OneLuffy

Yea I saw some comments about the promotion thing - and it confused me because besides for the press conference I saw no real promotion. Even the hot searches on weibo before it was released - was due to Xiao Zhan fans speculating on when the release date was. So if there was any promotion going on - it would be due to Xiao Zhan fans. But that isn't really considered promo - since it cost no money from Tencent. So. in the end if they did believe it was a waste of money because XZ fans would promote - they weren't wrong.

His smile really is unique - probably one of the best smiles I have ever seen. He kind of has like a pure smile. But I am glad I continued watching the Untamed because it was absolutely amazing - like I think I binged it for 2 days straight (Pandemic House Arrest Watching lol).

Ahh it's the other way around for me. I watched a drama of 1 of the main characters, I think it was Legend of Awakening, & it was SOO BAD. And the ML's acting was just so rigid & he kept his facial expression so stiff. I just couldn't stand it - I mean the story was also pretty bad so I dropped it after I think 5 or so episodes. The only reason I would even give it a shot is probbaly due to the 2nd ML - I also saw one of his dramas but dropped it. However his acting was pretty good so maybe he will cancel the other guy out. Or the 1st ML will do a better job this go around - who really knows lol.

Ahhh yea comment sections for BL's drama are bit insane - probably better off avoiding it unless ur strictly saying positive things. Like having any kind of criticism will probably cause u to get attacked. It's best to avoid it in general - which does suck because I like going into comment sections to voice my opinion & see if others share the same view or something different. But I also prefer people talking to me in a kind tone - like I don't like it when people start attacking without any provocation or just for an opinion.

Myanimelist is sometimes hard to determine lol. Like I think 8+ is definitely a masterpiece but 7 - 8 is like it's watchable or u will love it as long as u enjoy this kind of genre. And if u pass a 9 (which I think only 10 have) - it's the best of the best. Even though some of the animes that got a 9 are like ehhh do u deserve it lol? Like Fullmetal absolutely deserves #1 - MasterPiece. But Gintama? Mind u gintama has a 9+ with like 100,000 people rating while some of the others have like 1 million+ rating. That is why I always look at rating + # of people rating. Not saying Gintama is bad but its not better than One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen or others that are rated around an 8ish (I would name more but let's not make this comment longer than it probably already is lol).

On douban u don't see many 8 or 9's - they are very rare unless the # of people are low than yea maybe u will find a few. Most of the super popular dramas are like around a 6 or 7. And ratings don't make sense with the popularity of the drama. Like Untamed has a 7.7 & the most watched C-drama ever, which is Love O2O (which I dropped lol) also got a 7. But if u compare them to the one's who got an 8 - popualrity is not even close. So, that's why ratings on douban are iffy to me & make no sense. That's why I feel fans don't even care about ratings when watching a Chinese drama - so ur right it doesn't really affect the views in the end. And views are really all that matter.

I never understood the "no dating" thing & especially when it becomes a scandal. Like yes I understand I am from America - so our cultures are different. But not like it's illegal to date someone in China - so why make such a big deal about it, they do have lives. And the fact they lose fans just for dating is absolutely insane. It must be so hectic for those actors - because they have to constantly be endorsing things & hope their fans buy it. Because their worth is based on the buying power of their fans - & not what should count, their talent. No wonder there is so much fighing in C-entertainment - they pretty much build an environment for being toxic.

Lol, good point. Unless ur following fan pages of the actual actor - ur probably bound to miss the release date. I have seen comments on dramas where people were shocked the drama was released - and it was available for weeks lol.

Ahh sorry, I must have misinterpreted ur comment & thought u liked the way the mentors were teaching - sorry about that.

I haven't watched the other seasons - the only thing similar to this that I have seen is Idol Producer. And in that I saw Yixing & the other mentors give strong feedback - which highlighted what the trainees did wrong & what they could do to fix it. So seeing these mentors give comments that someone like me could give, with no experience in this kind of thing, really confused me. So, I completely agree with u, I feel they are just on the weak side when it comes to being teachers. However, Tencent could be aiming for that - since I noticed that my attention is more on the trainees. Like when I watched Idol Producer - I put a lot of attention on the mentors & sometimes forgot about the trainees. So it seems to be more beneficial for the trainees - at least with how I see it. Maybe others have a different perspective.

