Historical Dramas Club

I've seen the trailers for Pull Strings, same as you, not a big fan of the FL costume and style. (Maybe its the bangs?) I do think it's more of like an comedy, adventure kind of drama rather then romance.

Pretty surprised when you said Ao Rui Peng is not suited for romance though. I personally think his really good at it. Have you watched Moonlight Mystique or the Coroner's Dairy before? I think both of them are really good dramas that star Ao Rui Peng. 👍

Also pretty excited for The Noble, starring Chen Xing Xu and Li Yi Tong. But I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a long wait on the one, because filming just wrapped up on June 20th. But really all the dramas I'm waiting for has a long time until they air! 😓

Poppy1234:

I've seen the trailers for Pull Strings, same as you, not a big fan of the FL costume and style. (Maybe its the bangs?) I do think it's more of like an comedy, adventure kind of drama rather then romance.

Pretty surprised when you said Ao Rui Peng is not suited for romance though. I personally think his really good at it. Have you watched Moonlight Mystique or the Coroner's Dairy before? I think both of them are really good dramas that star Ao Rui Peng. 👍

Also pretty excited for The Noble, starring Chen Xing Xu and Li Yi Tong. But I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a long wait on the one, because filming just wrapped up on June 20th. But really all the dramas I'm waiting for has a long time until they air! 😓

I don't know, maybe some actresses look better in modern drama. Xu Ruo Han also looks quite bad in costume. I actually want to watch her upcoming drama with Zhou Ke Yu, but I better not.

To each their own; I watched Moonlight Mystique (with Bai Lu) and Wrong Carriage, Right Groom (with Tian Xi Wei) and I don't think there's deep feeling between Ao Rui Peng and them. Maybe there's something like 'oh this woman is interesting' kind of feeling, but that's it.

I previously skipped Coroner's Diary. I can't watch investigation costume drama non republican, unless it's more of human drama than investigation drama. Something like Justice Bao or Ripe Town. I also completed a few others like Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Under the Power and I've Fallen for You but I dropped pretty much everything else including Zhan Zhao Adventures, Unveil: Jadewind and Luoyang that all have my favorite actors. And the most popular ones I dropped may be Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty and The Longest Day in Chang'An. I also dropped your favorite actor Zhang Ling He's investigation drama (his debut drama?) after FL found out ML found out and not telling her about her father. I don't even remember he was the ML until my cousin tell me that he's handsome there since it was too long, I thought he was Wang Zi Qi. I mixed it up with Wang Zi Qi's investigation drama which I also dropped. Wow, I sounds so annoying dropping drama here and there. My bad, it's my bad habit.

VelvetLady852:

Hi @autumn iris, Iirc, Zhang Ling He's first drama is "Maiden Holmes", opposite Sabrina Chen.

I'm a fan of Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty series. So far, I like season 2 the most!

I also like "Mysterious Lotus Casebook' and "Luoyang". Story and acting are both very good, Imo 👍❤️!

I've also watched "Under the Power" and it's good, although the last few episodes felt rushed and anti-climactic. Some important events were not even shown, just mentioned, like they’re not significant. But it's still a good watch for me.

Ahaha, yeah that one. I'm a bit lazy searching for the title.

Seems like you like investigation dramas and Chinese dramas in general. I visit your profile and all your recent watches are Chinese titles. So loyal. Hehe

VelvetLady852:

Right now, my plate is already full with C-dramas (I still have catching up to do), so no room yet for the others.

I understand, I also neglected vertical dramas these days. I keep monitoring new releases but won't watch any this month.

VelvetLady852:

Hahaha! I have watched many K-dramas, HK dramas and Taiwanese dramas in the past, and some Filipino and Japanese dramas.

Wow, I never watch any Filipino dramas, ptw some but not anymore. Completed several movies, but I still prefer Chinese actors' visuals. Feeling familiar. Hehehe

I ended up watching Ao Rui Peng's Pull Strings ahaha. 3 episodes being released today on Youku and (supposedly) iQIYI China. It's more of absurd comedy more than anything else. Every scene and storyline were meant to be funny but some were funny, some were so-so, some weren't funny. But it's a lighthearted drama with some lessons regarding life and karma.

