I thought it was gonna be another espionage thing but nope. This isn't any pro-commy thing that I'm so used to watching. In fact, it's as straightforward as the synopsis said: cracking cases. It just so happened that it takes place during that era so inevitably communist + KMT will be involved.
I like this one a lot. The quality doesn't sharply drop at the end. The cases are intriguing and so are the characters. Every character is more or less intelligent so you don't have to dumb yourself down.
This show made me laugh so many times bc the ML's laughter is too contagious. It feels rather human and the characters aren't black/white (except for the bad guys ofc)
This show is overall maybe a 9 for looks and a wavy 4 for plot and character development. I honestly don't know what's going on half the time. (this will contain ALOT of spoilers btw)
Let me start with the characters. It's okay. I don't mind them but I don't overly love the way they are written either. Our boy Ye Chong is a spy. He isn't supposed to do things so rashly. He's supposed to be cool, calm, and collect. Undercover agents cannot go moping around at the deaths of his friends because that will only give them away. Even if he does want to be sad about things, he should do it at home and not at bars crying. Ofc I'm sympathetic but Ye Chong's status won't give him room for these moments. And what kind of person (what kind of SPY) takes someone like He Ying home and takes care of her? It only draws ALOT of suspicion. The romance didn't draw me in and it didn't develop either since our poor FL exists only in dialogues for most of the earlier episodes. And then BOY we got Chi Cheng. I have no qualm against Chi Cheng except that he seems to have taken the ML's scripts. It's not Ye Chong we see the most but Chi Cheng. Ye Chong's fighting scenes, bullet scenes, and romance scenes all got cut and what did we get? Chi Cheng's bigbrain moments, Chi Cheng's romance line, Chi Cheng's narrow escapes. like wtf directors hello?? Why would you give Chi Cheng 40 min screentime and Ye Chong only like 5 for some episodes. And then Ye Chong's brother Xiao Zhuang who does the things Ye Chong the spy is supposed to do. It feels as if Xiao Zhuang is the hands of the ML and Ye Chong is the brain and only when they're together does the plot progresses. Perhaps the only quality character is Ye Chong's father. The actor's very good and skilled and he portrays the father well. Though I don't understand why Ye Chong hates his father that much (or, since we're on that, why Ye Chong turned communist in the first place). Yes, perhaps his father killed his mother (I'm still confused about that) but Ye Chong grew up well-loved and accepted in the family. How did his brief trip to China overturn everything he was taught? It wasn't very well explained or developed. I actually like Ye Chong's sister. She doesn't turn against her Japanese heritage but she doesn't necessarily betray her brother or her father either. She is sad that her brother turned but she does not turn with him. Instead, her sacrifice is for both Ye Chong as well as her loyalty to her father. I disliked her in the beginning because of how persistent she is but that persistence kinda grew on me.
Plotwise. Plot. What plot? ?? It's just communists running around and Miyamoto managing to crack down most of them but the dumb Japanese generals don't understand. At some point, I do feel sympathetic for Miyamoto. Then there's Chi Cheng going around trying to rally other Communists and then some other communists getting found and then more communists dying and idk where Ye Chong is. Ye Chong's just following around and sprouting a few lines every now and then to make sure the viewers still remember he exists.
But do I recommend this? Yes, absolutely. Ye Chong looks cool af and that is tbf the only reason I stayed.
My understanding is Lurk was the last truly great spy drama coming out of China and there really hasn't been anything…
imo there're 2 types of spydrama (or just dramas in general): 1) the ones adhering specifically to the genre and 2) the ones you watch bc the ML/FLs are hot
Autumn Cicada is more the latter. It falls short of being a good spy drama but it's not bad if you ignore the plot and watch it for the leads and random CPs because, once again, the characters are goodlooking.
Haven't seen Lurk (only snippets) but Lurk is definitely (imo) not a 'watch for the face' kinda drama and more of the first type. It's very well-made in terms of character and plot developements.