Same boat lol. I remember watching it & I thought the actor who played Wei Wuxian was younger than Lan Wangji's actor. But later on when I found out the real age I was like :O WHAT?! And to top it off he was even older than Zewu jun - it was definitely strange lol.

I feel like if they ended it at episode 18 - it would seem weird but I feel it would kind of work lol. Like okay they are going off on their honeymoon - so they live happily ever after, The End lol. Abrupt but better than whatever they gave us in the later half lol.

I did find it strange that this drama had absolutely no promotion for it - like usually the people from a drama would go on a variety show together to promote the show. But in this case it was radio silence - pretty odd. So, u might be right & 1 of them will not reprise their role.

I remember when I first tried the Untamed, I had my remote ready to fast forward because I wanted to get it over with (I had an extreme bias going in - like I was ready to hate everything about it) . But I remember when Wei Wuxian for the first time smiled - I was like DAMN . . . . . ummm maybe this won't be as bad as I thought lol. Yes I know a smile made me change my mind so quick lol. Like the other characters were good but something about the aura around Wei Wuxian just had me hooked right away. He was such a lovable character but with some attitude & just super bad ass lol - which is my favorite kind of character. And yea i agree with the flying sword & some of the fight scenes took some time to get used to - but I felt the story was so great that I ignored it at times lol. Lol, its funny u mentioned real life animated character - because I remember when I first saw Wei Wuxian I was like damn whoever is playing this character looks exactly like an anime character come to life. Xiao Zhan pretty much is an anime character whenever he plays costume dramas.

Yea definitely - Guardian also helped Untamed because it drew the line of what would pass censorship & what wouldn't. I mean yes they didn't do it the best but it helps the future works know what to do better. Honestly, I am not that interested in Immortality - it seems a bit too dark for my taste.

I don't trust douban ratings one bit. They are literally just fans vs. antis fighting amongst themselves. There are so few dramas above a 8+ & depending on how many people rate it the rating gets lower. I don't think any popular drama with over 500,000+ people rating has gotten above a 8 on douban. Which I found ridiculous because there are dramas that deserve an 8+. Rofl ur statement about the screenwriters not caring about a good ending because they already got their money seems so accurate lol. And to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if it was true lol. I remember last year there was a really popular drama (didn't see it just saw the hot search) - and had a rating of 8+ on douban but then the ending came around and it fell below a 7. I was like omg - that ending must have been really bad because so many people were absolutely in love with it before it came to a close. Thats why I feel like even producers/film makers don't care about ratings - after all so many dramas that have gotten a season 2 only got it because the views were amazing but if u look at the ratings they are like a 6 lol. So, I never understood comments saying "rate this a 10 so it can get a 2nd season" - I am like there is so many dramas getting a part 2 and have terrible ratings on douban lol. I don't think ratings effect the chances really. And I also heard u can buy ratings for douban - which just makes it even less credible.

I know what u mean - but to be honest I don't blame the actors too much or the idols for that. After all the life expectancy of a certan actor/idol in chinese entertainment is what? Maybe if they are lucky 5 good years until another new face take their place. So, if those people don't constantly stay in the limelight - they decrease their chances of staying popular & sadly popularity is equivalent to what kind of resources u get. So if those people just act they would then be away from the eyes of their fans for at least 4 months while filming. So, singing is just a way for them to have other means to show their face to their fans. I also feel that is why they are so many variety shows in China - just so celebrities can constantly be seen even if they are busy filming something. Like here in America, Leonardo DiCaprio could honestly not film something for 5 years & still get amazing resources because his talent would open doors. Because here we don't care about voting, rankings & all that. While in China voting & ranking is literally everything to idols & actors. So, it's all about how many fans do u have & how to get more. Toxic but that is sadly how it works over there.

Who absolutely knows to be honest lol. Like I sometimes get surprised when a drama gives a release date a week prior - it's super rare. The usual outcome is - "oh btw guys in about 2 hours this drama will be released, enjoy" - like seriously? Thanks for the advance notice, I guess? Glad they not my professor - or else I would cry lol.

