!
I could've sworn it would be the same director of I Am Nobody, but they're not - instead, it's the same executive producer of Till the End of the Moon, no wonder they invested so much in the CGI special effects - seriously, cdrama producing teams, it looks amazing, do some more of this if you want a flamboyant drama!!
Well, the effects and quirkiness are already here, here's hoping the script does the drama justice!
XiaoBao kind of likes IT, methinks. He came aaaaall prepared for IT, ready to storm the castle and everything... but HuaiEn is more than he can handle. Still, IT still happened so... task failed successfully?!
And oooh, the Jin family is not so simple as they appear at first look...
im very confused, could someone help me with these questions?1. So if jinman was alive.. whose body was it that…
1. That was his own body (I replied in a comment earlier, hope you've seen it). Nobody committed suicide, he faked it to fool JungMin and through him everybody. He wasn't hiding - he looked like he'd been through the war, LOL, and then Bale never showed up at his house to kill JiAn himself... I guess the second season (they announced they were negotiating it a while back) will show us how THAT fight went down. Or so I really, really hope. (It all happened in just one day and night's time, despite seeming longer).
2. The guy JiAn went to the amusement park with wasn't Brother, he was one of her classmates at the time or something. someone JinMan did not approve of, LOL. Brother can't go out in the light, he has either agoraphobia or some other condition that won't let him go out in the sun (he's not a vampire though LOL).
3. MinHye and Pasin's escape and fate remain to be known... I think she has a good chance of survival (it's Pasin with the good drugs, he'd know how to help her). At least I hope so.
The second season might add some final touches - here's hoping it comes soon enough, though LDW's year and maybe even next year's schedule looks swamped already...
He faked his death (used drugs to get himself into a coma). The cop in the morgue was his helper - he's the one…
Because they showed us he DOES have good drugs when he wants them or needs them. And since he did appear to be dead+he obviously isn't dead, it logically follows he used some drug to induce a coma.
And he needed to fake being totally dead because while he was alive, the mercenary org wouldn't come for him or JiAn... but the second he's confirmed dead, they're coming for her. So he wanted to make them come out and play before he's not in the picture any more for real.
PS And if this comes up - why did he have to do this now and not some other time? Because JiAn is moving to a dorm/app't of her own, outside his circle of protection. He does it so she'd be safe when not around him any more.
1. Lots of romance. The romance is kind of the point for quite a lot of the plot - at least it's kind of subtle…
You know how some of the best characters are those with tragic destinies? Especially if they're good people, to boot? That's Xiao PingZhang.
He's worth watching for the half drama he's in, despite the ending. He has a purpose, he loves his family (finally a TRUE family man), everybody loves him back for good reason - he's practical, wise, quick-witted, and loyal. An actual true hero :) I wish I'd have seen more like his character in costume dramas.
He's the one I like best in the drama - give it one more try, for him :)
So isn't technically the 2nd Joe the stand-in? We never get to know anything about him. What about his story?…
It is the novel set up, this is an adaptation (and a very faithful one, at least for the main part - some changes in the ending parts. The novel is also a HEA).
Second Joe was gay and tried to commit suicide because he was really depressed (he was in love, being cheated on and then that person left him. His mother also wasn't as understanding because she wanted him to be safer and happy). He was rescued in time but entered a coma, and when first Joe had his accident, they switched bodies and second Joe's soul was gone (he only wanted to have his mother taken care of, and not to return). They don't share the body and don't interact. And since first Joe died for real (in the novel, the bone-finding was closer to the end and more impactful to the story), there's no chance of a switch-back.
1. Lots of romance. The romance is kind of the point for quite a lot of the plot - at least it's kind of subtle…
No, he's TingSheng, the unrecognized son of the (original) Crown Prince. Since he was born in prison and never recorded in the royal registries, MCS and JingYan couldn't re-enter him in the royal succession line and give him back his rights. But JingYan adopted him and made him an (officially not-related-by-blood) prince of the dynasty.
He's the kid MCS and the princess meet while he's sweeping the stairs and sneaking out books, and MCS promises to get out of the royal prison for slave children (and does).
