any_anka

There's an entire official YouTube channel where you can pay for membership and watch all the episodes afterwards (otherwise it's only the first ep that's free and open to watch for everybody). I think the payment is less than Viki subscription, but I'm not certain.
I've been alternating between Viki and GagaOOLala as well. Gaga's subs are sometimes totally weird (but granted, as always the least censored ;))

I'll take you upon that offer for sure once I revisit CoM :)

There's even a separate discussion topic dedicated only to the dubbing issue ;P

Not that crazy... or at least I understand what you're saying. For what is worth, I personally find their dynamic quite natural and could totally believe they enjoy doing all the fanservice :P (if that makes you feel any better lol).

I just have rather complicated feelings about the whole shipping-culture. On the one hand, it's done for a reason, so why those want to enjoy it shouldn't enjoy it? But then on the other hand (stronger, more prevalent in my mind) I generally detest the whole entitlement that often comes with it, and I feel like people are usually not mature enough to just enjoy it for what it is and end up butting in into actor's private lives (which is a huge no-no in my POV).
I don't hold it against the actors who do it though, as it is (for better of worse) part of the industry. For now at the very least. They're just doing their jobs...
But anyway... rant about nothing really.

I wish that all the hard work put into the drama and everything connected to it would pay off. I wrote it somewhere in here before, how I could feel the passion and effort put into the drama while watching it. And as for these two in particular, whether it's a natural talent or a result of hard work, they're genuinely skilled people. I wholeheartedly wish for them to thrive in their careers.

Similar here. Not having many expectations, ending up loving the story and thinking I had prepared myself to be completely chill about the ending as long as there's some sort of conclusion for the main couple (which I kinda got in that epic kiss, so I don't actually feel dissatisfied).
The difference is, though, that while I am outwardly very sceptical about the s2 possibility, I'm just a big phoney and a faker, because in my delulu mind I totally see that second season happening :P Like, I realised that I don't even consider not seeing the rest of the story, not having the cop duo develop their story, not seeing Liuyi out of jail... Just not happening in my universe ;)

Thanks, I admit it's kinda awesome :P All courtesy of Chusan's dramatic a** ;)

Yeah, it was so messy... Thank you for providing more context to that case. I only wrote what was my final conclusion based on all the mess happening in the meantime, but your comment gives more valuable details (though I will admit, also reminds me just how infuriating was that whole situation :( opening my scarred wounds :P).

K&H is peak romance, despite being a "bromance". I literally loved everything about Yue Lou and Yu Zhi (aside the ending, I suppose). Now, recommending CoM while linking it to K&H like that is diabolical, but also working... :P

I think the moment they had an official couple name and colour, they were already on the market 😋(which was right at the beginning of promotions).
But if they're doubling down on delivering now, I guess it's a good sign for everyone (including me) hoping for that second season?

I'm not a fan of couple marketing, the way China does it or the way Thai BL industry does it. Conflating actors private lives with their characters on screen always feels like asking for trouble and fixing a permanent ship for years to come seems quite a constraint on an actor's career/artistry.

Having said that, if SCD is supposed to be a long-term project (and I did see some *rumours* mentioning even three seasons), then seeing some longer-term promo strategy gives me hope for an actual continuation, so I guess it's a win for me after all 😋

P.S. People can work together and deliver fanservice while still getting along fine or even liking each other. Not that it matters tbh. As far as I'm concerned, they could hate each other's guts in private (not that I wish that upon them, it's better to have a good relationship with you co-star) as long as they delivered the same level of excellent chemistry on screen 😌

Pretty much. I waited months for The On1y One announcement before they just fumbled everything... It still stings 😭

Relatively recent, came out a few months ago. It's also set in Republican Era. I like the aesthetics of this period a lot.
My first one Republican Era drama (not a GL/sismance) was Killer & Healer (so underrated, should be way more popular).

This is very cryptic though. I am not convinced at all 😋 (even though I really really really want it to be true)

I don't think there's anything like that yet. Actors nodding their heads during a live or letting it slip here and there does not meet my requirements to rest assured.

I still remember how The On1y One had an actual director talking about how much he wants to film it and what came out of it =.=
(The situation is better here in a sense that all actors seem to be signed under the same agency and the agency alone *seems* to be willing to make a second season, I think... With The On1y One it literally looked as if the director was the person pushing for it the most).

I think at the moment they're trying to actually make money of the first season (magazines, possible fanmeets and all that stuff). I suppose the interest in those would determine if and when s2 would actually be made. Honestly, the way I see it, it's all on Chinese fans purchasing power... I don't think they made much money from streaming the show alone, considering how probably half of the audiences were watching from sources other than official🙄

(All my speculations though).

Couple of Mirrors, yesss. I did. Sort of. One of the dramas I put on hold due to getting easily distracted, but I did enjoy it actually. Maybe it's a good moment for me to revisit.
There was another one too... Be Her Resilience (but I put it on hold too 😅)

I think only two actors from the main cast can actually speak Cantonese (Matthew and Yanzhao). Putting up with this dubbing is worth having He Changxi as Chusan, my opinion anyway 😋

Plus, it gets better... I was a bit put off as well, but got over it pretty quick (around ep 3 or 4 I didn't even care much, aside from having a bit of fun, trying to figure out who might be speaking Cantonese in reality while staring at actors lip movement 😉)

Was that a DVD, not VHS? :P
Well... there's more of these. LCD screens at the hospital, infrared faucets at the hotel where we meet cop duo for the first time... And other, not time-related inconsistencies, like e.g. driving wheel on the wrong side of the car for HK.
They didn't ruin the experience for me personally, so I just ignored them :P

I love your answer :) But also relate to the sentiment.
(Imagining a GL - hell, even a censored one - with Bai Lu... now, that would be something... 😳)

You have no choice, really ;)
(no pressure... but you have to :P)

You're welcome ;) It's right after Chusan wakes up and tries to remember what happened (before he snucks out of bed with the sheets :P)

Hey, so I was reading your review. Glad you loved the series apparently as much as I did. I also enjoyed your description of visuals as "gritty, dark but with a succinct 80's vibe" - couldn't have said it better myself.
But... I think you got some things wrong (or maybe I got what you wrote wrong - could be that too), so just wanted to chime in. There was no actual rooftop love scene. It was all in Chusan's dream. Their interaction in reality ended with Chusan trying to get the lollipop from Liuyi's mouth, the lollipop broke, Liuyi told him to get his own one and that was it. They probably chaotically went (crawled) to bed, as both were drunk.
The whole make-out session was Chusan's dream (with a "bonus", hence why he had to sneak out to wash the sheets first thing in the morning). The only effect it had was for Chusan to realise more clearly how much into Liuyi he really was.
Which is also why they never talked about it. There was nothing to talk about, unless Chusan intended to share his fantasies with Liuyi :P