What Ms. Wang (Producer, Otter Culture) said about LYX and why he was chosen as Tang Li Ci, and why Otter Culture (producer of Immortality, Till the End of the Moon, and Whispers of Fate) chose him as their first, second, and third drama—all S+ and S++ grade investments:
"Luo Yunxi possesses the compassion of a strong person." This is very Chu Wanning, Tan Tai Jin and Tang Li Ci
"Actors are the paintbrush of the script. Even the best story requires actors to deeply understand its core to move the audience. Luo Yunxi's conviction as an actor, his understanding of the character, and the quality of his performance are sufficient to handle the complex role. Having worked with him before, I know his performances are very empathetic, his understanding of the character is very clear, and his action scenes are excellent. I know what kind of roles will excite him and what kind of effect he can achieve, which is why we're collaborating for the third time."
Data Queen Kwanto is always here to wreck haters!!
I actually think SLY is more suited for a Chinese audience or International fans with a lot of previous exposure of C Culture and history. Most international audiences won’t be able to scratch the surface of SLY, especially die-hard romance lovers and CP fans. While TTOETM is more friendly for international audience.
I don't know how you're going to add this into the thread, but everytime you share details of WoF's unique domestic…
CCTV's CPOP (CPOPwave) is a launched by C Gov to promote Chinese pop culture IPs overseas. It aims to focus on and promote Chinese cultural works that have achieved outstanding results overseas in the past two years. This series of events showcases 20 representative Chinese pop culture IPs, including film and television dramas, novels, games, animations, and designer toys. List of previous CPOP winner: The Wandering Earth, Black Myth Wukong, Labubu, Till the end the moon (Top 1), Honor of Kings (game).
Following the footsteps of Mango & Migu’s big satisfaction thank-you ads weeks past the SLY finale, SLY peripheral brand KOOCI is giving SLY a big “thank you” ad at Beijing Airport for 31 straight days, spotlighting Tang Li Ci. First time ever for a drama peripheral brand.
SLY merch has already hit nearly 19M in sales by Dec 12, and is on track to smash 21M soon. SLY merchandise prices are much higher than Ttoetm’s—some of them don’t make sense—but drama fans keep buying, meaning KOOCI and the producers are cashing in big on ROI (we know it costs dirt cheap to make these in China 😂).
Alipay SLY drama co-branding skin collaboration sales are also the highest in TV drama history, selling 180,000 (each ID min 18yrs old only allowed 1 purchase). The other dramas they’ve ever done the same level of collaboration are Joy of Life and Empress in the Palace. Alipay and other collaborative SLY brand sent flowers for SLY concert today.
As for the concert: yesterday, at the last minute, they added “poor visibility” seats for sale 😂 (yes, they noted these are POOR visibility seats)—clearly to max out the 18,000 capacities. This concert counts as two huge concerts already. IMO, a drama concert above 5,000 seats is already huge….
Firstly, I appreciate @Yulsa for sharing this insightful article, which I encourage everyone to take a look at.…
I’ve read this before, and her take on SLY was deep and really enjoyable to read. Other than Liu Yan and ZCJ, the way she looked at Xi Fang Tao was also interesting. And then there’s LYX. He’s not afraid to take on tough roles—characters like Tan Tai Jin and Tang Li Ci, who could easily be disliked if not played carefully. But LYX brings his intelligence and a real understanding of human nature to portray them, turning these complicated grey characters into ones the audience can love and admire. From Runyu to Tang Li Ci, with every complex character, his acting keeps getting better and more powerful.
I saw a few more good reviews by movie blogger on Weibo unfortunately I don’t have the habit of saving them.
Data Queen Kwanto is always here to wreck haters!!
In the last few episodes, every scene featuring TLC and GMD has been intense and a true powerhouse of acting , setting a high bar for costume dramas. To match that level of intensity, you need a really good actor paired with a veteran actor like Hu Jun. These 2 characters scenes are some of my fav in SLY.
Excited for concert tomorrow, no news about live broadcast so I think we just need to rely on fans. Too bad no Chi Yun Puppy, he is so lively on Variety Show and a former idol too.