I nearly dropped this show twice before I was drawn in by a series of clips and I sat myself down and watched it. AND HOLY SHIIII it's good. It doesn't dumb u down. You don't need to watch this with -100 IQ. You don't have to force yourself to be a dumbass anymore. This one actually requires some brainpower and even if you do have the brainpower, you probably still can't be faster than our ML. You probably can't even twist ur mind around all the GODLY twists. But fear not, if you slow down and revisit the explanation, you will understand. The show is funny because the characters are good (and not bc the plot is dumb) and it's intelligent but not like OP, out-of-nowhere reasoning kinda intelligence. Everything is properly explained and every game is so beautifully done and accomplished. This is pure psychological + thriller + comedy + friendship which kinda buries the romance but it's still there if you're desperate for it. None of the female characters are annoying and they all contribute nicely to the plot. whether it be strength, support, brainpower, or team carry. They aren't weak and feeble (except maybe the 'real' FL but then she doesn't get enough screentime to be dissed). I feel like this is one of the few times I've actually liked the whole cast and not just the ML and some side characters. Every character contributes to the theme of human nature and the dialogue (most of the time) isn't weird cringe material.
Highly rec this to anyone except maybe hardcore romcom fans but even that, i'd still want to shove this in everyone's face.
lmao ep 40 still nope. tbf Chicheng was like "hmm i suspect that it might be him" and then two eps later "hmmm maybe not". At least Ye Chong kinda knows but THEY REFUSE TO TALK IT OUT bc Chi Cheng is being a dumbass.
like BRO He's a sympathizer and You are a sympathizer and you are both Chinese and you are both kinda disrupting the Japanese and you're both being shady af. What More Do YOu Need?
At this point, it'd do them both good to just straight out test each other with "HEY BUDDY." I think they both need a little bit of Miyamoto intelligence in detecting communists. How can Miyamoto a japanese spot commies better than commies can spot commies.
I love every second of this drama because it's well-written and developed, plot- and character-wise. I'm glad that it's a happy ending but his brother's death upsets me so much.
If the show can be separated into 2 parts: first 20~ and last 40 or so eps, I'd give the former a high score and the latter a rather mediocre 5 or 6 (7 if I consider the fact that the other actors got better), not accounting for the draggy plot that lost my interest and made me suffer through the last dozen or so episodes. I feel like the ML had at least some facial emotion suitable for the scenes in the beginning; Then, as it progresses, everything became the blank eye, sly quirk face unsuitable for all the tense/emotional moments.
I suppose I get that the ML might be some kinda placid poker face guy but then apparently he does show emotion wow ok but even for normal straight-face poker face ppl, their shocked, angered, happy face all look visibly different. You can just feel it. And then there's our ML who just looks annoyed throughout all the important scenes. smh (this is not to slander the actor whatsoever; he just needs to work more on it. Since Ever Night was his first major role and he's only 20, he's doing pretty good)
Won't say I highly highly rec this one, but I was hooked in the beginning bc of the opening scenes and premise (didn't read synopsis, went in blind). I'd rec to start watching it and you can choose to drop it when the plot starts to drag. There's nothing extremely 'worthwhile' waiting for you at the ending but if you're looking for something to watch as you browse for other things to watch, this is pretty decent imo.
This feels like the kind of show that no matter what genre you prefer, you will end up liking simply because it revisits every aspect of the childhood that we all miss. This isn't purely about romance or family or school. It's all about the fleeting moments as a teenager and I think that is what makes this show beautiful.
I'm here bc the author also wrote the King's Avatar who seems to have a knack for writing good OP characters. IMO its pretty decent so far. I guess the ML needs to work on his acting but the plot is interesting. (they should also stop doing scenes with that quicksand thing because frankly, nothing can save that horrible CGI)
I don't feel like the romance is overwhelming at all.... I'm at ep 28 ....this has 36 ep....There is romance.....but…
In the beginning, it's def not overwhelming. I actually enjoy a lot their bantering and cute moments hehe. I feel like, the quality begins to drop in the last few episodes when they try to tie everything up. Instead of reenacting the crimes, finding more evidence, or talking to more suspects, some of the last few crimes are just revealed through LuYao speaking and then the perpetrator confessing the rest (there are some exceptions). Ofc, I love his bigbrain energy but I want the cases to be more engaging, intriguing and unexpected instead of just a big info-dump near the end if you know what I mean haha
but I def won't call this a romance-centric show because there isn't enough romance. However, it's def not romance free and I wish they hadn't tried to add romance into it bc the FL already has a good part without being a generic love interest. The friendship between them is already meaningful enough and I just don't like how the ML and FL must always fall in love.