In the second season, MCS and JingYan are long gone, JingYan's son is now the emperor, and TingSheng has two sons - one by adoption and one by blood (the younger). NiF2 is the story of their family.
In NiF the novel, if I remember correctly, they found Fei Liu somewhere and took him in the Jianghu because he was very talented, even if he's somewhat strange, LOL.
Why no one is taking about "old" joe? He is still in another body 😠Though he is loved now but still in another…
What is there to talk about?! They all SEE he's in another body. He'll get counselling if he needs it - but with the body came a family and a new chance at life and finding the truths of his old life, so I guess it's worth it in the end.
This is how you do it. I'll keep my hatred of novel-Ming, but the drama-Ming kind of redeemed himself. It helps a lot that he's so damned cute, LOL.
What I most wanted - the wholesome mom-and-son relationship - was done perfectly, and I am in love with it just as much as I was in the novel.
Top notch production values, and everyone got their good acting game on (well, Tong not so much but oh well), and the changes helped the story move along better. Overall, I liked it a lot.
Now can someone get Rebirth of a Movie Star on screen like this?!! Please, pretty please, with a cherry on top!
3 
The chairwoman is still way, WAY over the top. And just as I was going to give her AT LEAST the fact she does (ruthless) bussiness, it turns out that the money-washing mastermind is her lover?! That she also cheated on her husband with, while said husband was alive (and aware?!) That's lame.
And then the late chairman's words are what is tying the FL down to this dysfunctional family, because WHY? It doesn't make any sense.
The action in these two eps - and the spy-like stuff were a bit... I mean - Rain's chara gets blown up and cut up and whatnot and he's back at work in two days? And the one doing the attempts is his colleague the K1? Who put her up to this? Is it the husband?! Because WHY the heck? And then SDY goes and does M:I stuff in under one day or something to get the ledgers that are in shoe boxes, right by the door?? What the f was that?
Anyway... 4 more eps and this ends. So sad to say this - I really wanted more of Rain but I can't with the rest of it.
I am stuck somewhere in the middle of DVAWTK, though I quite like it. It's just that my jam has always been rebirth-themed novels and I tend to jump to them whenever an interesting one comes up :D
Wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan:
1. Bring in the Wine (Qiang Jin Jiu by Tang JiuQing). This one is one of the very best stories and it's so damn HOT (not even apologetically hot, LOL, nope, they're madly in love and showing it for the audience :D)
2. Copper Coins (by Mu Su Li). It has dragons!! Well, one dragon. And he's a sassy shou. (I like sassy and dangerous little lizards, errr, dragons :D)
3. The Governor's Illness (by Yang Su) - because fated assassins and a world-class villain/hero who is wicked smart go together! (And it is kind of similar to MYATB, come to think, though IMHO the story is better - the gong doesn' t really WANT to fall in love, but it's unavoidable just because the shou is who he is).
4. How to Survive as a Villain (by Yi Yi Yi Yi). This one is so freaking cute and also has a lot of heartbreak... but so cute!
5. You've Got Mail! (though I am pretty sure nobody DARES to put that to drama, LOL, too much fetish hahaha~)
And for some extras - maybe SVSSS (because dammit, SQQ is so hot :D... but I don't trust them to find the right way to deal with it), Golden Stage (because the leads are so smart and can work together), Glory After Rebirth (because that opening scene is so amazing), The Obsessive Shou Moves On (because it's so eerie), and so many others! And obviously 2ha/hyx and TGCF live-action who are ALREADY filmed and just waiting on release but I am starting to fear we'll never see either of them T_T
Modern-times danmei (including ABO and other isekai stories):
1. Rebirth of a Movie Star (by J112233). This is my go-to modern-danmei comfort read. I recommend it to anyone - if you've never read any modern danmei, or did but missed this one - try it! It's so cute and wholesome and the ML is the best!
2. Sa Ye (by Wu Zhe): this is the perfect coming-to-age danmei. If anyone liked Addicted, this is (IMHO) 100 times better (as a TL and as a story).