Something funny, Xinhua news posted many SLY achievements, one of them calling SLY Douban rating 8.4. I think it meant to be IMDB , but if CCP newspaper DOES NOT want to recognize Domestic Haters rating and put IMDB rating and calling it Douban rating instead 🤣🤣🤣 …..which is back to 8.4 after haters downrating it TWICE repeat TWICE from 9.2 to 7.6 and then later 8.6 to 7.9 again now back to 8.4
Haters who want to protest can go to police station to protest?🤣
I don't know how you're going to add this into the thread, but everytime you share details of WoF's unique domestic…
CSM data shows that SLY reached 2.838 billion views across all media platforms. This is the most important data for SLY.
The second most important SLY achievement is: its lightning-fast nomination for CPOP 26 (TTOETM won with the highest grade in 2023–2025, and Joy of Life was nominated ). Only these 3 dramas in 3 years were recognized, which shows how good SLY actual data are. From early 2025 until now, CCTV and Rating China have chosen ONLY Shui Long Yin. In fact, SLY is their first nominated IP among drama, film, game, and other categories, is incredible. These two facts are the most authoritative and explosive. Gov officials know the real data domestic and international. After all, China Mobile, as SLY’s largest investor, has all the accurate data. That’s why I have been saying SLY’s data are very very close to TTOETM.
TTOETM aired when there is no traffic actor competition, SLY had 5 traffic competition at the same time, in winter of TV drama. Government realize the strength.
🎉🎉🎉🎉Time for more celebration, and props to TaraVerde~👏✨
I believe the actual number of SLY viewers is very close to that of TTOETM, based on various metrics I’ve followed. A significant portion of the overall audience comes from male viewers on the MIGU platform, whom are drawn to SLY’s aesthetics, which resonate strongly with anime fans. It’s also popular among gamers, who both most likely don’t discuss it on social media. That said, the fans of TTOETM and SLY are different. TTOETM diehards tend to love the beautiful romance entanglements, while SLY appeals to those seeking a deeper narrative enriched with heavier Chinese culture and Buddhist themes. Personally, I love both dramas in different ways, but I must say SLY gave me greater satisfaction—perhaps because my art background, which made its cultural layers especially meaningful to me.
Rating China (CVB), the most authoritative rating body in China has issued an article praising SLY title
A Madman and a Hero: A Fated Song of Destiny, A Game of Chess in the Martial World, and a Righteousness for All Living Beings — Why "Water Dragon Chant" Becomes a New Benchmark for Hunan TV's Costume Dramas (only capturing its performance on Hunan TV and Mango TV excluding MIGU)
Highlight: • CSM data, SLY reached 2.838 billion views across all media platforms. TTL viewing hours is 384M hours (Note the also from Rating China report from 2024 the highest was 225M hours aired on CCTV8)
• Original fantasy world view, an ultimate expression of Eastern aesthetics and advanced IP ecosystem operation
• Achieve outstanding ratings on Hunan TV, multi-platform cross-border dissemination and in-depth cultural export, a typical example of innovative exploration of the costume drama genre.
• Leading the ratings by a wide margin, TLC fateful character setting locks in the core audience.
• Strong appeal and high viewer engagement.
• TLC is the core key to retaining the audience. Luo Yunxi accurately grasped the balance between the character's "divinity and chivalry," perfectly blending his "number one in the world" arrogance, his decisiveness in the face of enemies, and the chivalrous spirit hidden in his heart.
• The 847 sets handcrafted costumes incorporate more than 10 intangible cultural heritage techniques such as gold embroidery, velvet flowers, and cloud embroidery. The 222 intangible cultural heritage accessories are also exquisitely crafted. TLC "Unfathomable Fox Dragon" soft sword is handcrafted by an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage forging. The craftsmanship details of her kingfisher feather and beaded hair ornament will also be adjusted according to the changes in the character's mood.
• The Wandering Earth" CGI team creating an audiovisual experience that combines oriental artistic conception with cinematic quality.
