CurlyFries

IKR! I feel so dumb because I just KNOW if I were in Chiaki's shoes I wouldn't be able to tell a noticeable difference either. I feel sad that I was spoiled on the twist in Ep 1 via YouTube Shorts because I think it would've been fun to see if I could tell they are the same person right off the bat or not. Enaga's actor is amazing in the role and I really feel like I'm viewing two entirely different people so whenever he has his thoughts in his head about almost getting caught it reminds me that he IS in fact Ae.

I agree on wanting a villain monologue about his identity LOL. As for it getting a second season, that is incredibly unlikely since it's based off of a short manga that is only about the length of this show. In fact, I'd say this show feels a bit longer and a few extra scenes are thrown in that aren't in the manga.

I spent a little bit writing this review but I wrote it immediately after finishing the show so my memory was still fresh. I always try to list the good and bad when I make a review, so that was a given. I did enjoy it but I couldn't look past some of the negatives I listed.

And not to be a know it all, but it says my review has 0 likes so I think either my system or yours is bugging. ¯\(°_o)/¯

I get that; it is definitely an acquired taste. Unfortunately, Thousand Autumns has no manhwa so the novel is the best thing. Well that or the drama CD which might interest you.

Sure! Let me know what you think afterward if you would like.

One long reply coming up!

Yeah, I can recount the thousand reasons so well since I read like 4/5 novels of it like 2 years ago. For some reason, my brain retained a lot of the negative plot points over any of the good ones so it's easy to recall Hua Cheng's terrible characterization since he carried about 80% of those bad plot points haha 😬.

Yeah I loved him in season 1 of the show yet lost all interest when I made the foolish decision to pick up the novel after hearing about "how good it is." Ugh. What a way to ruin a perfectly good character, which was surprising since the author's previous story had a well-written love interest that didn't exist solely for the main character. The main character also had a personality and clear flaws too, unlike Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng died at around 15 as a human and then went through two different ghost lives. I have no idea why he looks the way he does and I don't think its ever explained well either. He's just insanely hot for no reason, and yet he thinks of himself of absolutely hideous despite his true form being a tall and sexy man! I couldn't stand that Y/N boyfriend writing of him where he can only find a smidgen of himself attractive when his significant other says he is! He almost became a heavenly official at one point when he was reborn as a stronger ghost like his current appearance, but rejected the offer since he hated them for what *some* of them did to Xie Lian. Speaking of, he had such a petty view on Jun Wu, the all-father of heaven and for shallow reasons that a 10 year old would have toward their teacher. He despised him just because he performed his duty and banished Xie Lian when Xie Lian attacked him and broke the rules, even though Jun Wu was actually merciful towards him since it was made clear that Xie Lian was always his favorite. But then what does the author do? They prove Hua Cheng right by making Jun Wu the last minute super villain of the entire overarching story! Anything bad that happened in the story? Jun Wu's evil alter-ego's doing! Blegh, what nonsense! Ruined one of the few people that was decent to Xie Lian just to make Hua Cheng look more appealing.

Yeah they should've met in the present time, with Hua Cheng just chilling in the human realm for a short time and hops on the wagon and coincidentally meets Xie Lian and hits it off with him and decides to stick around since he is so "unbusy" (despite being the literal GHOST KING!!!!) That would've been far more romantic than "I've been stalking you since I was a child and I made a shrine and literal giant ravine of statues of you in compromising positions and literally everything about my appearance is based on your little likes so please acknowledge me senpai~!" It's honestly disturbing to read when it's put into perspective like that. I've noticed that I've grown tired of the trope of "we secretly knew each other as kids" to enhance a romantic relationship. It only works when it is made clear and an established plot point early on and actually betters the story and not added in just for fan service.