also the fact that they had a wedding, had a stalemate and nearly started a war between 2 fams, solved a case,…
haha yea I've finished it already. Same! The romance in the previous few eps are pretty subtle (it's more like teasing) but in the end, it's extremely very out there and they even start calling each other wife/husband and all those stuff.
I feel like the more romance they put in the show, the lesser the quality of the crimes. At some point, the cases…
also the fact that they had a wedding, had a stalemate and nearly started a war between 2 fams, solved a case, and planned a honeymoon all in one episode irritates me. I admit, I was expecting some more bromance/friendship instead of romance so I might be biased. But THIS is unacceptable. I do not condone such romance in a detective show thank you
I feel like the more romance they put in the show, the lesser the quality of the crimes. At some point, the cases are just not all that intriguing/thrilling anymore.
Perhaps I'm in the minority but I really like the FL. At first she was a bit annoying, but like the ML discovers…
I like her too! She isn't over the top annoying and she's capable. However, I feel like the ending doesn't really do justice to the trio's relationship, especially since the romance between the ML and FL feels rushed. Maybe a little more time to develop their relationship will make me like her more. (ep36)
I like this one a lot. The quality doesn't sharply drop at the end. The cases are intriguing and so are the characters. Every character is more or less intelligent so you don't have to dumb yourself down.
This show made me laugh so many times bc the ML's laughter is too contagious. It feels rather human and the characters aren't black/white (except for the bad guys ofc)
Let me start with the characters. It's okay. I don't mind them but I don't overly love the way they are written either. Our boy Ye Chong is a spy. He isn't supposed to do things so rashly. He's supposed to be cool, calm, and collect. Undercover agents cannot go moping around at the deaths of his friends because that will only give them away. Even if he does want to be sad about things, he should do it at home and not at bars crying. Ofc I'm sympathetic but Ye Chong's status won't give him room for these moments. And what kind of person (what kind of SPY) takes someone like He Ying home and takes care of her? It only draws ALOT of suspicion. The romance didn't draw me in and it didn't develop either since our poor FL exists only in dialogues for most of the earlier episodes.
And then BOY we got Chi Cheng. I have no qualm against Chi Cheng except that he seems to have taken the ML's scripts. It's not Ye Chong we see the most but Chi Cheng. Ye Chong's fighting scenes, bullet scenes, and romance scenes all got cut and what did we get? Chi Cheng's bigbrain moments, Chi Cheng's romance line, Chi Cheng's narrow escapes. like wtf directors hello?? Why would you give Chi Cheng 40 min screentime and Ye Chong only like 5 for some episodes.
And then Ye Chong's brother Xiao Zhuang who does the things Ye Chong the spy is supposed to do. It feels as if Xiao Zhuang is the hands of the ML and Ye Chong is the brain and only when they're together does the plot progresses.
Perhaps the only quality character is Ye Chong's father. The actor's very good and skilled and he portrays the father well. Though I don't understand why Ye Chong hates his father that much (or, since we're on that, why Ye Chong turned communist in the first place). Yes, perhaps his father killed his mother (I'm still confused about that) but Ye Chong grew up well-loved and accepted in the family. How did his brief trip to China overturn everything he was taught? It wasn't very well explained or developed. I actually like Ye Chong's sister. She doesn't turn against her Japanese heritage but she doesn't necessarily betray her brother or her father either. She is sad that her brother turned but she does not turn with him. Instead, her sacrifice is for both Ye Chong as well as her loyalty to her father. I disliked her in the beginning because of how persistent she is but that persistence kinda grew on me.