The drama protagonist was once terminally ill and died of accident (multiple manhua books falling onto his head after he fell from the hospital bed) so he's reborn to become an immortal in the manhua that was sent to the mortal world for a tribulation/to be exact solving the upcoming great tribulation/calamity that will (almost) destroy the earth (which should be Investiture of the Gods - you can check Deng Lun (maybe SML)'s unfinished drama, Gallen Lo's Gods of Honor or Yu Shi's movies (probably trilogy) Creation of the Gods I and II)). As he knew exactly what will happen in the manhua, he made a meticulous plan to avoid entanglement and karma to reach old ripen age and immortality but also making sure all storylines being done step by step. Which started with accepting a junior sister (cutie Chen Ai Mi) and teaching her to cultivate. Then he planned to do the second step. Episode 3 ended up with him finding the important stuff (thus completing second step) while silmutaneously making FL (Sun Zhen Ni) found it too. Seems like they had connection 36 years ago before he was sent to the mortal world.

Now I'll watch Zhong Qi/Forging Justice eps 21-22. It's really interesting imo. But it's more of law drama, so the mystery are barely there. Even when it's there, it's for the criminal case and for the future of criminal law rather than the mystery itself.

Completed The Diamond Sleeping in the Sea with Kamiki Ryunosuke set in 1955-2024. The drama mostly about the life of the coal miners, the company workers and their family in Hashima, now an uninhabitant island being tourist attraction because it's a UNESCO world heritage site. In the present time, an old woman asked a host who looked like her first love to date her, buying drinks in the host club. The host hated his job to the point he thrown his drink to his photo on the billboard, but he can't get out. The old woman wanted to help him just like his first love will help people in need. Then it went back to the past, in 1955 three childhood friends went back to Hashima after graduating college to work there. They being joined by another childhood friend who worked in her family cafetaria. There's also a new pretty woman coming to the island to work. This woman will be the driving factor of the story. The timeline will be back and forth between present time and past time, but the main theme is unrealized love. It's sad yet beautiful. A must-watch.

Also completed Forging Justice with Huang Jing Yu set in 1979-1997. As I already wrote about it so many times, this will be about the ending. The first wrongful conviction case that made ML decided to pursue law degree didn't get justice. I guess that imaginary dead defendant will still haunt him until death. What a pity. He also unnecessarily lost a precious person in one quick death. He'll probably will become a superhero if it's a Hollywood project. Other cases got its closing and the1997 revision was announced on TV with the charge of a few criminals being posted after the announcement + for wrongful conviction, all law enforcers involved will be punished accordingly. The other ML with grey personality got his happy ending, though he unfortunately can't move to Beijing (but his wife's back) as a result of the charge he pressed to the defendant of a case in which he planned to release due to the lack of evidence, but with outside force he can only charge that defendant immediate death penalty + financial penalty. So it's a wrongful conviction. Yet he's not changing the punishment rightaway after proven wrong (probably out of spite). Seems like he later got punished (could be losing his job as he's not wearing his uniform). Still, the scriptwriters love him and give him a rich pretty wife and a cute daughter. But anyway even with rushed ending, it's still a good drama. Worth watching.

I initially want to watch another angsty drama (2 more dramas to complete this month), but I think I need to watch something light first, so I start Thai rom-com Oops! I'm the Concubine with Peterpan. FL, with Chun Li's hairstyle, was a fanfiction author of ML's, Prince Keeran, harem story (he has 2 concubines from political marriage). This cause the prince and the authority to catch the wind and find her promoting her novel in the middle of the road animatedly did storytelling. Feeling familiar, the prince remember his late master once told him the same word as FL. (Could it be she's that master's daughter? I bet she is) Anyway ML will bring FL to the palace as a concubine according to the synopsis (not yet happened in episode 1). Seems like it'll be a fun ride.