CKR_10

Everything you said is incorrect. His non idol dramas are exactly why he has reached his current position and secured his future in the industry. They’ve proven that he can handle a wide range of roles and still succeed. He’s already ahead of many idol actors who continue doing idol dramas well into their 30s. It’s only a matter of time before those actors are replaced by younger faces, whereas Bai’s influence and career won’t be affected by age. He’s built popularity and credibility with the general audience, not by relying on romance idol dramas targeted at teenage girls.

any source?

Hi, As I said before its not a idol romance drama so its realistic in a lots of ways with a more of slice of life storytelling similar to reply 1988. With that out of the way, I will try to answer to your questions one by one, first couple (wang anyu-guan xiaotong char) second couple (fang chengcheng-lu yuxiao char)

1. Yes (both couples), My rating was a 10 and there are only 6 to 7 dramas out of 150+ watched I have given 10 rating. With three being cdramas. This drama was very successful in china and has a very high douban rating of 8.4.
2. No Love Triangles for both the couples
3. There is little to no angst for the first couple but the second couple does have angst but I can't put in terms of ratio
4. First couple in mid 20's I think, second couple in mid 30s
5. First couple don't breakup, they are always been close together since they were children so don't think any reason could have made them break up, second couple do breakup in early 20s episodes during their college days then they start meeting again in early 30s episodes when they start working after graduation
6. No misunderstanding for the first couple, for the second couple I don't call it a misunderstanding as second female lead intentionally avoids the second male lead due to her family situation, this causes misunderstanding from the second male lead side that the second female lead is avoiding him due to not liking him, As for when it happens check the above breakup point, this ties into that.
7. Plot is a slice of life story where two families move to the same neighbourhood, all the leads are children at the beginning and it takes a while for them to grow up, a lot of comedy and humor is present in first part of the show.
8. The first couple chemistry is very realistic and have a lot of fluff/heartwarming moments, I was neutral on the second couple, their chemistry was good initially but after the break up and misunderstanding I did not care that much whether they get together or not as I did feel like second male lead gets ghosted for multiple years despite not doing anything wrong so I did not think the second female lead deserve the second male lead irrespective of her family troubles, she should have been upfront with him instead of avoiding and ghosting him throughout their remaining college years

This is probably one of the last truly authentic wuxia series that still captures the spirit of 1990s Hong Kong wuxia dramas. It features outstanding martial arts choreography, a classic adventure driven story, romance, and a charismatic male lead who naturally charms several women but ultimately forms a deep bond with only one female lead.

Romance in the alley, Its more of a family drama but it has decent amount of romance

I saw some news that Disney+ has acquired the streaming rights in some countries, this is probably the reason it has been removed from WeTv in those countries

How can he be considered a great actor when most of his leading roles are stiff, CEO-type characters? His strongest performances have always been in supporting roles, and being a good supporting actor doesn’t automatically mean he can carry a production as the male lead. On top of that, he’s been in the industry for many years with plenty of projects under his belt, yet he still hasn’t had a true breakthrough as a main male lead and at this stage in his career, he’s unlikely to get many opportunities in idol dramas.

She contributes primarily by serving as the male lead’s love interest that’s the point I was making. It’s a male centric drama focused mainly on the male lead, and the other characters exist to support his story. The female lead’s role is essentially limited to being his love interest.;anything beyond that is simply a bonus for the character.

Childish voice? You mean like almost every other idol C-drama. In romance idol dramas it’s even worse. This is a male centric drama, so of course the female lead is written to appeal to the male target audience. It’s no different from female centric or romance dramas where the male leads are written as wooden as possible. Do you really think men watch those dramas and go, ‘Wow, what an amazing male character’? lol.

The male lead dies few years before his kingdom gets invaded I believe, so maybe the drama will end before his inevitable death to give a happy ending. This show is better than Legend of Qin and that's probably why they are trying to adapt this.