His overpowered-ness was really frustrating to read and I lost it when he could just single-handedly box ANY heavenly official and not break a sweat. Like, seriously? How is this guy NOT running heaven yet with that level of power? Make it make sense. The way he talks down on the ruler of heaven, Jun Wu, just to make him look cool is also just really lame. What's even lamer is that Jun Wu was only shown to help Xie Lian up until that point, so Hua Cheng is just belittling his crush's only real mentor figure left in his life. That's like insulting his dad just to show that you are the "bigger man." Ew. What was even more annoying is that he could make conflicts *so* much shorter if just got off his ass and solved the fights, yet chooses not to until the last minute even if Xie Lian could've really used the help! Then he acts all concerned that Xie Lian has a booboo as if Hua Cheng couldn't have just, I don't know, defeated the enemy for him!? One scene that particularly irked me was I think in the beginning of novel 3, Xie Lian is on a solo mission and ends up almost drowning and Hua Cheng *only* intervenes last second just to press his mouth to Xie Lian's to "share air" as if he couldn't just bring him to the surface with his ultra speed and butterflies! He just wanted to cop a feel, I swear! Then he has the audacity to act all apologetic afterward. He also only shares spiritual power through kissing, when that is NOT the only way to do it in the story! Feng Xin shared it through the hands, so why couldn't he??? He also records his and Xie Lian's intimate moments with his butterflies (because apparently THAT needed to be a function of them for some reason despite it being in ancient China) WITHOUT Xie Lian's knowing nor consent! WTF!!! The flirting was so ill-timed too, I agree with you that they needed to read the room. Hua Cheng doesn't care about anyone else who is in the room, and Xie Lian pretends to care but ultimately doesn't attempt to do anything to maintain decency around others when Hua Cheng is involved; so in my eyes he is just as responsible and bad as Hua Cheng.

Yeah, he has zero friends and BARELY any acquaintances that he isn't a borderline enemy with. His frenemyship with He Xuan COULD have been interesting, but it's left extremely vague and never explained just what exactly they were up to in the Black Water arc. He also ended up helping He Xuan murder a heavenly official and nearly murder another one that is friends with Xie Lian, yet him and Xie Lian don't seem to feel a morsel of guilt and just overlook all of the trauma that poor guy now has and is trapped in the human realm for an eternity with! Wow, what a great friend you are, Xie Lian! ¯\_( ͠° ͟ʖ ͠°)_/¯

The "saving my virginity for 800 years for my crush" was also mad weird and made zero sense. You have a sex drive, are insanely attractive, have been separated from your "true love" (that doesn't even know you exist nor are you in a relationship of any kind OTHER than god and devotee) for 800 years and have tons of people that are interested in you....yet choose to remain a faithful virgin? Please. Get out of here with that. I remember once a few years ago on a TikTok that I said maybe he practiced his moves on ghosts that could transform to look like Xie Lian or something, and people nearly jumped me in the comment section because their "beloved Hua Cheng" would never do something so "indecent to his Dianxia." Like, what? He was CONFIRMED by the author have good skills in bed. The excuse people gave of "he read some books" does NOT explain how he can be so good despite being HEAVILY inexperienced. Oh yeah, there was also the near-sexual experience between a very underage Hua Cheng and Xie Lian in the flashbacks that I think the author may have joked about (or the translator I am not sure) with the whole sex pollen in a cave plot that was really icky. Ew. The harpies teased Hua Cheng that he would "never taste this fruit (as in Xie Lian) for 800 years" and I guess Hua Cheng took that seriously since he never did ANYTHING until those 800 years were up lmao. At least Xie Lian being an inexperienced virgin makes sense since he is a god and that ties into that and all. But a running theme with this author is that ALL of her couples are virgins when they get together and that really doesn't sit right with me because despite them being past their twenties they have no experience and that really screams "purity culture" to me. I personally think Hua Cheng would have been far more attractive if he had experience and would make sense why he has so much sex appeal and skills in the story. But, nope. He has to remain "pure."

Qi Rong was always crazy and a bad person, yes, but at least he owned it? Hua Cheng is portrayed as the nice guy yet Qi Rong is painted horribly despite them both being bad people by the present time of the story. OH YEAH LMAO THE KIDNAPPING ARC!!! Xie Lian saw how awful his behavior was too yet never tried to check it even after he nearly killed a kid Hua Cheng and we are just supposed to believe that Hua Cheng would love Xie Lian so much and that Qi Rong hating Xie Lian is unfounded? What nonsense. He continued to treat you bad BECAUSE you never attempted to fix his bad behavior DESPITE knowing that he only listens to you! Terrible mentoring! That terrible mentoring carries on even later on as the Tutor or whatever he was in that Ban Yue arc and old kingdom arc. Qi Rong dragging Xie Lian was deserved since someone had to do it and who else other than the person that knows Xie Lian best. He saw firsthand how much of a hypocrite Xie Lian was and ran with it and I loved that about him. He's also funny as fuck down the line in the novel as well. Loved how he looked like a zesty gremlin too!

