Meari21

This season is off to a great start.

They've only released 4 episodes so far, then two episodes every day after that. I no longer have VPN and I don't want to renew it just for this, so I'm just going to watch it on KissKh.

Try iQIYI US

Yep. I am now watching it on KissKh. I would rather watch it on my paid subscription apps though. Bummer!

This is Joy of Life 2 all over again. I specifically subscribed to WeTV for that drama but I ended up watching it on other sites because it's not available in certain territories. This is also a highly anticipated sequel and both WeTV and iQIYI in my region do not carry it. iQIYI often releases their shows globally, but WeTV or Tencent seems to be the one doing most of the region locking for their highly anticipated dramas. They did that with Blossoms Shanghai and The Wolf. I'm still salty about that.

Ahhh... this sucks!

Agreed. I watched the anime but still felt confused by the way they handled the plot progression. I found the talking babies especially jarring and some things were just plain cringe. I understand the interviews are adapted from the manga but there are some things that do not translate well to live action and that's usually my problem with live action adaptations. They don't quite know how to balance things out and make them more palatable for live action. I also didn't appreciate some of the changes they made because it made some things a little less logical. I watched this solely because I was curious how they would adapt certain stuff. But all in all, it's just decent for me. Just your garden variety live action adaptation, which is a shame because this could've been great. The plot is unique and refreshing and it shows the reality of the Japanese entertainment industry. They had the budget and talent to turn this into something bigger. Too bad, this could've been an easy slam dunk.

Prime Video

I'm not questioning that. I'm just pointing out your obvious bias for him.

More like the three of them. Zhu Yan, Zhuo Yichen, and Li Lun. It was they who fought together in the boss fight too.

Oh, I do. I teach English for a living. I know what that word means. You're the one with Neo as a profile picture and yet I'm the one that's biased. Okay.

No, it's not. At least not from my point of view. While I agree that the focus shifted towards Yichen's character during his character arc, when he was merely the wielder of a demon slaying sword, he didn't get that much screen time. Only Neo's avid fans have been stating these as facts but there has been no real proof to back them up. There's a reason why Zhao Yuanzhou became a favorite among Chinese netizens even though the drama didn't do well in China, it's because his character was a refreshing take on the usual immortal demons found in xianxia, flamboyant, flirty, but dark and mysterious, and the drama was largely about him. His fans started complaining and the heat index started going down when Yichen's arc started. That's actually when it became obvious that Yichen is supposed to play a bigger role than the female lead.

But you do. It's like when you accuse someone of murder and just say, oh it's obvious he killed that guy because he looks like a murderer. It won't hold up in court. We're talking about screen time as a whole here, not the last part of the drama.

No, it isn't fair. But I do understand why they would do such a thing. They can market it as an ensemble drama, sure. But the BL elements would still be glaringly obvious that the censorship board just won't let it pass. They won't be able to get away with it unless they put in a female love interest and push it as a romance. They could've changed the genders of the villain and Zhuo Yichen, made them women instead and then create a love triangle. That would've been the safer route. But I guess they didn't want to do that.

No, I said that I liked Tian Jiarui's role in this drama more, same as Zhiguang's Sikong Changfeng in Dashing Youth. That is all. You misunderstood it and got offended when you don't know me at all. But think whatever you like, you've obviously made up your mind about me. As for the screen time that you're stating as a fact, do you have the actual hours of screen time of both actors to compare? Did somebody actually count the minutes they were on screen?

Me mocking Neo? I watched this drama for him not knowing what the story was or who else was in it. Why would I do that if I disliked him? Yes, I came to like Tian Jiarui because of his role in this drama, but I liked Hou Minghao first. You misunderstood the joke I made and took it personally. You're the one who is biased and is turning it into a fan war when it isn't. These actors don't care about us, they don't even know we exist. I am only stating what I have seen from the start, the story revolves around Zhu Yan. It's all about him and his relationships. This was never a romance, it's a BL story in disguise, that's why Wen Xiao's character is severely limited and the romance is practically non-existent.

They could've shared that responsibility and died together instead of him dying alone. They could've written it in a way that it would require both of them to sacrifice their lives. After all, they did carry the Baize order together at some point. That would've made more logical sense than just his malicious energy triggering the Baize cycle thingy.

I don't get why some people are saying that Neo didn't get as much screen time in this because Guo Jingming was playing favorites and wanted to bring Tian Jiarui to the forefront. Did we watch the same drama? While I do agree that Wen Xiao takes a back seat and was cheated of a more prominent role in the drama because Zhuo Yichen plays a far more important part in the story, I cannot agree that he was given more importance than Zhu Yan/Zhao Yuanzhou. Even in the boss fight, it is Zhu Yan who deals the killing blow and saves Yichen. Yichen going through an existential crisis is tied to Zhu Yan's narrative. It allowed him to finally understand the one person he had despised for years and it solidified their friendship. Everything Yichen goes through is connected to Zhu Yan, from the loss of his family to his ultimate destiny. It was his character arc but everything revolves around Zhu Yan. I think people complain when the focus isn't on their favorite actors even if it's for the development of other characters, yet they also complain if a character is underdeveloped because the drama concentrated on the leads too much. This is what I've noticed in C-ent, most of the fans only care about whether their favorites get the spotlight or not.

Yep, we've been saying that since it became apparent that the second male lead has a bigger role to play than the female lead. lol

This is probably a hot take, but I would've preferred it if Wen Xiao was given a chance to have her hero moment by allowing her to die to save the people as the Baize Goddess. She and Zhu Yan could've died together instead of him sacrificing his life for hers. This would've been better than her being bound and crawling on the floor screaming "Zhao Yuanzhou!" the whole time. She was nowhere to be found during the last big fight, both Bai Ju and Ying Lei died to protect their loved ones and contributed to the cause, even Pei Sijing got her moment, but Wen Xiao never did. Her dying for everyone would've given her more value. I honestly wouldn't have minded a sad ending as long as it makes sense to the narrative.