I completely agree with ur comment - it is exactly how I felt when watching the show. Like from episode 1 - 18 it would be a solid 9.5/10 for me. The story was good, enjoyed the comedy & the characters. Then episode 19 started & everything started going downhill. The later half I would give a 7.0. I felt they started going the political route & steered totally off road from what the initial intention of the story was (from the first half). Almost like we were getting 2 different story lines in 1 drama with absolutely no cohesion in the middle.

In the end I also gave it a 8/10 - like u. But the first half is totally worth it - really enjoyed it.

I absolutely agree with u on the aspect of them focusing on the trainees more, compared to the mentors. After all this is their time to shine so they deserve all the spotlight aimed at them - because they need to garner as much attention from the audience as possible. I feel if the mentors were someone as popular as Yixing - some of the attention would fall away from the trainees & to the mentor instead. At least this way the audience will have more time to get to know the trainees - which is a great improvement of format.

I completely understand what you mean about the reason for why they chose these mentors instead of others though - and ur reasoning is probably 100% right.

I just believe that mentors should be chosen to be teachers & not to show "oh u can be like them someday" - since they probably already have someone in their mind of who they want to be like. They need someone to tell them their faults & how to fix it - its great for someone to give them emotional support but they also need to be able to show improvement as the show progresses. And the only way that can happen is if someone tells them outright that this is ur weakness - and how to fix it. After all once u get into "showbiz" people are not going to be kind & will always nitpick on every wrong thing u do - the mentors job is to help u avoid that outcome & build u for success.

This is just my point of view and how I feel about the situation. U probably have a different outlook than me - which is perfectly fine :)

Ahhh, well when I watched it on Tencent their translation was that he lost points - so I just went with what they put for their subtitles lol. But ur interpretation is probably more accurate - but the reaction is still off putting for me; made me feel bad for Nine :/

I think in the show Patrick recited a poem - which made me also not understand how Nine's performance was bad compared to Patrick's (not saying Patrick's performance is bad - just comparing the 2). But it makes sense if they edited out his rapping performance - but I feel that is bad editing on the end of Chuang or maybe they are aiming for a certain look. I mean at the end I am still enjoying the performances & trainees.

The comment portion from the mentors didn't seem like something a professional would say - but to be honest I am not watching the show because of them; it's for the trainees so its fine. I just kind of wanted to rant on how I felt about their performance (lol) on being able to analyze the trainees & the remarks they gave. Like I am not saying they are bad at their respected fields (they are probably great) - I just don't think they have teaching capabilities. It's just all my personal opinion in the end though - nothing more - so if u believe I am absolutely wrong I completely understand lol.

Yea ur right - I heard at the end of the year they are going to release more politicized type of dramas so other dramas will have to take a back seat to them.

I swear I tell myself not to believe in rumors & ignore them - but then my stupid self goes & gives recognition to them anyways lol. Just need to stop giving them any attention - rumors always tend to be wrong anyways.

Yea ur right - sometimes I just see rumors & let my imagination take the wheel lol. But ur right - rumors always tend to just steer trouble & nothing else. I mean after all we have had maybe a million rumors about this drama & so far almost none of them have been correct - so it's best to just wait until official announcements come our way.

Chinese dramas really need to try to give release dates better though.

Well it makes sense for them not to bring her back - like u said why pay for a expensive female lead when her role isn't that important for the storyline. And I also agree - I just couldn't see the chemistry between Xiao Wu & Tang San. I actually saw more chemistry between Tang San & Hu Lie Na which was the funny part because they had some interaction towards the end. Like idk if its the fault of the actress or the director, telling her how to act, but I just felt that they are better off getting someone cheaper. And I feel because the female lead was popular back then - they kind of force fed her role into the drama when it didn't really require it. And a lot of dramas tend to do this - which just hurt the overall drama.

Untamed definitely is the best - I was super reluctant to watch it at first because it kind of reminded me of an anime being adapted to live action (e.g. deathnote, fullmetal alchemist, dragonball). And we all know how bad they were - but I finally bit the bullet & watched it. And omg it was amazing, fell in love right away. Been a year & still haven't seen anything better.

I have noticed that with it's big IP's it tends to do well at the beginning but then falls extremely short towards the end - which tends to give it a very low score. Now, idk if its because they are trying to escape censorship or just laziness but it has happened to a lot so far. Just recently the drama Heroic Husband got released - which is based off an extremely popular novel & it started off great but then fell short towards the mid way point.

