This ruined every other cdrama for me help

I came in for the BL...
... stayed and cried for Yunmeng bros and Xiao Xingchen...
... ended with listening to Jiggy rapping on repeat.
(Yes, I know Zhu Zhanjin isn't the one singing, but HIS CHARACTER SONG THO)
It's actually my first wuxia/xianxia drama! I actually read the manhua instead of the novel (Scum Villain is the first and current novel of mxtx I'm reading right now, but that's for another review), but I've seen the novel spoilers on tumblr and twitter (not that there's much of a difference) so to quote that one tumblr user,
"CQL/The Untamed is basically two guys falling in love, breaking up and getting back together while playing detective. MDZS is basically Pride and Prejudice in comparison."
For novel/manhua/both readers it's an adaptation that takes a few liberties, but mostly stays faithful to the novel. For newbies tho, rest assured, I watched the drama first and it's enjoyable on its own. The romance between the two is subtext, and somehow they upped the gay and got that past the radar, all the while presenting WangXian as "two bros standing on a staircase, two feet apart cuz they're not gay :)"
Firstly, kudos to the writers for handling the murder-mystery plot and the relationships properly. And a big kudos to the actors too. Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo gave life to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, and I was especially impressed by Yibo making a whole ass meal out of the few lines he was given to portray a stoic character with his expressions and body language. Xiao Zhan's portrayal of WWX going from carefree young man to Screwed Over By The Universe to Back Again With A Bang was so natural and so good, you wouldn't believe these two are rookie idol actors.
From the supporting cast, Zhu Zhanjin (Jin Guangyao), Guo Cheng (Lan Jingyi), Wang Haoxuan (Xue Yang) and Wang Zhuocheng (Jiang Cheng) really stood out. The supporting cast as a whole really played their part well, if you can overlook the occasional bits of overacting (Wang Yizhou's especially, though he did Nie Mingjue well).
The drama was directed so well, seeing the death of the characters we KNEW were dead in the beginning still sucker punched me in the guts. Guys, there's a whole roster of character songs too, please listen to them and come cry with me over Yi City once you're done T_T

Read More

It is literally bollywood but better

Summary: Local mafia man comes to Korea and gets into civil war with a corrupt conglomerate and equally corrupt law firm while he tries to smuggle gold out of the country

This is the most hilarious crime drama I've seen and I felt it really balanced the dark stuff and the comedy well. The casting is spot on and the humor is so over dramatic that the writers took refuge in audacity while writing the script. It's funny to see Vincenzo fighting pigeons and being a fake shaman with a straight face, but the show at the end of the day reminds you that this is a cold blooded mafia man who you do NOT want to fuck with if you want to keep your heads on.

The villains here are deliciously despicable. Jang Han Seok is a complete psychopathic manchild and Choi Myung Hee is a terrifyingly successful dragon (no, not literal)/consigliere to Han Seok. And while I didn't feel devastated for Jang Han Seo, I did feel sorry for him. Poor guy needs a drink and a better life, sheesh. (yo SK, what is up with you and killing off little bro characters these days, huh???)

Jeon Yeo Been is just amazing as Hong Cha Young (her character looks like her audition tape for the role of Poo from K3G jdgfjhs) and she and Song Joong Ki have excellent chemistry. The romance tag may be a little misleading because you don't get any major overt romance scenes other than the fake proposal and the end when Vincenzo comes back from Malta. The chemistry comes from their partnership which is seamlessly carried out and it gets a logical conclusion in the end (its a bittersweet ending, fair warning)

I was not completely on board with the Geumga plaza sub plot because they kept it relevant, but the humor in the gold searching scenes felt a little dragged out for my tastes. But the acting is top notch and at the end of the day you really get the found family vibes coming from them.

Why you must watch: If you're a fan of over the top humor played straight (local mafia man gets saved by pigeon gang, no I'm not making this up), dark content (there is fair amounts of on screen blood, torture and off screen skin peeling) and a cerebus rollercoaster plot, this show is for you.

Read More