it's been a while since i watched a chinese drama and i was hoping to get more recommendations. my only pet peeve with c-dramas is that i noticed a lot of the ones i watched were dubbed over which bothered me immensely. idk if that's true for most of them or if it just so happened to be the ones i watched but i really dislike watching dubbed shows as it's too distracting and takes away my enjoyment from it. i was wondering, are there any good c-dramas that aren't dubbed over? it could be from any genre, although i'd prefer if it had romance.

These are a few dramas I liked where as far as I know the main actors dubbed themselves (their own voices):

 ugh:
my only pet peeve with c-dramas is that i noticed a lot of the ones i watched were dubbed over which bothered me immensely. idk if that's true for most of them or if it just so happened to be the ones i watched but i really dislike watching dubbed shows as it's too distracting and takes away my enjoyment from it. i was wondering, are there any good c-dramas that aren't dubbed over?

Almost all C dramas either have post-production dubbing by professional voice actors or extensive automated dialogue replacement (ADR) where the original actors re-record their dialogue in post-production. Sometimes ADR is referred to as the original actors dubbing themselves (as emeraldarrows mentioned). I'm not aware of any C dramas with no dubbing or ADR / that exclusively use dialogue that was live-recorded when the original scene was filmed. 

This MDL article covers some of the reasons why it's so common for C dramas: https://kisskh.at/article/dubbing-in-chinese-dramas-how-did-i-come-to-love-it

This video also covers some of the reasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcRYGmzcWv8&ab_channel=AvenueX

One further reason is that this approach makes it easier to make post-production dialogue changes that are required due to government mandated censorship. If all of the dialogue is dubbed or ADR'ed, then it can more easily be re-dubbed or further ADR'ed. Dubbing done by a professional voice actor is often preferred by studios since a professional voice actor will be more likely to complete the re-dubbing in a more cost-efficient manner. 

Sometimes you can tell that a drama has been re-dubbed or ADR'ed for censorship reasons. For example, when a trailer comes out with a scene that has one version of dialogue only for the same scene in the actual aired version of the drama to have different, re-dubbed or ADR'ed dialogue that was pretty clearly changed due to censorship. That happened with the trailer for Lost You Forever.


 AH :
In the trailer (https://youtu.be/MnJ2JHkOnPE?si=0uPx9LzKjLErvfwS&t=179):

XY: If I marry you, does it mean we will never be apart for the rest of our lives?

CX: Yes! My father said that "husband and wife" are people who spend their lives together, never getting separated, no matter what happens.

XY: Then we have a deal. When I grow up, I will marry you and be your wife!

CX: Deal!

In the drama (Seaason 1, Episode 1, VK 23:16):

XY: Anyway, I'm used to living on Zhaoyun Peak. I will stay here and keep you company forever, okay?

CX: Okay. But you will grow up. You'll settle down and start a family. Eventually you'll have to leave Zhaoyun Peak and me.

XY: Eh. We won't ever be parted as long as I'm your little sister.

CX: Alright, you're my little sister! And I'm your older brother, forever. No matter what, we'll be together forever.

XY: Deal! Together forever. We will never be parted.

CX: Deal!



If you are open to dramas with ADR (where the original actors dub themselves / re-record their own voices), I have seen others mention that Lighter & Princess and The Story of Ming Lan used the original actors' voices and I enjoyed both of those dramas.