ShortCircuit

It's been hinted at for quite a few eps - it's the husband of the cheating woman (first case on the mountain, after 29 years.) He's the killer in the cases three decades ago, too.

"It's only God watching." Well, to be completely accurate - a Goddess. A fujoshi Goddess, though, LOL.

Kamisama is my favourite, though. Also, is it just me or does Sakurada Hiyori (Kagura) look AND act (in this drama at least) exactly as Wang YingLu (BaoBao) in I Am Nobody? When she was Yashiro, I kept seeing BaoBao instead LOL.

Plus - that town, too. There are SO MANY places that look familiar - again, is it just me or (at least) that long sea-side walk up looks 100% like the one in Suzume no Tojimari?! Up to and including the traffic signs. I loved the scenic views.

Overall, a cute drama that tried to include as many messages as it could. Good ending, too :)

So, if I were to make a top-three shous of danmei xianxia/wuxia, WWX, Chu WanNing (of 2ha) and Shen ZeChuan (of Qian Qin Jiu) would share first place. Don't put aside 2ha just because of the title, LOL. It's a sado-masochist's wet dream, complete full-length director's cut of it LOL. And CWN is the bestest shizun to ever grace the field of aloof, competent, quiet (but awful tempered) shous of all danmei novels EVER. There's an upcoming 2ha drama - Immortality - based on the novel, which probably will either remove anything too BL so that not even the bromance is recognizable - still plenty of story left either way - or make it a shadow of the story... but it won't (very probably) be released any time soo. Luo YunXi is CWN and Chen FeiYu is MoRan, the shou and the gong, respectively, and it would have been a DREAM to see it onscreen. But censors are keeping off all danmei-based dramas, so who knows if they'll ever let it air...

All of the recs above are great novels - different, but all xianxia/wuxia/historical. I'd add to those maybe Mu Su Li's Copper Coins (amazing - and it has actual dragons :D) and if you want something historical but very kinky, LOL, then You've Got Mail is the one :D

From the modern-era, I like rebirth stories - have you read J112233's Rebirth of a Movie Star? That one's sweet and short (I wanted even more!) :D

She has two more published novels, Heaven Official's Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu, or TGCF) and Scum Villain's Self-Saving System (acronymed as SVSSS, nobody uses the Chinese acronym, LOL). Both have at least one season of donghua released, TGCF is about to end its second season and is drawn in classic style (so looks a lot better, while SVSSS is drawn in 3D and doesn't look as good, though the story is great). Both are on Youtube, if you want to take a look.

TGCF has the more complex storyline (about four lifetime rounds, LOL, more complex than MDZS too), while SVSSS is drop-down hilarious.

TBH, I prefer SVSSS, because the MC, Shen QingQiu, is a freaking hoot. The novel deals with lots of xianxia/wuxia tropes and transmigration, so that the MC, SQQ, KNOWS them all and tries to use them to save himself (since he transmigrated into the body of the villain who is going to absolutely, no holds barred, DIE). The other MC is SQQ's apprentice, so their relationship is initially a bit ambiguous, but there's a lot of things going on, and eventually there's going to be a HEA.

TGCF is WAY longer, convoluted, and while having one of the most interesting gongs, Hua Cheng, the way the story moves can be frustrating (or was, to me). The charas are mostly people from the Celestial Realm, too, so it was harder for me to connect to them. But it's a pretty good story, if you get drawn into it, and there's plenty of toil and heartbreak until the HEA.

BOTH (actually, all three) of MXTX's novels are HORROR, just so you know. The Untamed really mellowed the horror aspects of MDZS, but if you read the novel, you know what they've been skipping. I mean... in the end, if you oversimplify everything, WWX is basically a well-intending necromancer falling in love. But if they left it as was, who would want to watch an actual necromancer doing stuff, LOL?! So expect LOTS of gore in TGCF (not so much in SVSSS, maybe that's why I like it better, LOL, I'm not a fan of horror and gore).

As for the writing - they are very well written. There were fan TLs floating around the net (and might still be), but all her novels were since officially TLed and published in English (and other languages) by SevenSeas Entertainment. There are a lot of volumes for each novel, since they're pretty long, and they are kind of pricey, but they look great and there are special editions (with posters and whatnot) too. All of them are illustrated.