• Multi-media resonance: Expanding reach across multiple platforms, high-energy data demonstrates superior communication power.
• Over 40 million people watched the campus-based creative frenzy, College Student addicted to SLY
• Big TV screen audience 104 million, and mobile/tablet audience 157 million, young users:46.08%, efficient coverage across multiple terminals and all age groups.
• SLY achieved deep cultural export. American netizens praised CGI as "comparable to Marvel," while German and Brazilian netizens were captivated by the character designs and costume aesthetics, forming a closed loop of overseas dissemination: "watching the series - researching historical facts - secondary creation."
• Age 25-44 account for more than half, other age groups is relatively balanced. Bachelor degree or above account for nearly 30%. Viewers prefer the emotional bonds and the thrill of redemption in the drama, its rigorous logic of power struggles in the martial arts world and its profound sense of destiny.
• Particularly noteworthy is that the series broke away from the industry's conventional thinking of "content first, derivatives later," establishing a full-chain operation path from the initial creation stage: "IP planning - series broadcast - simultaneous cultural tourism/derivatives."
He is a costume designer's dream, when he knows how to conduct himself and move in them. Huang Wei would have…
I much prefer his costume here—better than in TTOETM. At least there’s no awkward wedding huge gold dragon faucet! Overall, the costumes in this drama feel like a real upgrade compared to TTOETM, with the exception of two: the red-and-white fur outfit and the one he wore during his confinement with GMD. In TTOETM, I found most of CJM’s costumes rather forced, as if they didn’t quite fit. Huang Wei’s designs can sometimes go a little overboard.
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"Luo Yunxi possesses the compassion of a strong person." This is very Chu Wanning, Tan Tai Jin and Tang Li Ci
"Actors are the paintbrush of the script. Even the best story requires actors to deeply understand its core to move the audience. Luo Yunxi's conviction as an actor, his understanding of the character, and the quality of his performance are sufficient to handle the complex role. Having worked with him before, I know his performances are very empathetic, his understanding of the character is very clear, and his action scenes are excellent. I know what kind of roles will excite him and what kind of effect he can achieve, which is why we're collaborating for the third time."
While TTOETM is more friendly for international audience.
List of previous CPOP winner: The Wandering Earth, Black Myth Wukong, Labubu, Till the end the moon (Top 1), Honor of Kings (game).
Only when your IP is really successful you will be nominated, just need to look at these examples to get an idea the real data of SLY.
https://m.yangshipin.cn/portrait_video?vid=d0000248jl3&ptag=4_3.2.1.23718_sina (vid of SLY nomination)
Following the footsteps of Mango & Migu’s big satisfaction thank-you ads weeks past the SLY finale, SLY peripheral brand KOOCI is giving SLY a big “thank you” ad at Beijing Airport for 31 straight days, spotlighting Tang Li Ci. First time ever for a drama peripheral brand.
SLY merch has already hit nearly 19M in sales by Dec 12, and is on track to smash 21M soon. SLY merchandise prices are much higher than Ttoetm’s—some of them don’t make sense—but drama fans keep buying, meaning KOOCI and the producers are cashing in big on ROI (we know it costs dirt cheap to make these in China 😂).
Alipay SLY drama co-branding skin collaboration sales are also the highest in TV drama history, selling 180,000 (each ID min 18yrs old only allowed 1 purchase). The other dramas they’ve ever done the same level of collaboration are Joy of Life and Empress in the Palace. Alipay and other collaborative SLY brand sent flowers for SLY concert today.
As for the concert: yesterday, at the last minute, they added “poor visibility” seats for sale 😂 (yes, they noted these are POOR visibility seats)—clearly to max out the 18,000 capacities. This concert counts as two huge concerts already.
IMO, a drama concert above 5,000 seats is already huge….
And then there’s LYX. He’s not afraid to take on tough roles—characters like Tan Tai Jin and Tang Li Ci, who could easily be disliked if not played carefully. But LYX brings his intelligence and a real understanding of human nature to portray them, turning these complicated grey characters into ones the audience can love and admire.
From Runyu to Tang Li Ci, with every complex character, his acting keeps getting better and more powerful.
