Kannadin

Err... Please stick to English when you don't know the terms.
Shoujo Ai is the Female equivalent of Shounen Ai...
Which is ROMANTIC relationships between Girls.

That term has been used notably in manga to distinguish them from the female equivalent of Yaoi i.e LOVE story between characters but with no depiction of sex.

GL just like BL are just English translations of 少女愛　- Shoujo Ai（愛＝Ai=Love), and 少年愛 - Shounen Ai respectively but for some reasons the English translations include both love stories with sex and those without, unlike in Japanese.

For the rest, I agree. It's friendship. Don't start plastering your fantasies on everything. This is clearly a friendship story. Nothing more.

Geeeezuuuuuuuuuuus.
Only on episode 5 and all that plotting is giving me a headache. My God, I swear going to war seems much more easier.

Hmm...

I think you could read this comment I wrote before you make your decision:

https://kisskh.at/687393-the-prisoner-of-beauty#comment-22946462

Based on your comment... My take would be to drop this... But you'll see. Ultimately, you should do according to how you feel. I personally hate to drop shows so I watched it until the end given the high ratings.... but I'd probably have dropped it if it wasn't for that.

Depends on which platform you're using. Just Click on "Episode Guide", airing dates for WeTv releases is written below the miniatures.

Thanks and...

Sadly nooooooooooo. I traded having one obsession for 2 instead 😭😭😭

But since I'm working from home, I've decided to give myself a "break" tomorrow (or rather today 😫) so I'm gonna binge like a madwoman :D Hopefully this will help me get back some self-control ^^

Wanted to start that one for months but kept pushing it back... Finally decided to make the jump because I'm currently obsessed by "The Legend of the Female General" and I needed something to wait... Especially since I have to wait for Viki and they're 4 episodes behind ( the wait is pure torture so I endup spoiling myself).

Well, the first two episodes were IN.SA.NE.
I'm SAT. Wasn't expecting the mood to be that heavy but it's a nice contrast with LOFG which is much more light-hearted ^^

She was but it doesn't change anything. He'll be able to put two and two together. Yes, there was a delay but there's an explanation for it, he just never had the chance to hear it since the next time he met Rufei the switch had already happened.

Whether they follow the novel or not, it wouldn't make any sense to put some misunderstandings in there. She's already proven were her fidelity lies by being hurt repeatedly for the garrison.

If they follow the novel, there is no such thing as a misunderstanding... though I won't elaborate, I've talked about it before and I'm sure others have as well. There's a whole topic about the differences between the novel and the drama... but basically the main storyline has been followed so far.

Even then it wouldn't make any sense. He clearly saw the Ru Fei was a man when they confronted the Emperor. She is clearly a woman. Hence, since he does have a brain that works he'll be able to deduce that that the Ru Fei he knew and the Ru Fei who betrayed him are different.

Lol you replied as I was typing the message. I didn't know for Revenged Love but I already knew for "Stay with Me". See comment above ^^

PS: I knew Stay with Me wouldn't go the same route since it was announced as censored from the get go. The characters turned out way better in my opinion as well as their relationship.

I don't know when that novel was written but I think this was a tendency you saw a lot in BLs written of the early 2000.

One of my favorite Yaoi author... if not my favorite is Ranmaru Zariya... Her latest works have been published in English and in French BUT her earlier works weren't. So once I looked for them... and I... wasn't ready.

It was everything she never does. I mean her work is usually very sensual ( the art is just beautiful) and everything but it's always very romantic with a top that is usually extremely kind, sometimes a bit obsessed but never forceful. Her earlier works... err NO.
I was disappointed but, other period. I'm able to look the other way. Maybe the comment the author wrote is because she changed her views herself. You can sell Toxic but there's a limit you shouldn't cross otherwise it becomes difficult to really root for the couple no matter how sweet they become down the line ( I'm not referring to the drama let's be clear.)