I think you should! I have read 4/5 of the novels and I really liked the character development and reveals. The main love interest can be a bit insufferable though, just a fair warning. I still think he is well-written and doesn't fall into the pit-fall that characters like Hua Cheng and Hua Yong do where their only personality traits have to do with their love interests. There is a donghua adapted from the novels, but it is censored and the love interest's personality feels more like one you'd see in a fanfic that the actual novel. So, keep that in mind before venturing into the show if you are interested in it after reading the novel. Season 2 also isn't out yet.

https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=555638

Here you go! That is the direct link to my review that is 100% lengthy. Have you read that specific manhwa before?

I LOVE long replies as well!

As for Hua Cheng, I loved him as "San Lang," but not as "Hua Cheng," if you get what I mean? It's also more physically age appropriate since I heard that Xie Lian is physically 17, which feels weird as to why the author chose to make him underaged. I also didn't like Hua Cheng developing feelings as a child because it seems far-fetched that he would develop feelings THAT strong when he was extremely young. I think it would have made more sense and came off less borderline groomer-ish if he was just a fan of his throughout all of those years or a friendly acquaintance and never developed any romantic or sexual attractive until the present day story when both have matured (though Hua Cheng still acts like an impetuous child 90% of the time anyway). He sacrificed himself THREE times for a guy he knew for like three months TOPS! It's absurd and feels like a Wattpad writing trope! His love was really off-putting and the cave with the thousands of Xie Lian statues in all sorts of concerning poses really sealed the deal for me that he is closer to a sasaeng than a soulmate. I was genuinely surprised he hadn't made a world-wide cult in those 800 years except for the fact that his obsessive nature would have made him too possessive and jealous to allow for anyone else to admire Xie Lian. Yuck. His backstory is ENTIRELY about XIE LIAN! Not a SINGLE aspect is separate from Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng wears red? Xie Lian said it was a "nice" color. The ONLY reason.

Hua Cheng's motif is a butterfly? Xie Lian was originally linked to flowers (but only in his like first year of being a god and the author just threw it away past that for some reason) so he wants to be drawn and pollinate him (ew).

Hua Cheng's Saber is mean to everyone? Not Xie Lian because it was formed out of his original passion for him when he respawned or whatever.

Hua Cheng created the Ghost City on his own? He made it ENTIRELY for Xie Lian!!!!! No other reason than that!!!!!

Hua Cheng has a pearl in his hair? He got that from Xie Lian 800 years ago.

Hua Cheng wears a red thread ring? Symbolic of his shared fate with Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng's legend was formed from beating 33 heavenly officials? He only did that to get revenge back for Xie Lian despite Xie Lian never asking for it!!!

Etc. Etc. There is even more than that because I just realized I cannot recall a SINGLE scene in the novels that showcases his backstory/flashbacks that does NOT feature Xie Lian in some way shape or form. Not to mention he doesn't have a SINGLE positive relationship with anyone outside of Xie Lian despite existing for 800 years and he is insufferably rude to everyone who is around him, regardless of what their alliance is. I found his outbursts and constant need to argue with people and take things SO seriously any time someone didn't treat Xie Lian with the PINNACLE of respect (like Wind Master when he heard Xie Lian's backstory) to be extremely immature and that was honestly unattractive. An appeal for a lot of romances is the whole self-insert scenario, but I could never even fathom wanting to be with Hua Cheng because he'd be exhausting to deal with daily.

I agree with you that it also caused me to dislike Xie Lian by association since him just letting Hua Cheng walk all over everyone around him really painted him in a bad light. He truly is the definition of a "bystander to bullying" that ends up endorsing it indirectly by not doing ANYTHING to stop him. Heck, he even flirts with him on serious missions! The way he overlooks how Hua Cheng lets the Ghost City run which engages in GENUINE black market activities 24/7 despite Xie Lian being a HEAVENLY OFFICIAL is flabbergasting. That's like a cop participating in drug trafficking or armed robbery. Yet, the fanbase loves him and the story paints him as a perfect prince that is always the victim and never someone that ends up indirectly aiding a perpetrator. Ugh, I hate how the author character assassinated him like that. I thought he was way more interesting in the flashbacks because at least then he had noticeable flaws and a personality other than "Hua Cheng is love, Hua Cheng is life." THIS is why I'm a Qi Rong apologist LMAO.

