Kannadin

HAHAHA!

That explains it then!
Well can't do it I guess since I'm already working so >_< ( and also doing other things on the side).

Not a huge fan of watching things speeded up though. I know lots of people are doing this now but I can't understand it for the life of me. I mean I personally think the pace is also part of the experience and it's you know, "leisure time".
I'm already struggling with all the things I have to do in a day, when I sit down to relax, I don't want to feel like I'm rushing again if you see what I mean.

Still pretty impressive though... You'd probably need to divide this list by two if you were watching at normal speed but that would still be a very very long list.

Also you're right to keep track of things... When you've been watching shows for a long time, you tend to forget what you saw. Happened to me several times, even recently. I didn't check on MDL. Watched a movie. Felt like I'd already seen it... But wasn't sure. Finished it... Was about to give it a ratings of 8.5.

Turns out I had already seen that movie when it came out 12 years ago... Gave it the same rating. It was not a bad movie, but not a movie worth rewatching so waste of time. Should have watched another one which I had never watched.

The only issue for me is "dropped shows" which I don't keep track of for a variety of reasons, most notable FOMO and being tempted to give another try to a show I hated but that everybody loved. So far I never made the mistake of rewatching a show I dropped... but given how long my list has gotten ( and that's not counting my Anime list either), this is bound to happen at some point.

Just dropping a comment to say that it's the first time I see somebody with a "Currently Watching List" as long as yours and who is REALLY watching everything listed with keeping tracks of the episodes seen and everything. Usually it's just a long list of shows on hold or shows people are planning to watch with only 1 or 2 shows that are truly being watched by the member.

All that to say... I don't know how you do it. But I'm impressed!

Yeah I know that's everybody's opinion. But again, if you read my review, I explained that for me, it's more a matter of how old you were when you watched it.

On episode 13 and so far the biggest flaw of this show ( apart from the censorshit ending) is how Zhou Shi Yun is just utterly unlikable.

Like Ming Ze is an idiot who doesn't care that Shi Yun has basically done her best to ruin his little sister... That's a big one to swallow... but OK. Apart from that he's not a bad sport to watch. He's a bit of an idiot but the good hearted kind... but with absolutely NO TASTE and NO SELF-ESTEEM.

But Shi Yun? Gimme ONE THING that is likable with this character. She's just terribly written, period. I can't fastforward for the life of me but MY GOD do I want to, she's just a dirty stain on an otherwise very cute drama.

The ex is okay I guess. Obviously he's a selfish ass*** but I doubt he's even aware of how he is in reality. If Xue Jiao hadn't experienced firsthand how utterly selfish he is, she obviously would have fallen. Who wouldn't? He's cute, handsome and athletic. Knows how to do grand gestures to impress. I mean any girl that age would have fallen.

I feel you! I usually don't bother with Chinise shows as they are airing given how many episodes come out in such a short amount of time...

But there's so many shows that I wanted to watch that came out at the same time, I ended up in this mess >_<

His voice does sound deeper in the link you gave. Well the only explanation I see, is him making his voice deeper for the role.
I'm also watching on Viki... But since I've started too many shows anyway ( I usually only watch 2 to 3 dramas in different languages with eventually 1 anime at the same time at most and right now I'm watching 5 in literally the same language..., not counting LOTFG that just finished on Viki), I feel a bit overwhelmed and don't feel like rushing. Quite the contrary. Next time I'm back to watching only one show at a time in Chinese because otherwise I feel like I have to rush from one show to the other and I don't like to feel "obligated" in my leisure time, especially since Chinese shows are pretty long..

If I'm too curious, I just check previews on Youku... I wish I didn't because sometimes it's too much spoilers but I can't help it.

Nah not his voice. I checked some interviews and his voice is clearly higher. Also the actor dubbing him is clearly older, sounds more like somebody in his mid thirties at least.

Well that's the downside of dubbing... I wish they would stick to one voice per actor because sometimes switching from drama to drama it sounds weird. I actually have the same problem with The King's Avatar which I'm currently watching. The only Yang Yang drama I'd seen before is "You Are My Glory" so when I started The King's Avatar and noticed his voice in it was higher... Well let's just say I'm not a fan. I'm past a quarter of the series and I still can't get used to it.

For WDBTD... Well I think I'm gonna struggle until the end of the series... It's particularly difficult because he's got such a youthful face and yet the voice is clearly way older.

Plotwise though, he's supposed to be 500 years old, so it fits... But the dissonance is real.