Well I feel they have started putting in more money into big IP's now - well at least with the recent BL's dramas that are getting released. Their budget is HUGE! And mainly due to the huge popularity that the Untamed got - so I believe more dramas will try to throw more money into those kind of dramas. However, I just feel like more money doesn't always equal to successful dramas - but it doesn't hurt if they do have a budget lol. After all Untamed was a low budget drama & it did great - but Untamed seems more like the exception rather than the rule.

I feel they should give the budget to actors that actually have experience - because they will be able to make the drama better. People who are just famous might not have the talent to actually act it out well. Like if they gave the roles of the big IPs to someone that can act I feel the drama would do better - but that's just my opinion.

It really is a great chemistry between the 2 main leads. Enjoy the drama!

I would like to know what u think of the drama, when u finish :)

Ahhh okay lol. Well I hope u r enjoying the drama - I personally of course loved it. Hopefully u do as well - but if u don't that is also understandable :)!!

Happy Watching :)!

Definitely Lay is the best teacher :D - he definitely knows what he is doing & how to relay that information to the other trainees to help them improve.

Yes I agree, I wished that the mentors would give real professional comments about each performance. Like their criticism just seemed too basic like something a regular person in the audience would say. It makes me feel like they don't know what they are doing - and just makes it seem they are too nice. Which is nice for the trainee but how are they going to improve if u don't give some constructive criticism & show them where they are lacking. The only way for someone to be great - is not by telling them what they are great at but what are they lacking in so they can concentrate on that & fix it.

Like I have seen the first episode of (part of it lol) Chuang 2020 & Tao & Luhan were actually giving harsh criticism - so I don't think its the format. But I could be wrong & maybe they are just trying a different method this year.

So, after I wrote this comment I checked on Chuang 2020 to see how the mentors critiqued the performance. And I could immediately tell the difference between the 2 groups of mentors. Luhan & Tao gave great analysis of the girls performances - by actually using terminology such as base, pitch, timbre, etc. but in this season I don't think any one of the mentors once even mentioned those terms. They gave lazy comments such as "it was good, I liked it" or "that wasn't good" - I mean they could at least go in more depth. There were international participants in the 2020 version - yes I only saw parts of the first episode but it is quite obvious that the mentors were more stict in the last episode compared to this one.

I think we can both agree that we both have different opinions - ur opinion of the mentors differ from mine. I am a bit more skeptical in the amount of contributions they are making. I mean that is perfectly fine - I respect ur opinion but I still stick to my assessment of the show which leads me to believe that the mentors aren't really partaking in the actual development of the trainees. It's just a difference of perception, nothing else. I mean u might have a point that the shows format is not showing me what I desire - but that then leads to how am I supposed to know they are doing something if they aren't showing it. I can only make an assessment from the information they give me - hence why I believe that the mentors aren't that great. Especially since 2 of the mentors just got into a girl/boy group. Zhou Zhen in 2019 and Nene was in last season of Chuang 2020 - they should not have made the cut of being a mentor. That isn't enough time to be able to judge someone else.

Idk the whole thing with Nine really rubbed me the wrong way - granted if u r right about the off key part, they could have at least mentioned some of the criticism at the end. Besides for telling him that u lost points or u didn't do it well - if ur already okay with saying ur not impressed then u should also be willing to tell the person why. Like the reason I bring up Yixing is because when he told the trainees why he believed their performance was weak - he would always tell them why. It would be simple & short but at least they know where they went wrong. Nine basically is standing there looking awkward because all the mentors just said "ur bad" - without going into it. And to top it off when he won MVP - they just continued with wow I don't think u deserved it - that is absolutely wrong in every aspect. Like 1. u don't give a reason for why his performance is bad & 2. u continue belittling his win of an MVP. Like it was so obvious they wanted Patrick to win & just were mad that Nine got it instead.

Of course this is just my personal opinion so it will differ from how u perceive it. So, u might think how I think is totally wrong - which is okay & completely understandable. And I don't think I was putting Riki on a high pedestal lol, but again I understand if u perceived the way I wrote it to give that kind of conclusion. I just believed his level of ability far exceeds the other trainees & I personally believe that he should be a mentor rather than a trainee. Mainly because I think he is a better mentor than some of the mentors on stage - again this is all just my opinion so please don't perceive it wrong like I am stating it as factual.