Sorry for the twit-longer but I'm just really happy to have someone to talk about this with because I don't know a single person that has read the books (and I didn't proof-read either)! :)

Happy it made you grin because I honestly wanted it to be entertaining. And I get what you mean, and it might be a bit hypocritical of me since I can enjoy other scummy characters, but I just couldn't like Sheng Shao You in the same way that others did. I'm sure he's more fleshed out in the novel, but the drama version of him really made me disdain his characterization. It's not just a him thing, I tend to dislike his archetype in ANY ABO I have read. That most likely highly influenced my reception of him by default. I think his more stoic personality was the issue since I enjoyed Hua Yong and Shen Wen Lang way more, and they are arguably worse than he is morally. I just didn't find him funny or crazy enough to make up for his rotten personality. That doesn't make him a bad character per say, just one that I can't root for from my perspective. It's true that what he does to omegas is not nearly as awful as other ABO alphas do, but not committing physical abuse does not mean he isn't mistreating them. He inherently looks down upon omegas as sex objects first and foremost (proven by the quote I listed in my review that was taken directly from the show) and he abandons one the moment he loses interest in them. That is red flag behavior through and through. Him generalizing isn't really a deal breaker for characterization, but it does make it really hard for me to take the character seriously when his logical is so full of holes that everyone keeps defending. It feels the same as when a father blames the child for the mother's death during childbirth, which is demonized by people usually; yet something similar like in this instance is forgiven by most fans which is what bothered me the most I think. I understand the flashback was a reason for Hua Yong to develop feelings for him, but they should've written it better because it really feels shallow (in any romance, not just this one) when a whole character's life is based on a single short flashback or two that caused them to become obsessed with the main character. It's probably just a matter of preference, but as I listed in the review, I don't like love interests that are written like that. I also never liked the pheromone compatibility being the deciding factor for relationships in ABO stories, so I don't like that explanation either. Yan Wushi will definitely be received in a harsh way too (including by me LOL), but I like him more since his whole personality was NEVER reliant upon Shen Qiao to function and his goals existed outside of him. He is definitely crueler than Sheng Shao You no doubt, but he was better written (at least compared to this drama version as I have not read the novel). And thank you for being respect about disagreeing with me and handling it well! I love lengthy discussions on reviews (as shown by this twitlonger)! :)

Thank you, but I don't actually have any reviews written for a manhwa anywhere except Low Tide in Twilight on MyAnimeList. Does that interest you? I can tell you my handle on there if it does, but I only have one manhwa review on there thus far. I've made reviews on other BLs and dramas on this site too though, if that interests you.

Thanks! I definitely agree on your sentiment about appreciating differing opinions on something that is borderline taboo to have another opinion on. The reception on this review definitely proved how taboo it is in this fandom lmao.

Yeah, I also enjoyed HOB and Hua Cheng at first, but upon rewatch/reread, I had a newfound dislike of his characterization. I 100% enjoyed characters like Mu Qing and even Qi Rong ironically more upon revisiting the story. I just dislike it when a character's whole personality relies upon their undying love for the main character (or vice versa). I find it really boring and I seriously didn't find it attractive just how RUDE Hua Cheng was to literally anyone other than Xie Lian, plus his borderline stalker obsession with him made it kind of weird. I've seen the obsessive type done in a way that I find entertaining or appealing, but Hua Cheng wasn't because his personality relied SOLELY upon that. Anyway, sorry for rambling, I just find it refreshing that someone shares the same viewpoint as me for once since it seems really frowned upon in that fandom. :)

I agree! And thanks for the support because I enjoy being honest in my reviews but it can be tiring with how some people perceive my honesty as hate, especially toward actors. Constructive responses like this one have made this whole thing easier to pass and honestly I just view it as sad but comedic when people resort to straw man tactics and name-calling haha.

Yeah and the insults were extremely uncalled for, like I didn't even insult them personally so it made it hard for me to sympathize with them. But I can understand what you meant when saying that some people can make a series a part of their personality if they love it enough; these people however definitely make it too much of their personality so it is concerning to say the least. I genuinely hope they re-evaluate themselves because I love respectful discussions like this one.

I also view stan culture (like kpop and anime for example) as being a mostly negative thing since they tend to take it too far (like this fandom has done for the most part). I choose to enjoy or unenjoy something by creating trashy reviews just so I can look back at them and sometimes receive feedback from readers to engage in conversations.

Thank you for viewing me as sensible since I started to think otherwise after feedback on this review haha. I love this feedback! I can see from your Revenged Love review that you put a lot of thought into your reviews so it feels nice to discuss with someone else that is passionate!