Oh Well. You know sometimes you read a book or you watch something. You're very invested and then the end it SO DISAPOINTING that it makes you regret investing a single minute in the whole thing.

Happened to me several times so I totally get it.
But yeah. The bad ratings is mostly due to that. For most people, there was a better way to handle this so that you could still bypass the censorship and get a satisfying ending...

Though personally, I don't really see how you can bypass the censorship and get something satisfying except getting rid of the whole premise in the first place.

Like in the Double and Legend of the Female General, the whole reincarnation thing has completely been erased from the plot... It actually gives something way more satisfying plotwise in my opinion. In Blossom if I remember well, the FL basically "dreamt the future" and correct the trajectory in the present...
Works as well.

However in RESET, the whole premise of the plot is the characters being stuck in a time loop... so according to Censorship, you can't travel in time, yet the whole plot is all about being revived repeatedly, so personally I didn't even know that travelling back in time was a no-no given I had watched this drama and I honestly don't get it.

Here...
I think it would have been more satisfying for viewers to remove the whole reincarnation plot all together.

You can just say, both characters went to see some priestess or took the same weird drug medication for their headaches which made them dream about the future and after they saw what was going to happen, they changed the course of their life... Only the first episode would have been different and at least viewers wouldn't have to feel betrayed by the end of the show.
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT again...

If it hadn't been done before... Maybe it's because there's another censorship rule I don't know about and maybe the safest bet would have been to go the Blossom route.

Honestly, there's some things that I like about the censorship personally: Not too much graphic violence, not too much sex ( I'm looking at you America: lots of sex, no buildup, no romance, no real sexual tension), main characters who can be harsh or morally gray but usually uphold strong moral values ( not gloryfying characters selling drugs or whatnot). In my opinion, writers have to really craft good stories to create emotions in their viewers instead of relying on shock value like in Western shows...

But on the flip side, sometimes you get across these ridiculous rules that are difficult to understand from a Western standpoint even taking into account cultural differences. I read somewhere that they had a wave of suicides in China from teenagers wanting to "reincarnate" hence the censorship but I'm a bit skeptical about it to be honest. It's not like the idea of reincarnation doesn't exist in East Asia overall, how come other countries weren't touched by the same phenomena?

The CCP is not too fond of religion overall so for me it's more a matter of cracking down on religious beliefs. Having several lives for "mystical beings in xianxia seems ok, but not with "modern characters" I guess.

Anyway that's a vast subject.

Exactly! You were mentally prepared for the worse given the strong reactions and therefore the blow was less strong. It would have been a different story if like the top reviewers, you had invested your heart, soul and time into these characters only to get punched in the gut by the end 🤣

I think it depends on whether you were mentally prepared or not. Personally I started this drama late and am watching it on Viki so by the time I watched episode 6, I had already been spoiled the ending by people who had just finished it and who did not put the spoiler tag...

I'm glad for it though because I think I'd probably have the same reaction of downrating it if I invested as much emotions in these characters only to feel cruelly betrayed by the scenarists to the point of regretting investing my feelings in any of these characters.

But since I know what to expect, I can appreciate the show for what it is and no sense of betrayal since I know what's to come, so I'm definitely not gonna downrate that one ( otherwise I'd have already dropped it anyway) once I reach the end.

Personally I think EVERYBODY should be spoiled the ending before starting. The ratings would probably be higher then.

It's a really cute show... And I love the main couple... though the side couple is pretty meh.

Don't forget that Viki's translations are done for free by fans. It's normal that members who translate give priority to the most popular series which among all the Chinese airing shows right now is When Destiny Brings the Demon and Moonlit Reunion.

Don't forget that until today there was literally 5 airing Chinese shows they were translating: ABO desire, LOTFG, WDBTD and, MR and this one.
That's a LOT of shows and that's not counting old shows that are translated in the background without being apparent on the website.

There's tons of great shows available on Viki, I'm sure you can watch something else while waiting.

That or it's just a writing kink ^^

When you're in the mood, give it a go ^^

The only reason I'm not binging is because I've got too many shows on my plate so I've stopped at a "resistable place" in order to focus on all the other shows I'm watching ( including the Double... which is just insane so I had to stop because the TENSION is killing me and I've got a weak heart). Hopefully, by the time I'm back to WDBTD, Viki will have released most episodes.

I'll check it out thank you!
Gotta admit, that's also a turnoff for me 😑 I don't like violent sex scenes... Doesn't even matter if the girl is supposed to like it or not...