I think I heard of both BLs you mentioned but didn't check them out ^^
Thanks for the recommendations 🙂 I'll give them a shot😎

Lol don't bother checking out the 2016 version. They censored it in the middle of airing and the story was never completed in first place.
The censored BL "Stay with Me" based on the same novel is actually pretty good though... but also incomplete so far... No second season annonced.

"You said you hated Addicted, but Revenged Love is from the same author, Chai JiDan. So if you already disliked her earlier work, it's a bit contradictory to come into this one expecting something completely different. "

Well err.
That explains it then. I'm sorry, the only thing I checked before starting this drama is the title, the poster and how people were raving about it. I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA it was by the same author. Probably wouldn't have started if I had known.

For the rest, I don't disagree with your analysis, but that still doesn't change how I feel about him. Toxic characters changing along the way... is a trope I actually enjoy IN FICTION, but you need to give me something to like the character in question before they change. I see the intention and the underlying pampering of "Little Prince Wei Wei" under all that toxicity of his buuuuut I still don't like him and the dynamics just nope.

For the budgets constraints, I know... was just mentioning it didn't help with the overall feeling.

As for judging halfway through... Nah that's how I feel after 12 episodes. Personal rule, I never rate a show that I haven't fully completed. Definitive judgment is upheld until the last minute BUT you do need me to stick around and I just no longer want to. I'm the type that tend to watch things to the end even when it's been a while a show is not doing it for me... But I've done too much of that for the past three months and I'm tired.

Maybe as you wrote, I'll give it another shot in a couple of months... We'll see.

Well I gave this show 12 episodes but I really can't get into it.
I'm not a fan of Wu Suo Wei and Chi Cheng's dynamic especially how forceful Chi Cheng is with his "urges"... It plays into that narrative of "he/she says "no" but they mean "yes" typical of BLs of the early 2000s when toxic behavior was rampant in the genre.
It also reminds me of Gu Hai in Addicted (2016) and my God do I hate this drama with a vengence. Couldn't even finish it.

The rough editing doesn't help. I thought maybe episode 12 would make me change my mind... but sadly no... It's half of the series so I think it's the right time to drop this. Sometimes everybody likes a show and I don't and it doesn't bother me... But this one I really wanted to like it.

I'm glad China finally released an uncensored BL, sadly not my jam. Might give it another try in a couple of month... I don't know...
I haven't bothered to spoil myself but I stumbled upon the end of episode 23 on Youtube due to the algorythm. That was... what it was... It screamed "rushed ending" but I hope I'm mistaken.

Crossing my fingers you all get a satisfying ending tomorrow ^^

Ok Dropping this.

It's not a bad show at all... As written below by many people, it's actually a very wholesome show.
If you enjoy slice of life J dramas, you'll definitely love that one. Not a lot happening plotwise, it's just a relaxing watch...
Also apart from the beginning you sort of get an individual story each 2 episodes or so. It's very episodic which explains why 2 seasons is possible. It feels more like the main cast are secondary characters in the story they have to tell in a way. Dunno if I explain myself well.

Anyways, I was really in the mood for that type of drama when it started last week, but since it's a genre I usually avoid, I've had my dose of "slow healing drama" after 3 episodes. I was planning on waiting a couple more days to watch episode 4, but I really no longer feel like it so it's a drop.

I'd put it on hold, until I'm in the mood again but per experience, I know that I always end up dropping shows I've put on hold so I'll probably pick this one up again in a couple of months... Maybe in Winter to warm myself.

Channel A is a small cable channel. Even getting 3% would be considered a success honestly so I doubt the ratings will have any impact. Also they probably knew this wasn't going to be a ratings hit... This is just not a genre that attracts lots of viewers in the first place.

I myself tend to watch episodes as soon as they're available when I watch airing shows from the start like this one...

But honestly I don't think it's the kind of show you can binge. I need to really be in the mood so personally I don't watch both episodes back to back. It's something I watch to "relax" between more "stressful" shows.