I saw a few more good reviews by movie blogger on Weibo unfortunately I don’t have the habit of saving them.
Haters who want to protest can go to police station to protest?🤣
The second most important SLY achievement is: its lightning-fast nomination for CPOP 26 (TTOETM won with the highest grade in 2023–2025, and Joy of Life was nominated ). Only these 3 dramas in 3 years were recognized, which shows how good SLY actual data are. From early 2025 until now, CCTV and Rating China have chosen ONLY Shui Long Yin. In fact, SLY is their first nominated IP among drama, film, game, and other categories, is incredible.
These two facts are the most authoritative and explosive. Gov officials know the real data domestic and international. After all, China Mobile, as SLY’s largest investor, has all the accurate data.
That’s why I have been saying SLY’s data are very very close to TTOETM.
TTOETM aired when there is no traffic actor competition, SLY had 5 traffic competition at the same time, in winter of TV drama. Government realize the strength.
That said, the fans of TTOETM and SLY are different. TTOETM diehards tend to love the beautiful romance entanglements, while SLY appeals to those seeking a deeper narrative enriched with heavier Chinese culture and Buddhist themes. Personally, I love both dramas in different ways, but I must say SLY gave me greater satisfaction—perhaps because my art background, which made its cultural layers especially meaningful to me.
A Madman and a Hero: A Fated Song of Destiny, A Game of Chess in the Martial World, and a Righteousness for All Living Beings — Why "Water Dragon Chant" Becomes a New Benchmark for Hunan TV's Costume Dramas
(only capturing its performance on Hunan TV and Mango TV excluding MIGU)
Highlight:
• CSM data, SLY reached 2.838 billion views across all media platforms. TTL viewing hours is 384M hours (Note the also from Rating China report from 2024 the highest was 225M hours aired on CCTV8)
• Original fantasy world view, an ultimate expression of Eastern aesthetics and advanced IP ecosystem operation
• Achieve outstanding ratings on Hunan TV, multi-platform cross-border dissemination and in-depth cultural export, a typical example of innovative exploration of the costume drama genre.
• Leading the ratings by a wide margin, TLC fateful character setting locks in the core audience.
• Strong appeal and high viewer engagement.
• TLC is the core key to retaining the audience. Luo Yunxi accurately grasped the balance between the character's "divinity and chivalry," perfectly blending his "number one in the world" arrogance, his decisiveness in the face of enemies, and the chivalrous spirit hidden in his heart.
• The 847 sets handcrafted costumes incorporate more than 10 intangible cultural heritage techniques such as gold embroidery, velvet flowers, and cloud embroidery. The 222 intangible cultural heritage accessories are also exquisitely crafted. TLC "Unfathomable Fox Dragon" soft sword is handcrafted by an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage forging. The craftsmanship details of her kingfisher feather and beaded hair ornament will also be adjusted according to the changes in the character's mood.
• The Wandering Earth" CGI team creating an audiovisual experience that combines oriental artistic conception with cinematic quality.
• Multi-media resonance: Expanding reach across multiple platforms, high-energy data demonstrates superior communication power.
• Over 40 million people watched the campus-based creative frenzy, College Student addicted to SLY
• Big TV screen audience 104 million, and mobile/tablet audience 157 million, young users:46.08%, efficient coverage across multiple terminals and all age groups.
• SLY achieved deep cultural export. American netizens praised CGI as "comparable to Marvel," while German and Brazilian netizens were captivated by the character designs and costume aesthetics, forming a closed loop of overseas dissemination: "watching the series - researching historical facts - secondary creation."
• Age 25-44 account for more than half, other age groups is relatively balanced. Bachelor degree or above account for nearly 30%. Viewers prefer the emotional bonds and the thrill of redemption in the drama, its rigorous logic of power struggles in the martial arts world and its profound sense of destiny.
• Particularly noteworthy is that the series broke away from the industry's conventional thinking of "content first, derivatives later," establishing a full-chain operation path from the initial creation stage: "IP planning - series broadcast - simultaneous cultural tourism/derivatives."