Yeah I was more passionate in my review probably because of how shunned any voices of criticism would get in the comments section consistently yet get gaslit into thinking that *they* were the ones bringing down the community. However, I haven't seen another drama fandom (from my experience thus far) that has a more toxic fanbase than this one. None of my low scoring reviews ever made me feel like I had to edit my review just to clarify basic facts that should be evident in what I wrote.

I can empathize with those that just want to enjoy the show and have all people stop arguing regardless of what side they are on, but they tend to get overshadowed by louder voices too so their sentiments fall on deaf ears. I think I have a hard time understanding the hardcore fans because I have never been like that even with my favorite pieces of media regardless of how well-written it is; not even when I was a pre-teen. That being said, I try not to start fights with them and just overlook their aggressive targeting, except now they targeted me for some reason so I didn't feel so friendly.

I also welcome different opinions on my reviews and I think it can be a great way to discuss a story's themes and finding different ways to interpret parts of a story that I didn't think of. I find it genuinely fun and engaging as long as it stays respectful, which is hard to find in this specific fandom. I mean someone literally linked my review to dogpile instead of responding here to discuss our differences lmao.

I agree that reviews should be a free-for-all as long as they don't target real life people or promote hateful/dangerous ideas. But I still adore having twit longer conversations like this one!

Tbh I didn't even pay attention to how much the kids looked like the characters since I was checked out at that point mentally and they showed up for 5 minutes. You can just tell they picked out any random kid they found to play the kid.

I'm honestly surprised the actors weren't crying from laughter on set because those fight scenes were so hard to watch seriously. I actually did watch season 1 of Pit Babe and some of season 2 and that was an *experience*. I'm convinced they didn't even try to incorporate ABO and there are NO confirmed omegas nor betas yet there are enigmas????? Like why even tag it as an ABO at that point? I still liked it more than ABO: Desire but by 0.1%.

I do actually have a Discord account! Can I add you?

HAHA WATCH PARTY FOR CRINGE BL SOUNDS SO FUNNYYYY LIKE I'M CURRENTLY CONTEMPLATInG WATCHING BAD GUY MY BOSS BUT IDK

Dude the effects SENT me like I was actually gagging from laughing so hard when they would put effects on Hua Yong's eyes and the magenta aura that would spawn in as if he were going Super Saiyan. I got whiplash when Shen Wen Lang fell from a window and the way he was holding onto the frame was so funnyyyy like is he the hulk or something??? I have to give the author a point for creativity in that department because I've never seen an ABO make the alphas MUTANTS.

Yeah I honestly think him passing away would have saved him from the stress of managing both Hua Yong and Hua Yong Jr. LOL. Yeah I was so confused when I tuned in to that episode because it didn't feel like a finale episode, you know what I mean? It felt like any run of the mill middle episode up until the final 10 minutes and I was concerned as to who managed the pacing of that episode.....

I WISH I HAD SOMEONE TO WATCH WITH IT BUT ONE TIME MY BROTHER WALKED IN AND SAW THE FIGHT SCENE BETWEEN SHEN WEN LANG AND SHENG SHAO YOU IN THE CAFE EARLY ON AND WE WERE FUCKING CRYING WATCHING THE EDITING AND CHAIR KICK LMAOOOOOOOO

I was also thinking the ending was terrible and was in genuine shock at how the fans defend it even when the second couple didn't even get a "hello" liiiike, where are the after credits at least?! The abrupt jump from Sheng Shao You knocking on death's door in the hospital to then like 5 years later made me think I was going crazy and that he actually died for a sec but then I was just disappointed when they used it for a fakeout. Unspecified time skips are negative aura in my humble opinion.

LMAO "essay" I REALLY DID YAP A LOT BUT THAT'S BECAUSE IT LIKE MARINATED IN THE BACK OF MY BRAIN FOR A BIT AND I KEPT SEEING FLASHES OF THE TERRIBLE ENDING COMING BACK TO ME....and when you say "our" is there two of y'all? Cuz if so, it must've been hilarious to watch this show with someone elseeeee

Yeah, I just reread it and now it's super obvious that I was just going with the flow of whatever popped into my brain, which probably explains why it was jumbled and a lil too passionate. But, I felt like someone had to speak their mind for the people in the back of the fandom so I just went with it, lmao. But, I'm glad you liked reading this!