Agree especially given how much of a success Na Zha was, if they don't list that one I don't know what else deserves to be listed.

Oh my! That's quite a HUGE change.
They probably would have needed two seasons to remain faithful to the original novel then.
As somebody who is just discovering the story through the drama, it doesn't bother me but I would expect fans of the novel to be disappointed⋯though on a personal level, I'm not a huge fan of the reincarnation trope (most of the time, depends on the story of course) so I'm glad they got rid of that in the drama.

Ah yeah I had forgotten that Jade thing! Maybe it's explained in the novel why He Yan is always referring to him indirectly when talking about the Moon then ^^

Well I haven't read the novel... BUT I did stumble upon the chapter in which he founds out who she used to be... and it's very VERY late around chapter 210 out of 260 chapters + 10 extra chapters.
In the novel, He Yan actually accepted her fate, she got married to another man but her family still wanted to silence her and blinded her... though I'm not really sure they effectively killed her... I think she died by accident. Anyway she was known as Mme.Xu from I've glimpsed.

It's only when she reincarnated that she learns that Xiao Jue (why do we write it like that...Isn't his name 月 - Yue? I mean there's this whole analogy about how she indirectly tells him she loves him by saying she likes the moon) used to help her at their martial art school even in her previous life.... through various means (these are the snippets we see at the beginning of some episodes). Apparently she already had feelings for him but these feelings faded for another person ( though I don't know if that other person was to become her husband). At some point, when she learns that, it reinforces the feelings of love she had for Xiao Jue that never truly disappeared so their story goes a long way.

Apparently the Emperor approves Xiao Jue and He Yan's marriage at some point after some scheming from one girl who's been in love with Xiao Jue's for years that backfired... the fact that Xiao Jue learns He Yan's real identity comes even AFTER that.

This is not cause for angst in the novel though. 1. He's already madly in love with He Yan by then 2. He already knew that the Ru Fei he knew and the Ru Fei that met the Emperor and betrayed his trust is not the same. In fact, he already learned that "his" Ru Fei was a girl, he just didn't know it was He Yan.


And yes... I didn't read the novel...

But I spoiled myself quite a lot because I couldn't bear the wait...
To be fair, I was looking for some romantic scenes, but for the life of me, I couldn't find any... Too many chapters to check.

Well it's mostly a matter of cost. I don't care for western shows... that included shows produced by my own country, which aren't as violent as American shows... but are much more "sexually liberated" than Americans'. It's always about people cheating this person or that person, ending up in bed, being slapped... And there's always some boobs on display at some point. Romance is dead in my country. I understand people cheat and have sex but I don't care, in my free time I want my DREAM-LIKE ROMANCE F*** REALITY.

If you pay for Netflix or Disney +, most of what you pay is for their American franchises. I personally don't feel like spending 18€ or more each month for shows I'm not going to watch.

For me there's this thing... I enjoyed K dramas because they weren't overly violent nor overly sexualized. What was important was story telling. I'd argue it's still the same for most of what they produce buuuuuuuuut there's quite a lot of them that are going for that explicit western way of telling stories now... and I really do not like it... it's making me turning away from them and watching more C dramas.

[ Ah by the way, now that I'm thinking of it, C dramas I saw years ago and dropped were always ending badly one way or another. The Chinese loved their tragedy... This is a no no for me, I don't mind it from time to time, but I need my happy ending.]

I'm not a huge fan of censorship overall... But on that particular aspect, I've got to say, I think it benefits dramas because writers are forced to create emotions through good writing instead of relying on cheap tricks for shock value. These western writers are not building emotions, they're traumatising people's brain.
That's a generalization of course... I know some shows don't... but the most popular shows do.

And finally...
I HATE, LOATHE, AND UTTERLY DESPISE the multi seasons format. I like my stories to have a beginning, a middle and an end, not to run for eternity until I'm sick and tired of the story and its characters.

Look at what they're doing with K dramas now...😑