DreamHi

I second you, intensity paired with softness, obsession paired with sincerity, manipulation paired with self-sabotage is exactly my cup of tea. Glad you enjoyed it❤️

I understand where you're coming from and truly support your claims about the highly manipulative entertainment ecosystem, unrealistic beauty standards, CP building trap and toxic fan culture.

However, I won't fully tap into the "realistic" portrayal of characters. Yes, expecting generals going through war to look like models off the runway is utterly unrealistic and that's why it's only seen in dramas, more specifically dramas based off stories looking to portray the unrealistic aesthetics (I am not vouching for dramas that actively promote unrealistic standards and shame looks on screen). The real damage to viewers' psyche comes when they overlap such dramas onto their life and this is where marketing, product placements, ads hyper focusing on beauty products and casting actors in various over the top make-up products come in. I would blame and restrict such activities rather than dramas for the "distorted aestheics" if I wanted any real change. Also, if we now point out this predatory side of entertainment industry, then sponsorship, investment and cash flow has to brought in, and this becomes a vicious cycle where one aspect cannot be seperated from the other.

Also, now that the NRTA has addressed "distorted aestheics" largely based of certain male characters portrayed by actors, I wonder where this whole arguement was dozing off when all throughout the industry female characters have always been the "aesthetic" face of dramas, their appearance and appeal highly discussed and debated over character depth? A male general who wears makeup is so controversial, but trapped concubines, female warriors or tortured female characters showing up impeccably with heavy head-dresses, ornaments and long nails are acceptable?

If NRTA has to point out originality, committment to art, character depth, and dedication to bringing out soul of stories, they can't go behind the scenes to alter and audit what can and cannot be portrayed on screen, banning multiple genres and shelving dramas. Liberation cannot be talked about while dabbling and benefiting from the very oppression they seem to stand against.

I would also like to point out the toxicity of c-netizens and fans: while it is true that entertainemnt companies now sell emotions, CPs, manufactured lives of their artists, this also largely stems from the consumer demands present, with fans going as far as to stalk actors to get a glimpse into their lives. Such behaviour should be highly penalised and discouraged legally. I've been watching dramas since long and never once have I been consumed by the unrealistic aesthetics, forced CP contents or merchandise traps— fans should all take a step back and look at dramas and movies through the lens of reality, strictly seperating whats on-screen from their own life.

The acting industry has vastly changed in recent years from including fan meetings and merch for popular dramas, having fixed CPs that do multiple dramas together, host concerts, sell merchandises, and follow career paths together, etc. Now acting no longer just means taking part in roles designated to them in movies and dramas, it also includes singing, dancing, participating in shows, doing dance trends, starting tik-tok fads and so much more. This definitely makes it difficult for viewers to detach themselves from content which feels like living a life parallel to their stars. And so, drawing line between reality and screen is more so necessary is what I believe.

Historically, all art forms have tested and crossed lines between what's acceptable in reality and what's not— because that's exactly the freedom it posseses, because it's not real. If we begin to control and restrict everything portrayed by media (unless it actively promotes falsified ideology, violence and hate) rather than encouraging the audience to examine and dissect their media with careful precision, we will end up bringing into life a generation of audience who swallow spoon fed content without any introspection or thought.

It's not my intention to refute your claims. most of what you've stated are valid and very real problems that I'm not looking to minimize in any way. I just wanted to put forth my views on the whole situation you've brought up ^^

Says China while heavily restricting and regulating "acceptable" media representation and art forms.

"........television dramas has never been limited to visual "beauty"; it lies in stories that are compelling to watch, in works with ideological depth, emotional resonance, and cultural nourishment — entertaining people while also educating them. It is essential to resolutely discard distorted aesthetics and shift from a "star-centric" to a "script-centric" approach..."