I heard that rumor a lot - do u have any speculation for why they are doing that? I mean it doesn't make any sense unless they are deliberately trying to ruin the drama or something.

Ughh I honestly hate Long Dani - she treats the people in her agency so poorly. If she is behind it - I wouldn't be surprised. Especially since she probably hates Xiao Zhan - since he proved her wrong that someone "old" couldn't be successful.

I want to go on a bit of a rant.

1. Rikimaru deseres to get PAID. This man literally spends his time learning the routine but then also helps his fellow trainees learn their routine as well. I have seen him teach more than the actual mentors have - which is completely sad because that is what they are getting paid to do.

2. Which leads me to #2 - the mentors of this show SUCK. I don't want to be mean or rude but I haven't seem any sign of them teaching the trainees. It literally feels like the kids are on their own to find ways to succeed without any help from the selected mentors. Like I haven't watched the season before this but looking at the MDL page for it - the mentors that were selected look like they have experience. There is Victoria Song & 2 guys that were from the same group as Zhang Yixing. Now, Zhang Yixing was a perfect mentor in Idol Producer - he knows what he is doing & was able to teach the trainees what their faults were & how to fix them. The mentors over here can't even give a detailed assessment of what the trainees are doing wrong or right - just give a casual comment that a normal audience member would give. Like excuse me, ur a professional mentor that should be able to give a better analysis than what ur giving - clearly shows that these people are not qualified to be mentors. I mean I understand they can't be as great as Yixing with teaching but these people haven't made any kind of contribution.

3. Mentors are way tooo BIAS in my opinion - which makes them unqualified to be judges/mentors. I think it was episode 1 or 2 when Patrick & Nine were performing. It was really obvious that the mentors had already formed a bias for Patrick - so when it came to the Bonus round they totally blew off Nine. I found it absolutely ridiculous that when Nine sang the song for his Bonus round most of the mentors said he LOST points for it - mind u he sang the sound beautifully. However, they never went into detail of why he lost points or why they believed the way he sang his song wasn't done well. They just said "oh sorry, u lost points - we don't think u did it well". LIKE WHAT? How about u give the kid a reason besides for saying he lost points. And I felt so bad for him because the rest of the trainees voted for him so he won MVP - and the mentors were all shocked like OMG I can't believe u won over Patrick. Like EXCUSE ME?! That was absolutely ridiculous & I felt so bad for him because he didn't know if he should be happy or not because the mentors were absolutely TRASH & kept saying he didn't deserve it. I am not saying Patrick is bad but comparing bonus rounds - Nine was definitely better & that is why the other trainees voted for him.

Again, going back to Yixing's Idol Producer - Jackson Wang had many friends that were performing for that show. But he never allowed it to cloud his judgment or favor them over the other idols - which is extremely respectable. Like if someone was better than someone else - he would clearly state it & give rankings according to how someone performed & not because he liked someone over another.

4. The only great thing about this show are the trainees. Some of them are great & very sweet - I just wished they had better mentors that would actually help them thrive. Hopefully the guest mentors are a lot better. Idk how this year the mentors are so bad while last year they seem to be great.

5. Rikimaru deserves to get paid. Yes I said this point already but he really needs to get paid. Dude works way too hard & is doing the mentors job.

Edit:
I feel like maybe some people might perceive this wrongly. Yes I believe the mentors "suck" - but that does not mean I think they are bad singers, dancers, etc. I just don't think they are great teachers - after all not everyone can teach. I have several professors who are very smart in their field but when it comes to teaching the class - I am better off studying alone lol. So, no knock on the mentors abilities - just don't think that they are capable teachers. This of course is my opinion - so others might think they are great teachers. It is all a difference of opinion and how others view it.

Now the rumors are saying it might release in August/Summer time. *Face Palm*

Tencent really got some nerves though lol. Back in December, they had Xiao Zhan & Yang Zi sing the OST's for this drama. But then literally went radio silence after that. Like WHY DO THAT TO US? They gave people hope - just to take it away lol. Messed up!