Other danmei authors you could check out, if interested... Definitely MeatBun Doesn't Eat Meat (all of them are using pseudonyms, China doesn't want people being into danmei) or Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou. She has written the famous The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (or hyx /2ha/ erha). THAT one is another amazing novel - also being officially TLed, they're not done with publishing it yet though. She also wrote Remnants of Filth (Yu Wu), another good - while bloody - story.

Or Priest - she's prolific - author or Guardian, Faraway Wanderers (Word of Honor drama) and a lot others.

Or one of my favourites - Meng Xi Shi - author of A Thousand Autumns (there's a donghua, beautifully drawn) and The Fourteenth Year of ChengHua (The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty drama) and Wushuang / Peerless (drama's in the works, probably delayed, as all danmei dramas....).

Or Tang JiuQing, author of Nan Chan and Bring In the Wine (Qiang Qin Jiu, which is one of the best - and actually HOT - danmei I've ever read).

All of them are highly recommended - for starters :D

Each and every athlete, in all sports has my utmost respect. The dedication and effort are beyond what I would be capable of, even if I ever got any talent in any of them LOL (which I don't).

TBH, they're all kind of sexy to me, including the bigger ones. I mean, that's their weight category, they HAVE to be like that if they want any chance of winning, right? :D Being GOOD at something you like is pretty sexy IMHO :D

It's actually pretty good, LOL. But it's not a clear-cut romance and people take offense to that. If you want to, start watching it for the ssireum - I mean, mostly naked men wrestling. And a clueless ML who is too sweet for life. LOL.

It literally means "precious"/"treasure" but can be used colloquially as an endearment term - so a translation of "honey"/"baby" works in English. I've also seen/heard it as "bao bei" which means basically the same - precious thing, or baby, darling, etc.

LOL, I got SO frustrated when he lost focus after she left. I wanted him to win!! Dammit, BaekDu, let's leave off love and things like that, let's concentrate on winning a championship ASAP, okay, buddy? Let's just focus on that!!

When they're in school, they're about 16. After the time passes, they're in their 30s.

Also, this is a story involving cultivation. That's the idea with cultivation - when a cultivator manages to form an energy core and reach a certain level of cultivation, they don't appear to be aging any more. Very old cultivators might look as if they're around 40, at most. And if a cultivator actually looks old, they're basically immortal - hundreds or thousands of years old.

TBH, the last few eps got kind of draggy.

Well, that was a waste of time. But I stuck with it for the eyecandy (can't say no to good eyecandy). And it was tolerable... in 2x speed, LOL.

The only good part was the shadow theatre, but AT LEAST one episode's time is taken up with recaps and flashbacks, if not more, and TBH, the time skip right at the end made no actual sense.

Oh well. At least it's over.

This might not be for you, then. I mean, you COULD pretend not to notice, but it's pretty obvious. So if you're going to have to convince yourself there's not even the smallest hint of romantic interest, each and every time they're looking at each other... then no, it's not really that easy to do. It is ambiguous, but not all the way hidden.

I like BL and I liked the undertones of TDJ, and it's definitely NOT BL, but more like queer-baiting. Then again, I am okay with that too. If TDJ doesn't allow you a comfortable watch, and it ACTUALLY has NO BL content, then nope, TU won't be a satisfying drama to watch for you.

If you want to watch something that is definitely NOT BL, but also awesome, with beautiful relationships and amazing chemistry... try Oh No! Here Comes Trouble. That one never slides an inch beyond a frenemy/bromance throughout the series, and it's a great watch, too!

As far as I know, at least in LLTG she dubbed herself, so it might be the same (original) voice in Hidden Love, too.

Usually, when they're dubbed by voice actors, there are credits for the actors too, so if there's none, it generally means they dubbed their own parts.

He is one of the (innumerable) bastards of Jin GuangShan, the Jin Clan leader (Jin ZiXuan's father - JZX is his only legitimate offspring). Actually, MengYao's wife was also JGS's bastard daughter, and so was Mo XuanYu - who's body WWX gets resurrected in. JGS really had a wandering eye.