Ideological depth, emotional resonance, cultural nourishment, educating people etc are just fancy words of wisdom when implied in the context of oppression and limitation of freeedom of expression. Promoting unhealthy habits on pernonal image and looks can be discouraged without bringing down the authenticity of make-up, costumes or character designs. Through my personal experience in watching major actors of chinese industry, most of them are well trained or talented in acting with a very few exceptions who might rely on popularity. Also, entertainment industry has always been cut-throat and unfair throughout history, if they really want to purge all the unfair promotion of "actors just based on looks" (such a dubious term), then who creates the terms and conditions of evaluation of actors, what kind of gradings and systems are they going to develop to rank such terms?

The moment a government starts to police what kind of media is superior and acceptable, and what kind of characters and stories are eligible to be freely portrayed, they no longer consider such media a form of art, but rather a propaganda for their own use and manipulation.

What's so wrong with dramas that focus more on aesthetics? What's so wrong with generals who wear makeup on screen? What's so wrong with elaborate costumes and ornaments? What's wrong with cliche plots? Every drama or movie is vastly different and unique, and so are the tastes of viewers who watch them. The responsibility of criticizing acting, characters, story, set designs, and what not falls on the audience who watch it and not the government or censor board. Promoting confidence over looks and appearance ironically does not equate to bullying anyone for their make-up either.

On a whole, the whole symposium on a very sheer level looks modern, healthy and appreciative. But, looking deeper- all I see is a government trying to police their citizens on what is acceptable to watch while profiting from the very "Art forms" they look down on. A load of supercilious bullsh't

If I'm not wrong He Chusan's name is Ho Cho Sam in cantonese, so they took Sam from his name and Yi from Xia Liu Yi's name and combined it to form Sammy- probably for ease of pronunciation for international watchers

I can understand the toning down of Liuyi's character, many watchers are sensitive to morally ambiguous main leads especially in BLs and the production took a financially and socially palatable stand which with the current BL scene in China is again a safer stand (I'd have liked the unhinged version more though)

I'm aware that most of them are Mandarin speaking actors and it'd be too much to expect them to have perfect synchronization with Cantonese speaking dubbing artists or vice versa. And I did notice the vast difference with the 2nd leads as you stated. Honestly, the language or dubbing perfection does not matter to me, but somehow my brain can't stop catching on to the inconsistencies with the lip movements for no reason T_T and it's such a pain in the ass especially during emotional or intimate scenes when my brain decides to give a passive monologue on the mismatch when I'm busy being emotionally invested🫠

As for your recs, they've been on my list for ages and I've still not been able to get to them, thankyou for the recommendation though.

Amazing episode, I'm loving the chemistry and dynamics between the main leads as well as the secondary leads. Though the lack of coordination between dubbing and lip movement throws me off sometimes, I believe it's my hyperfixation on synchronization and nothing more. Personally, I've not watched many Hong Kong based series or movies, but I'm minimally aware of the general vibe and I find this series very refreshing and interesting just taking the period it's based on.

As I've yet to read the book, I cannot comment on the pacing and similarity of the characters and story relative to the novel. But, if there's one thing I can point out, it's the toned down inner workings of the characters. Though half the series has aired, I am not confident enough to say I know He Chusan and Xia Liuyi- the working of their minds, the motives behind their actions and so on. I'm not sure if the series follows the pacing of the book and will hence take more time to get into the deeper aspects, or if the constraints of time and budget cut short the details of the book.

Otherwise, I love the series, the acting and the hard work the cast and crew has invested into this. Thanks to this series, I look forward to every friday with so much enthusiasm❤️

I came across new about live adaptation on instagram. If that source is to be trusted, they start filming this May

Sent it to you through dm❤️
I recently read it after realizing it was getting a live adaptation, and I quite liked it.

