MagnoliaCream

I'm also surprised about the bullying part. I didn't really think that wealth holds a lot of power in a communist nation. But what I understand about the bullying is that there are people with powerful backers who don't want him to succeed as much as he has succeeded. And it's actually easy to see proofs of this happening. As you've noticed, the rating of this drama does not indicate how much loved it is. It seems there are so-called black campaign armies that may be hired to downrate dramas. Compared to other shows with higher ratings, Dylan's shows deserve no less. For example, I found Meteor Garden and The Rational Life better than a lot of dramas that have higher ratings.

This was a big hit in China. It's the first A-level (low-budget) drama that reached the broadcast level of S+ (high-budget) dramas. Dylan Wang achieved the second highest Vlinkage character index ever as Xiao Duo with an index of 9.16. I think the highest is Xiao Zhan.

Ratings in MDL and streaming apps have been sabotaged by antis. Dylan has been suffering from bullying since he started in 2018 because he does not have family wealth nor powerful backers.

It seems scholars are happy about it. It appears a lot of Chinese don't know how their ancestors used to live during that time and this drama is depicting that period correctly. Some antis were heckling the drama on social media for showing students playing basketball. They didn't know people really did those things at that time. So typical... being an anti due to ignorance

'Hope he does not get corrupted by this nasty, dirty world of showbiz. May he, instead, shed light on his antis on the proper way to treat other people. If more people would become as sunny and good-hearted as he is, what a wonderful world that would be 🥰

Apparently, this is being rebroadcasted in China. Turns out, according to this Twitter post, this drama has attained #1 historical drama cvb rating for Jiangsu Satellite TV, despite not being promoted well due to its sensitive subject matter:
https://twitter.com/centroyals/status/1656891930708516868

'Hope the production team also supplies subtitles for international viewers 🥰

he is an extraordinary guy - with good looks, great attitude and lots of talent

I think current events made the drama even more sensitive. It seems Dylan instead had an interview where he said actors should not only depend on looks but talent

And the way he was looking at Huajun when they reunited, man, it's a wonder she did not melt on the spot 🤣 I'm awestruck at how such a young person can emote such deep feelings so eloquently and powerfully with just the expression on his eyes and face.

I think Ami was staying on because of their child. But now that it's gone, maybe she will.

Wenjie needs to pay for his crimes.

Pachinko won the prestigious Peabody Awards:
https://www.starnewskorea.com/foreign/starViewEng.html?no=2023051113556942635

According to Peabody Awards:
"When Min Jin Lee’s book Pachinko was first published back in 2017, its cover soon became ubiquitous wherever you went. The life and family history of Kim Sunja—which spanned much of the twentieth century and captured a history of colonialism and immigration in Japan, Korea and the United States—gripped readers who welcomed such a complex tale of being and belonging. Adapting the bestseller for the small screen armed with a cast that included not only recent Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung but the likes of Lee Min-ho, Soo Hugh developed Pachinko into a handsome period piece that tenderly traces an intergenerational saga that begins in Japan-occupied Korea in the 1920s and splinters its aching melodrama plots in the lifetimes that follow, playfully putting that titular matching game at its center. Directed by Kogonada and Justin Chon with an eye and ear for the often clashing, often complementary cultures conjured in this story of memory and survival, this literate adaptation grounds painful histories in heartrending tales of love and loss. For depicting a sweeping, decades-spanning family history that feels intimately personal and gloriously epic in equal measure, and for presenting a global, forward-thinking vision of contemporary television that defies borders while telling culturally specific tales, Pachinko wins a Peabody."

I'm watching here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uodKw5H7yyg. You'll need to set the subtitles.

I had expected this to be boring. After all, it's about school administrators , teachers and students during wartime. To my pleasant surprise, it's so interesting I always want more when the end credits start rolling. If this is propaganda, I have to say it's quite effective. At the least, it's upending my old views of communists. Who knew they placed so much stock on cultural knowledge that they would die to preserve books and other educational tools?

Jiashu's integrity and noble heart are so steadfast, his friends would not believe what villainous characters accuse him of.

When Huajun told the police that Jiashu is an ordinary student but there are always people who frame him, it struck me that life is imitating art.

In real life, when a few netizens started to accuse Dylan of some misdemeanor, his friends and other people who worked with him rose quickly to his defense. That's the true measure of a good man.

Wenjie the weasel passing the blame of Ami's miscarriage to Jiashu 🤬 Good on Ami for telling him off. I also applaud Huajun for telling the police Jiashu is an ordinary student but people frame him.

Btw, was it Wenjie who burned Yuerong's car?

True. It's jarring to view the side I grew up to believe as the heroes being the villains now and those I've been brought up to believe as villains being the heroes. However, no matter which side he is in, I think Wenjie will always be a villain. His heart is plain black. And Jiashu and Runming will always be heroes. Their hearts are plain noble.

This is such an eye-opener for me, having grown up in an environment sympathetic to the villains of this drama. It's quite fascinating looking at these events from the point of view of the "other" side.

oic. the auto-translation must be abbreviating it.

The clothes, shoes and sack look like those of Xiao Wu's uncle who said he was bringing mended clothes to Mr Feng.

Hahaha! He reminds me of Cao Chun Ang in Unchained Love 🤣

I don't think he has a conscience or shame. He wasn't even bothered when he got caught talking about cutting the wires in the auditorium. And taking advantage of drunk Amei is revolting. He only started getting interested in her when he found out her family is rich and powerful.