Anyway, MengYao's mother was a favourite courtesan that JGS had promised to free and take up as a concubine, and she had some education (which she imparted to her son). But JGS never did keep his promise, so she ended up dying pitifully when she got older and unwanted. She was the only one who really loved MengYao in his formative years, and the only person he venerated throughout his life.

So he had the brothel she worked in burned down with the people inside because they had disrespected her when she was alive (there are some scenes in the novel where there are burned out corpses crawling out) and built a temple to the goddess of mercy GuanYin over it, that has a statue supposedly looking like his mother. Her ashes/body are buried underneath the temple. That's what he's desperately looking for when he's ready to flee, because he wants to take his mother's remains with him.

But her ashes/body got removed and Nie MingJue's pieced-together body was put inside instead - you can definitely suspect Nie HuaiSang for it. He's the sneakiest planner of revenges ever.

The drama tried to explain as best as they could - but there's also censorship on a whole lot more than the danmei part (which, BTW, is obviously every person's choice to dive in or not :D I was just trying to explain that the low ratings and/or too critic reviews are comparing apples to oranges, and considering the restrictions, the producers did the very best they could, while not including everything - because they could not include those parts no matter what. TBH, I like the quiet bromance - though for me it's evidently a love story - much more than if they were allowed to put in extreme PDAs. I think the quiet tone fits the overall feel of the story better).

Also, for me the central theme is staying true to yourself, no matter what the outsiders will have you do/turn into. They (all of them) acted according to their own nature -from heroes to villains... but some of them moved from time to time in a gray area, which is just human.

Yes, it definitely is. Stay with it for a while, if it looks a bit clumsy (it's not, but it might appear so to people who are used to dramas that dive right into the main story) - for anyone not caught in it from the beginning, it starts turning from around eps 15-17 (it might seem like a lot of time, but it's not - eps are 45 mins long, including OP and ED, so the whole series isn't as long as it appears... sadly).

For a heads-up, eps 1-2, then 33-50 are set in the present time, while eps 3-33 are a long flashback to a (glorious) back story of how it all came to be. Don't skip it.

I'm promising you an untamed hero, a love hidden in glances and small actions, redemption arcs, vengeance, sacrifice, love stories in all forms and shapes (dammit, Madam Yu!), undead cinnamon buns, the cutest bunch of juniors to ever gaggle around a most charming rogue, the most beautiful brothers' relationships (yes plural) ever, and a HEA. So there you have it.

Will you dive in? :D

I have read the novel, and watched the donghua (including the chibi one), and listened to the audio drama too. (And if it helps, for context, I read a lot of danmei since watching TU and getting drawn into the cweb novels world).

The drama team did the best they could. Yes, it's not perfect, but I promise you... There are exactly 3 (three) scenes that could be classified as danmei in the whole novel, and one of them involves a (totally clueless) blindfolded WWX getting a mysterious kiss, and then the rest of about 99.9% of the story there are no other instances of talking about romantic feelings among men. But those two remaining scenes are epic, so it colours the whole story, going back (they happen right at the end of the novel). Even IF the drama COULD have included them, not a lot of the main plot would have changed (basically nothing, but we would have gotten the most shameless public confession ever, which is a heartbreaking loss, not having it...)

The characterisation is spot-on, the main plot lines are faithfully followed, what they added made the story a bit more cohesive and gave more screen time to VERY important support charas (like JiangLi and Wen Qing, for example), and they also cleaned up the timeline a bit so it's easier to follow.

Yes, purists will find fault with it if they wanted to... but IMHO, it's one of the best adaptations of a danmei novel to drama EVER (not that there are too many of them yet. I had a lot of hope for the 2ha adaptation, but I guess we won't be seeing it any time soon :( )

So don't mind the ultra-criticising reviews AND ratings. After all, if you enjoyed the story, that's all that matters. If you never decide to read the novel for yourself, that's fine too. (There are other, easier entries into the danmei world, if you're ever interested).

ETA For novel readers, I didn't include the confession in the 3 scenes - those are the kiss, the bathtub and the Everyday Means Everyday scene, obviously LOL.