Like... I read some popular romance novels written in the 60s a couple of years ago, and that used to be a thing in Western romance novels as well. I HATED IT, and most of these books had been recommended to me but I couldn't finish any of them because of exactly what you wrote.
😤

Next year? Are you KIDDING ME 😭😭😭

Personally I've made the mistake of starting "When Destiny Brings the Demon". Not a fan of the ML, whom I only saw in "Lighter and Princess"... Which... I didn't hate but didn't like as much as the majority... Didn't know the FL.

So far it's crazy good. I regret having started it, especially since Viki is reaaaaaaaaaallllyyyyyyyyyy behind in terms of releases ( Episode 11 out today on Viki, when Youku is gonna release episode 23).

The only thing I still struggle with is the dubbing. The voice for Arthur Chen is very deep and I have trouble connecting that deep voice with his face especially since his voice in Lighter and Princess was higher. The voice fits the character though, so It's just me in that case.

Moonlit Reunion is a better choice if you're watching on Viki though... They're closer to the Chinese release schedule. Seems people are really liking that one in spite of the ratings... Must be some anti-fans downvoting.

"I have a problem with men who makes his woman cry and beg to stop during s3x just because theyre mad at her"

Must be a kink for some Chinese authors... Like I've stumbled upon some Danmei, and some scenes were borderline rape with the "top" being extremely forceful and pushy which is personally something I just can't bear.
Seems to me it's a thing in China to have the male lead overbearing and pushy.

For me, IN FICTION ( really gotta stress that one), I like my leads to be slightly toxic in the beginning and then turn to mush once they're head over heels for their girls but there's a line that should never be crossed... The issue is, we all have different sensitivities...

This though.... Hmmm... We're in a very gray area. If you have the chapters in which that happens, could you please give me their numbers so that I can check the translation?

Just to be sure it doesn't cross my own limits because this seems like borderline rape and I'm not sure I can handle it... Depends on how it's written.

Nah too many dramas on my currently watching list. I'd rather empty everything before starting anything else... Also I can't watch two dramas at the same time with the same actors (when they're the leads, if it's a minor role I don't mind)... So I need to finish this one before starting another Cheng Lei drama ( most likely a Familiar Stranger).

I did watch some shorts on youtube though...
I'm DYING to watch it though... But I'd rather stay a little bit more into LOTFG afterglow.

This being said, I gotta admit I'm more excited about Mo Li because...Bai Lu. Nothing more to say. She literally has IN.SA.NE chemistry with EVERYBODY.

Yeah well... Most of the time it's always a bad idea to read the novel before you watch an adaptation because you can't help compare both. Personally every single time I read a novel and then saw an adaptation, I would find the adaptation lacking... But there's plenty of movies and/or dramas that I thoroughly enjoyed to the point of buying the novels or manga and could see both as separate things enjoyable in their own way...

SO It's finishing today on Vikiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Literally one week after everybody else but I resisted! I watched the legal version!

I kept the last 3 episodes to watch them in one sitting though so currently waiting for episode 36 to be available on the platform... I already knew about the "last plot twist" which is why I decided to wait to watch the last 3 episodes in one go... BUT I'm still PISSED.

Overall, though I think the drama lost a bit of steam during its latter third, it was not enough to ruin the experience for me. I'm feeling happy and can't help have a silly smile on my face whenever Xiao Jue and He Yan are together.

Honestly, I'm gonna remove 0.5 points for some of the most jarring plot holes but that will be it.
That's a 9.5 for me. Will DEFINITELY rewatch.

It's not flawless, but I've enjoyed the ride during all of its run. Not lots of intimate scenes but the chemistry was chemistrying in that one, great action scenes, lovable characters ( except for one but he got what he deserved) and the villains didn't have enough screen time to rise my blood pressure too much so that's another plus.

If you're on the fence about whether to watch it or not, try it for yourself. Don't be deterred by the onslaught of negative comments.

It's not that most people didn't like the show... But there's just too many good shows airing right now, so people have already moved on to be more active on Shadow Love (CHENG LEIIIIII), Moonlit Reunion and When Destiny Brings the Demon's comments page.

Honestly, it's not a flawless show, but if you like it, it's one of the comforting ones you'll probably go back to watch again.

Haven't read it but most of the plot change are due to pacing and some characters being removed because of the "no reincarnation" censorship.
It would be too long to go over all the changes here (I did read some significant chunks of the novel), but the consensus for those who read it is that you should take both the novel and the drama as two separate entities because there's just too many changes to count.

The main story is the same, but most of the side plot has been either simplified or removed all together.