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Episode 12: A Masterclass in Drunkenness.

But isn't Master White adorable?

At episode 9 and at this point am impressed with the performance of both leads. So far, the story is no doubt compelling.

Episode 8 = eyegasm.

Eh the whole dynamic they've set up just doesn't suit Wang Churan... she's suited so far in Fireworks of My Heart though. I agree though in that I'm drawn more to the ML and the plot thus far, and the aesthetic in general, over the FL.

First 2 episodes were engaging... and the general aesthetic, the visuals, are memorable and striking - better than the other xianxia dramas I've seen (AoL, Blue Whisper, LBFAD, TTEOM). It's quite a feast for the eyes.

Is it even possible to watch this on iQIYI right now...

Go back and watch CP1. It's a brave story.

Wow that sucks. Must be region based as they are fine for me. I guess you'd have to try a VPN or a browser with an inbuilt VPN? I know there are free options but I can't actually help you there other than knowing they exist. The only other solution is to use a site like dramacool and the like, but the image quality will be much lower.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLShqORWiDquMpEUsV6Ff_9tReieErYDRT

Should be able to click on "[Username's] List" under their profile picture. (The way I rate dramas isn't typical though and is explained on my profile page.)

It's on Youtube, SBS World. It's alternatively titled "Roots of the Throne".

I originally watched it in lower quality elsewhere. The quality is very good on Youtube, but strangely the music changes on occasion compared to the version I watched. It's ALMOST the same, but on a few occasions throughout its 50 hour runtime a different track is selected to represent the scene (we're talking minimal instances - it just always struck me as strange that this would be the case... the original choices in those few instances are more fitting. Both versions contain all the same tracks though.)

(As it turns out, quite a few of these suggestions were already on my plan to watch, so those recs are now reinforced.)

Wow - amazing stuff!

Lot of food for thought here. I agree muchly with your description of what cinematography entails - it can't just be about pretty compositions or nice scenery. Often shots look beautiful but aren't carefully composed and aren't considered in terms of angles and depths. Good cinema often does its job in telling the story through the depiction of recurring motifs, symbols, pacing and rate of movement and panning, and effective mood setting with often visceral and impactful scene compositions, from just the pure sensate elements of form to marrying that up with the appropriate resonance of the moment. As you said, being careful with the selection of locations is very important, to find the essence in situ before even trying to frame it artistically and narratively with the camera.

I've watched most of LLTG (agree it has noteworthy cinema) as well as The Red Sleeve (IIRC very warm colour grading, very red and amber) and JOL, which didn't exactly make me take notice of the cinema like the other two if I'm being honest, however it is my fave ever Cdrama so far and I need seasons 2 and 3 already come on now...

Another drama I'm yet to finish but which impresses me in terms of the mix of the breathing room and breadth it offers in terms of the patient and poetically timed direction + cinema is TSOMLan.

On your comments on char dev - I hear you, and have heard others say similarly in terms of the shallow treatment of female chars, even those who are supposed to be leads or "strong", and in terms of lazy cliches and tropes which all too often drive development. Perhaps though I've been careful in my drama choices so far as to mainly avoid the issues though? I can think of one drama where the FL was needlessly spiralled into naivety towards the end and that's Dating in the Kitchen. Perhaps you could take a look at my watchlist and let me know if I have generally avoided the guilty examples? Or lemme know some good recs you enjoyed which were anyway tainted by such problems (too easily redeemed MLs, caricatured and simplified FLs and such) perhaps?

Have to say I generally enjoyed the kinda equal opportunity char dev in JoL and the insidious psychological derangement in TBKids. Recently watched TTEOTMoon... has its flaws but from a psychological and philosophical perspective I thought it was an interesting story in which neither love nor hate is clear and in which they have to reckon with things far bigger than merely romance between two people. Definitely a lot more complex and layered than LBFADevil.


"For me, good character development entails an individual showing up with a set of flaws that are reasonably lessened or buffed out through significant experiences, truly emphatic dialouge, self-awareness, and then self-discipline. Or, a character changes their perception of the world and themself through numerous valuable interactions and experiences with supporting characters." --- really well put. I think Six Flying Dragons shows an incredible development of Yi Bang-won, in which a transformation develops over such a span of time, always wrestling with how he wants to achieve his goals, skirting the thresholds of right and wrong. I can recommend trying this one out perhaps if and when you're in the mood for an epic historical drama which covers the events of a seismic transition of dynasties, with a sprawling scope. (Real history in terms of landmark events, but several fictional characters.)

Thanks for all these recs and I'll definitely be adding a bunch. Wasn't expecting such a detailed reply and frankly you made my night haha.


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Also, The Bad Kids had very impressive and striking cinematography with eye-catching locations given the setting. Also created great mystery and reflected the psychological progression of the ML in particular.

I have habit of memeing with spaced all-caps recently (maybe a habit I should drop lol). To me, placement is critical to quality, otherwise the OST would be incongruous despite any more intrinsic merit the music might have per se. I'm still curious about your outlook on comparisons of OSTs with different approaches but all right we'll leave it there.

I wonder if you could offer me one thing though? You're a cinematography and character dev maven... any recs for the best in those two areas? (One that impressed me a lot for cinema was Dream of Splendor). Maybe I've scared you off maybe I haven't, but in any case, good day right back at ya. 👍🏽

No doubt. It's unusual for me to see such a big discrepancy in score between MDL (a site I find to be generally trash for ratings) and Douban, in favour of the Douban score. BUT the Douban score is a shocker because, yeh, they are generally way more critical, but 9.1 over there is super freakin' high for a mainland production. Pretty sure that's easily the highest score I've seen by far for any Chinese drama on my lists. Have seen higher ratings for some Kdramas, but the Douban crowd are less critical of outside productions than their own.

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(Watched some 后宫·甄嬛传 and 琅琊榜 also which have 9.4 Douban scores - wow. Jumped the gun.)

I mean you're the one who seems impassioned. I just wanted a discussion, but you responded tersely to the original reply. If your point is that the paradigm has shifted in how OSTs are synergised with production rather than suggesting one way is better than another, then fair enough. Naturally, placement is critical in any overall judgment of an OST (hence why I found your response quite confusing) because its primary job is to reflect, resonate and amplify sentiment, the calling of a moment, and general vibes, as well as to mesh with the holistic vision of the production, with production conventions of course changing over time. As for the "braindead" comment, I'm not sure at all what you mean there. I find it easy to compare OSTS in terms of general effectiveness across genres and/or eras and don't find it to be a braindead exercise - after all, I know if I like an OST or not and if I found it effective. Perhaps you could clarify what you mean there? Then I can respond to that point futher.

I obviously included this in my judgment. My only issue is some sound balance issues and some pretty low fidelity sounds, ergo sound engineering and production. The P L A C E M E N T S are generally more satisfactory than average. After watching The Blue Whisper, this OST is manna from heaven.

This whole thing is playing out with the cadence of a classic JRPG... which makes sense given it's inspired by a CRPG. And is it my imagination or is a sound effect from Suikoden used in this when the fake monk becomes Ling'er's companion? I'm guessing nobody here will know anyway, as I'm being way too old school.

Eh this OST takes a massive dump on most modern Chinese costume dramas, quite frankly. Far more evocative, a lot less vanilla, a lot more fun, and with classic RPG vibes.

Any breathing in this one? Not a fan of breathing. Unhappy endings are fine though.