Too pretty to be real?!

Challenge accepted.

Obviously LYX as TTJ (particularly as the tormented prince, because that's who I fell for the first time...) (But LYX is one of my faves in everything he ever was in).

Xu Kai as Li Ni (if anyone here hasn't watched Wonderland of Love - highly recommended. This man's eyelashes are dreamy).

Chen ZheYuan as JiaXu in Hidden Love - he's an anime character!! He looks DRAWN, not a human at all, LOL.

Hou MingHao (Neo Hou) as Wang Ye in I Am Nobody - OMG I used to have a little crush on him before, but I am totally in awe of his Wang Ye. I'll just have to re-watch the drama for him, LOL.

Xiao Zhan... just being Xiao Zhan. I'll take XZ with his cat, too, LOL.

... For starters.

It's slimmed down to mostly the more romantic part, cutting out a lot of the details of the main story. BUT at the same time, the eps are a bit longer, so in the end, not that much is cut.

It's definitely a watch-AFTER you've watched the original cut of the drama, mostly for the fans of the novel who just want to see the more personal scenes a lot more than they happen in the original. There are (very few) longer scenes and a different arrangement of the last scenes, so that the ending is a bit more clear for whoever got lost in the original, LOL, and that's about it.

If you decide to watch this, watch the original. This is based on a danmei novel (Chinese BL) but the story is NOT focusing on the danmei part (given Chinese censorship) and TBH, the novel didn't, either (because WWX, the protagonist, is clueless throughout both his lifetimes, LOL.) The story is pretty epic, and worth the time. And if you're in it just for the bromance, it'll be enough. For everything more, there's the novel and then the donghua and the audio drama.

It's hyped for good reason, IMHO, and totally worth at least a look (or more).

Most costume cdramas get filmed in Hengdian (and some locations, too, but mostly on set in Hengdian). They are being filmed simultaneously, too, and there's way too much noise for the production team to be able to keep the original sound. So dub is absolutely necessary.

(Also, they're not just filming in paralel, they're usually using the same sets, LOL, so that you can see the same street/inn/forest over and over in some dramas. For example, that long lantern-lighted street where WWX meets Wen Ning again in the rainy night makes a nice appearance in Joy of Life, too - with absolutely the same styling, nothing changed... even the wet pavement, LOL. The sets are free to use, I think I read somewhere, but they definitely have to block time on them since there are so many productions going on at once).

Then again, China has way too many accents. In order for everyone to understand the actors (and not get thrown off the story when someone supposedly born in the north speaks with a southern accents and the like), they used to employ voice actors who had the correct/standard Mandarin accent and/or the type of voice the producers wanted (more manly, more girly, you get the idea.) That's also why in original release (meant for Chinese audiences) there are Chinese subtitles. Presumably for the hearing impaired people, too, but mostly because of the accents.

Lately though, there's been some crackdown on voice acting in dubbing dramas, so some actors and actresses (who can speak standard Mandarin and have good voices) are using their own voices for the dubbing (dubbing still remains). It's happening in modern-time dramas more often, but in wuxia/xianxia too. So far, I've listened to LYX's original voice in TTEOTM, Cheng Yi's in MLC, XZ's in SBMS, and so on, and so forth. But it's still a newish trend, and there are always reasons to still use voice acting - for example, some of the big stars can't always be around for dubbing due to scheduling issues so they have to use someone else. For most of the older dramas, though, there are always voice actors.

Aaaaannnd.... SAFE!!

They could've left the last scene on for longer, just sayin'.

And there's no cat (but in the picture.) The cat should've been in, LOL. Eventually he could've been an oneorangebraincell boy, maybe :D

Nevermind - this was cute! The plot is tried-and-true so no huge surprises there, but there really was a lot of great chemistry ongoing there (including in the support charas AND particularly for the female support charas, LOL, they can really show a fujoshi's mindset, makes me wonder hahaha!) Short and to the point, I wish it was longer (and with the same length eps though :D)

Nice way to start the new year!

And off topic - hopefully there were no victims in today's quake and that everyone continues to be safe in Japan (no tsunami, fingers crossed!)