Plotwise. Plot. What plot? ?? It's just communists running around and Miyamoto managing to crack down most of them but the dumb Japanese generals don't understand. At some point, I do feel sympathetic for Miyamoto. Then there's Chi Cheng going around trying to rally other Communists and then some other communists getting found and then more communists dying and idk where Ye Chong is. Ye Chong's just following around and sprouting a few lines every now and then to make sure the viewers still remember he exists.
But do I recommend this? Yes, absolutely. Ye Chong looks cool af and that is tbf the only reason I stayed.
1) the ones adhering specifically to the genre and 2) the ones you watch bc the ML/FLs are hot
Autumn Cicada is more the latter. It falls short of being a good spy drama but it's not bad if you ignore the plot and watch it for the leads and random CPs because, once again, the characters are goodlooking.
Haven't seen Lurk (only snippets) but Lurk is definitely (imo) not a 'watch for the face' kinda drama and more of the first type. It's very well-made in terms of character and plot developements.
It doesn't dumb u down. You don't need to watch this with -100 IQ. You don't have to force yourself to be a dumbass anymore. This one actually requires some brainpower and even if you do have the brainpower, you probably still can't be faster than our ML. You probably can't even twist ur mind around all the GODLY twists. But fear not, if you slow down and revisit the explanation, you will understand.
The show is funny because the characters are good (and not bc the plot is dumb) and it's intelligent but not like OP, out-of-nowhere reasoning kinda intelligence. Everything is properly explained and every game is so beautifully done and accomplished.
This is pure psychological + thriller + comedy + friendship which kinda buries the romance but it's still there if you're desperate for it. None of the female characters are annoying and they all contribute nicely to the plot. whether it be strength, support, brainpower, or team carry. They aren't weak and feeble (except maybe the 'real' FL but then she doesn't get enough screentime to be dissed). I feel like this is one of the few times I've actually liked the whole cast and not just the ML and some side characters. Every character contributes to the theme of human nature and the dialogue (most of the time) isn't weird cringe material.
Highly rec this to anyone except maybe hardcore romcom fans but even that, i'd still want to shove this in everyone's face.
like BRO He's a sympathizer and You are a sympathizer and you are both Chinese and you are both kinda disrupting the Japanese and you're both being shady af. What More Do YOu Need?
At this point, it'd do them both good to just straight out test each other with "HEY BUDDY." I think they both need a little bit of Miyamoto intelligence in detecting communists. How can Miyamoto a japanese spot commies better than commies can spot commies.
I suppose I get that the ML might be some kinda placid poker face guy but then apparently he does show emotion wow ok but even for normal straight-face poker face ppl, their shocked, angered, happy face all look visibly different. You can just feel it. And then there's our ML who just looks annoyed throughout all the important scenes. smh
(this is not to slander the actor whatsoever; he just needs to work more on it. Since Ever Night was his first major role and he's only 20, he's doing pretty good)
Won't say I highly highly rec this one, but I was hooked in the beginning bc of the opening scenes and premise (didn't read synopsis, went in blind). I'd rec to start watching it and you can choose to drop it when the plot starts to drag. There's nothing extremely 'worthwhile' waiting for you at the ending but if you're looking for something to watch as you browse for other things to watch, this is pretty decent imo.
honestly, I'm not a big fan of romance since I've had bad experience with sappy romcoms, but the thing the show did was make it jump way too fast oof
I watch it here: https://www.qdrama.tv/cn200324/ (theres no eng sub)
But yeah, there's definitely this shift in the quality of the crimes. I suppose we can't always get "intelligent' criminals for every crime.
Which case did you like best? Mine is def the dry ice dinosaur case heh.
but I def won't call this a romance-centric show because there isn't enough romance. However, it's def not romance free and I wish they hadn't tried to add romance into it bc the FL already has a good part without being a generic love interest. The friendship between them is already meaningful enough and I just don't like how the ML and FL must always fall in love.
(hope I haven't spoiled too much oopsh)