3. Accidental Mark (by Die ZhiLing): this is ABO, and also a transmigration story - but the cutest. That would work so well in an adaptation, why didn't anyone pick it up already?
4. Little Madman's Guide to Acting Good (by Li WenJiu): this is the perfect rebirth+revenge plot, and they SAVE who they have to save (yes, Signal, I'm freaking looking at YOU, dammit).
5. The Missing Piece (by Kun Yi WeiLou): this one is kind of heavy (the ML has trauma-induced amnesia, the MC is enabling it because otherwise the ML would just let himself die) - because one needs a bit of dogblood (well, a lot of it) from time to time.
And then there's Seizing Dreams (already filmed, no chance of release too soon...) and Indulging in Wine (ABO, gangster-like cold ML) and First-Class Lawyer (scifi :D) and a lot more others I haven't gotten around to yet :D
... For starters, LOL.
And is this a reunion of the I Am Nobody cast?!! I didn't read a lot into the cast because I wasn't sure I wanted to watch this, but Hou MingHao and Wanyan LuoRong together are going to be FIRE!!
I could've sworn it would be the same director of I Am Nobody, but they're not - instead, it's the same executive producer of Till the End of the Moon, no wonder they invested so much in the CGI special effects - seriously, cdrama producing teams, it looks amazing, do some more of this if you want a flamboyant drama!!
Well, the effects and quirkiness are already here, here's hoping the script does the drama justice!
And oooh, the Jin family is not so simple as they appear at first look...
2. The guy JiAn went to the amusement park with wasn't Brother, he was one of her classmates at the time or something. someone JinMan did not approve of, LOL. Brother can't go out in the light, he has either agoraphobia or some other condition that won't let him go out in the sun (he's not a vampire though LOL).
3. MinHye and Pasin's escape and fate remain to be known... I think she has a good chance of survival (it's Pasin with the good drugs, he'd know how to help her). At least I hope so.
The second season might add some final touches - here's hoping it comes soon enough, though LDW's year and maybe even next year's schedule looks swamped already...
And he needed to fake being totally dead because while he was alive, the mercenary org wouldn't come for him or JiAn... but the second he's confirmed dead, they're coming for her. So he wanted to make them come out and play before he's not in the picture any more for real.
PS And if this comes up - why did he have to do this now and not some other time? Because JiAn is moving to a dorm/app't of her own, outside his circle of protection. He does it so she'd be safe when not around him any more.
Cher: I'm the captain of this ship, gimme some more suga!! :D
He's worth watching for the half drama he's in, despite the ending. He has a purpose, he loves his family (finally a TRUE family man), everybody loves him back for good reason - he's practical, wise, quick-witted, and loyal. An actual true hero :) I wish I'd have seen more like his character in costume dramas.
He's the one I like best in the drama - give it one more try, for him :)
Second Joe was gay and tried to commit suicide because he was really depressed (he was in love, being cheated on and then that person left him. His mother also wasn't as understanding because she wanted him to be safer and happy). He was rescued in time but entered a coma, and when first Joe had his accident, they switched bodies and second Joe's soul was gone (he only wanted to have his mother taken care of, and not to return). They don't share the body and don't interact. And since first Joe died for real (in the novel, the bone-finding was closer to the end and more impactful to the story), there's no chance of a switch-back.
He's the kid MCS and the princess meet while he's sweeping the stairs and sneaking out books, and MCS promises to get out of the royal prison for slave children (and does).
In the second season, MCS and JingYan are long gone, JingYan's son is now the emperor, and TingSheng has two sons - one by adoption and one by blood (the younger). NiF2 is the story of their family.
In NiF the novel, if I remember correctly, they found Fei Liu somewhere and took him in the Jianghu because he was very talented, even if he's somewhat strange, LOL.
What I most wanted - the wholesome mom-and-son relationship - was done perfectly, and I am in love with it just as much as I was in the novel.
Top notch production values, and everyone got their good acting game on (well, Tong not so much but oh well), and the changes helped the story move along better. Overall, I liked it a lot.
Now can someone get Rebirth of a Movie Star on screen like this?!! Please, pretty please, with a cherry on top!