I have watched the animation so I can give some spoilers about male lead character. The male lead is portrayed as smart and handsome prince but is very weak regarding martial arts and no he wasn't hiding his strength or something like that. His character also doesn't have romance from what I remember and it will be a sad ending for his character as well. It's a good show but his character not having any fighting scenes was kinda let down so not sure whether I want cfy to take this role or not

I think losing his sister broke him. Improving her life was always his immediate priority, which is why he took odd tech jobs in the earlier episodes to earn money. His work on improving cancer survival rates, on the other hand, was more of a long-term goal. He wanted to protect his sister because she was his only family, and knowing she was in an abusive relationship made him even more protective. That sense of responsibility fell on him, but her death—caused indirectly by him—was a devastating blow that could shatter anyone, no matter how intelligent. Let’s also remember that he helped his classmates cheat to raise money for his mother’s treatment, fully aware he could be expelled if caught. Family always came first for him. So, despite appearing calm and highly intelligent throughout the show, he is deeply emotional and has been silently carrying the weight of these injustices for years

I think losing his sister broke him. Improving her life was always his immediate priority, which is why he took odd tech jobs in the earlier episodes to earn money. His work on improving cancer survival rates, on the other hand, was more of a long-term goal. He wanted to protect his sister because she was his only family, and knowing she was in an abusive relationship made him even more protective. That sense of responsibility fell on him, but her death caused indirectly by him was a devastating blow that could shatter anyone, no matter how intelligent. Let’s also remember that he helped his classmates cheat to raise money for his mother’s treatment, fully aware he could be expelled if caught. Family always came first for him. So, despite appearing calm and highly intelligent throughout the show, he is deeply emotional and has been silently carrying the weight of these injustices for years

The age gap is intentional, as the novel features a young male lead and a 400-year-old, mature female lead. So please don’t make assumptions before the drama airs or before you've read the novel.

I have plenty of other examples as well, but I mentioned those because they’re the most popular male centric dramas in recent years. I’ve been watching C-dramas since 2017, and I hadn’t seen this trend before 2020 the success of The Untamed and Word of Honor likely played a major role in its rise.

I don't blame the original novels for this issue, as they were written in different historical periods. The problem lies more with the scriptwriters who adapt these stories for modern audiences. They often alter key character traits to better align with the preferences of their target demographic in this case, younger Chinese viewers. If that audience prefers female characters who act childlike or overly naive to appear "cute," then unfortunately, viewers outside that demographic may just have to look elsewhere.

Wuxia dramas often follow a journey or adventure storyline, where the male protagonist grows stronger, defeats evil, forms deep brotherly bonds, and eventually falls in love with a beautiful female character. It's a mix of fantasy and wish fulfillment, primarily aimed at a male audience.

If it had only happened once, I would have agreed. But I've seen the same pattern in Blood of Youth, Dashing Youth, Guardians of Dafeng, and the recent Legend of Zang Hai. As for the point 'she injured Qiu Shui for no reason' honestly, this kind of scene shows up in almost every costume drama. It's a classic trope where the female lead stabs or hurts the male lead in some way, yet I don't see anyone hating the female leads in those dramas for it.

I find it quite unsettling that, whenever I check the comment sections of male-centric dramas, many viewers mostly women tend to interpret these shows as BL simply because they can't self insert due to the lack of a main female lead. Since BL dramas are banned, they seem to use these male focused stories as a substitute. But the truth is, most wuxia dramas have always included romantic subplots. In fact, all of Jin Yong’s novels featured strong romantic elements, which heavily influenced the development of the wuxia genre overall.

Another pattern I’ve noticed is how these same viewers often criticize the romance in these dramas as poorly written, express dislike toward the female characters, and instead ship the male lead with the second or third male characters. This trend seems less about the actual writing and more about projecting a desire for BL dynamics where none were intended.

Name the instances/situations then, If you can't then yourself don't know the meaning of those words your speaking of