6 YEARS!!!! I've been freaking waiting for 6 YEARS! At this point, they might blow up the world before we get to see this🫠

Similar in positioning, but vastly different in vibes.
Revenged love has more of a cheeky, provoking tone and fun colour contrasts whereas To my shore has a dark, obsessive tone with hints of power-imbalance and a monochrome colour theme. Truly captivating how two similar looking cover photos capture entirely different stories😌

I would argue that 6 is a criminally low rating for this masterpiece, but to each their own. The characters are really complex and hard to understand and the cut-throat pacing does not make it any easier. The budget was very low- I would say this has a story worth 30 episodes which they condensed into 12 due to various reasons. Maybe a better pacing would have clearly explained the whole scenario for you, drawing you into their motives and thoughts.
This is a feast for people who live to delve into characters deeply and intimately, not a easy or stress free watch. But if we talk about simply watching it to enjoy a easy to digest series, then this is definitely not it😵

Out of the blue, I know someone by your name and I'm confused because even the way you type seems similar. I'm low key convinced you are the same person but I don't wanna trip and make a fool out of myself😂😂😂

I think it is an affectionte way of calling You Shulang- taking the Shu from his name and saying Shushu (which taken literally means uncle in chinese), like Lu Zhen is called Zhenzhen .

I really appreciate you for taking your time to give us all a detailed description of the Chinese lgbt media representation and censorship laws throughout the years. As a person who has been watching chinese bls since the era of Addicted, trying to scrap through every piece of media available, I'm exhilarated that we've come this far, big kudos to the ever growing healthy fans who keep the support system running and the actors and crew for chosing to takes risks to take part in creating masterpieces we've been getting (yes, they do gain popularity, but I believe that such representations take a lot more than money or fame- courage and devotion, to turn out beloved and treasured).
This journey has not been easy for any person involved, but we stayed and showed up in small ways that matter. I hope to see the days where censorship breaks apart and we get to watch all these amazing stories on screen.

Really not a fan of the pro-bono team at all. Their characters are so "morally uptight" that it seems immature and incomprehensible at times. The actors are going a good job at giving me a headache with their to the book portrayal of these characters- such annoying characterizations. And oh the double standards, they were totally on the book with Kang Dawit when he used less than legal ways to win cases for the "oppressed"- according to their interpretation. But, when it came to him as a person, they want him to forgive and forget all his grievances and do the "right thing". I'm beyond speechless by the cruel morality. Also the trial, they know that the prosecution, judge, and themselves are running on unfairly boosted terms by the power behind them- all with the only motivation of sending him to jail. However they dont find this aspect a "rigged trial" at all?

The only addictive and relatable character is Kang Dawit it, the entire show is running on his wit and unpredictability. At this point, the only saving grace for the team's intelligence would be a scenario where they are putting on a show along with Kang Dawit's greater scheme.

Aww, well done dear, I get that this has been really hard on your bruised ego, nothing like giving us all a display of your insecurity. I feel tormented by the fact that this show has to deal with you😂😂😂

Daddy and grandpa😂😂😂 Good lord, I almost snorted water through my nose😂

Honestly, I didn't realize some people have their egos inflated to the dark side of moon, getting it bruised at the slightest touch.
We all understand that some stories just dont tick the boxes for some people. Yes, it's every person's right to rate or critique a show on their grounds of understanding. But hollering around and calling out people who like this show for a lesson on morals and ethics and questioning their interests by attacking their character, if that isn't miles away from the ethics they preach, I don't know what is. This is just screaming for attention and rage.

But, we do have more secure watchers on this page than unhinged ones, so please take a breath and let those people who love to fight wilt in the absence of reaction. We have better things to do with the time we absolutely do not need to waste on them🥰

Darling, you're right in every word you say- we spent wasted time on something so obviously unmovable. I'm sure most of us are secure viewers- you, me and all the respectable fans. We really shouldn't waste another breath here, but I really understand that urge you speak of, sometimes we just fail to hold back from arguing down the lane of no return and no benefit😂😂

This makes me so happy. Yet, I feel kind of anxious for their safety all the same. I genuinely hope they sail smooth without any 'chinese incidents' that previously occurred to famous ships🙏🙏🙏