Bao Bao Empire
*I Am Nobody* is a shonen from the *Enen no Shouboutai* school. Like *Fire Force*, it crosses off all the tropes of the genre with a knowing wink to the audience. I suppose it’s a bit like wrassling in that regard. It works if you think it’s real or know it isn’t.
Ahem!
Decades ago, the *Heishen Incident* caused immense upheaval in the world of The Outsiders — the show’s hidden class of meta-humans. A shadowy sect hopes to uncover the truth of the incident in its quest for power. The universe’s policing organisation is mobilising to stop them, and the key to all that might be an orphaned boy — a loser, naturally — named Zhang Chu Lan.
So far, so cliched. But the execution is really what sets this show apart. The mad lads snuck in allusions to *Lord of the Rings* and *Mob Psycho* in the first thirty minutes. That reeled me in and kept me enthralled for twenty-seven
episodes as the creators unpacked their Matryoshka Dolls plot.
* Who are the Outsiders?
* What do they want with Zhang Chu Lan?
* Who are the world’s power players?
* What happened in the Heishen Incident?
* Where did Feng Bao Bao come from?
The show provides satisfying answers to all those questions. Along the way, we get the usual side plots revolving around the themes of parvenus and old money, uneasy child-parent relationships, the consequences of the unethical pursuit of power, and, of course, the power of friendship—which was the point all along.
In terms of characterisation, this is a classic deuteragonist plot. Bao Bao and Chu Lan stand on the shoulders of giants like Naruto and Sasuke, Gon and Killua and — hear me out — All Might and Endeavour (*I suppose Midoriya and Bakugo in the new generation*). I wrote All Might and Endeavour because although Chu Lan is powerful in his own right, Bao Bao is basically this show’s One Punch Lass. It’s a Batman and Superman situation.
Their dynamic works because although we’re introduced to Chu Lan first, and he’s the show’s primary POV character, Bao Bao is its main character. However, she’s one of those flat, killer-bot-type characters —think Akame, as in ga kill, Hei from *Darker than Black* or Angie from *Princess Principal — *so Chu Lan’s dynamism is necessary to maintain the show’s rapid pace.
A quartet completes the lead duo. We’ve got *Zhang Lin Yu,* a monk who envies Chu Lan his virginity (*no worries, he later achieves enlightenment. Amitabha!*). Wang Ye is a Daoist plagued by visions and one of the universe’s strongest characters. Zhuge Qin is an idol descended from Kongming. He used to think he was the strongest until he met Wang Ye. Ye and Qin basically exist to sate BL-stans. *Please, random boomercrat, let the BL-stans have their shows again*! Make bros **just** bros again, damn it, boomercrat! Despite not seeing their point, I admit they consistently have the show’s most creative fight scenes! Ahem! also, *in the straightest possible way, hou ming hao is like a porcelain vase catching the first rays of sunlight rising above the horizon. like, dude! get out here being that handsome.* Ahem!
There’s also Lv Liang who’s just. . .annoying!
The show’s got a whole ensemble cast who mostly feature in its Chunnin Exam arc (*the show’s best, IMO*). The powers, albeit low-budget, are interesting. And that’s a testament to the vision of the director, Hong Yu Xu. I’m typically biased against Chinese live-action adaptations of animated shows. I’d previously always seen them as idol-laden cash grabs. This changed my mind. It’s a show with heart. All the actors aren’t world-beaters, and the final reveal ultimately turned out to have low stakes. But none of that mattered because the world Mr Hong Yu brought on screen managed to feel so alive! That's no mean feat, and I doff my hat to him.
*I Am Nobody* is like no Chinese drama I’ve seen before. Thankfully, season two is now airing. I hope for more of the same. You won't have wasted your time watching the first season.
Ahem!
Decades ago, the *Heishen Incident* caused immense upheaval in the world of The Outsiders — the show’s hidden class of meta-humans. A shadowy sect hopes to uncover the truth of the incident in its quest for power. The universe’s policing organisation is mobilising to stop them, and the key to all that might be an orphaned boy — a loser, naturally — named Zhang Chu Lan.
So far, so cliched. But the execution is really what sets this show apart. The mad lads snuck in allusions to *Lord of the Rings* and *Mob Psycho* in the first thirty minutes. That reeled me in and kept me enthralled for twenty-seven
episodes as the creators unpacked their Matryoshka Dolls plot.
* Who are the Outsiders?
* What do they want with Zhang Chu Lan?
* Who are the world’s power players?
* What happened in the Heishen Incident?
* Where did Feng Bao Bao come from?
The show provides satisfying answers to all those questions. Along the way, we get the usual side plots revolving around the themes of parvenus and old money, uneasy child-parent relationships, the consequences of the unethical pursuit of power, and, of course, the power of friendship—which was the point all along.
In terms of characterisation, this is a classic deuteragonist plot. Bao Bao and Chu Lan stand on the shoulders of giants like Naruto and Sasuke, Gon and Killua and — hear me out — All Might and Endeavour (*I suppose Midoriya and Bakugo in the new generation*). I wrote All Might and Endeavour because although Chu Lan is powerful in his own right, Bao Bao is basically this show’s One Punch Lass. It’s a Batman and Superman situation.
Their dynamic works because although we’re introduced to Chu Lan first, and he’s the show’s primary POV character, Bao Bao is its main character. However, she’s one of those flat, killer-bot-type characters —think Akame, as in ga kill, Hei from *Darker than Black* or Angie from *Princess Principal — *so Chu Lan’s dynamism is necessary to maintain the show’s rapid pace.
A quartet completes the lead duo. We’ve got *Zhang Lin Yu,* a monk who envies Chu Lan his virginity (*no worries, he later achieves enlightenment. Amitabha!*). Wang Ye is a Daoist plagued by visions and one of the universe’s strongest characters. Zhuge Qin is an idol descended from Kongming. He used to think he was the strongest until he met Wang Ye. Ye and Qin basically exist to sate BL-stans. *Please, random boomercrat, let the BL-stans have their shows again*! Make bros **just** bros again, damn it, boomercrat! Despite not seeing their point, I admit they consistently have the show’s most creative fight scenes! Ahem! also, *in the straightest possible way, hou ming hao is like a porcelain vase catching the first rays of sunlight rising above the horizon. like, dude! get out here being that handsome.* Ahem!
There’s also Lv Liang who’s just. . .annoying!
The show’s got a whole ensemble cast who mostly feature in its Chunnin Exam arc (*the show’s best, IMO*). The powers, albeit low-budget, are interesting. And that’s a testament to the vision of the director, Hong Yu Xu. I’m typically biased against Chinese live-action adaptations of animated shows. I’d previously always seen them as idol-laden cash grabs. This changed my mind. It’s a show with heart. All the actors aren’t world-beaters, and the final reveal ultimately turned out to have low stakes. But none of that mattered because the world Mr Hong Yu brought on screen managed to feel so alive! That's no mean feat, and I doff my hat to him.
*I Am Nobody* is like no Chinese drama I’ve seen before. Thankfully, season two is now airing. I hope for more of the same. You won't have wasted your time watching the first season.
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