ShortCircuit

JC still loves WWX as a brother (you'll see, though that might go away very soon). He does understand him and THAT's part of the problem. The Jiang Clan motto is something like "do the impossible" and Jiang FengMian always said the only one who actually understood it and applied it was WWX. He does understand why WWX is doing this, but he also just doesn't agree.

The Wens did destroy his home, his family and his clan. He's still processing that loss, and he also has to navigate marital dealings with the most powerful clan remaining for his sister to find her happiness, he can't afford to tear up relations with the Jins. So he's balancing his family and clan's future against saving some of the same people who killed his parents and most of his clan. WWX can afford that loss - JC cannot.

JC also had some feelings for Wen Qing but could see she was right - they had no future together, they're not people who can stand up together in the wake of what the Wen Clan did. And they're still not even that close or involved with each other, so the relationship is easily strained. He knows only they got refuge for a while in Qing's country home, nothing else. And he did let her go when he found her in that dungeon. In his eyes, they're barely even (again, he's not just counting himself, but the whole clan. Wen Ning took him away and Wen Qing hid him for a while, but just before that his parents were murdered and their corpses hanged in their own home while the Wens were merry-making in front of them, and his own core was shattered by Wen ZhuLiu, His sister was living at the mercy and pity of the Jin Clan, being - as later evidenced - humiliated for her standing as a scion of a fallen clan. These weigh very heavily for him).

I don't know where you are now in the drama, but there'll be a scene, pretty soon, in the Burial Mounds, when JC comes to WWX trying to understand why he'd defect the "orthodox" Jianghu, and that's one of my favourite scenes, just for the way WWX answers - "If there's no precedent, I'll create that precedent!" That's something JC doesn't dare to to. That's why Jiang FengMian knew WWX truly understood the Jiang Clan motto.

WWX also is definitely NOT mad. Frustrated, tending to overreact and not so much in control of the malicious energy as he'd like to believe, but definitely not crazy. Whatever he does, he does it rationally, even if it only makes sense to him.

After the return to the present timeline, you'll love that first scene. There will be a little bit of soul-searching from LWJ about this moment of defection.

.... I just realised that I've watched this drama first in 2020 and since then maybe a few more times (and read the novel and watched all the versions of the donghua, and listened to the audio drama) - this is still one of the best danmei stories I've ever read/heard/watched. It just struck me I still think about it every once in a while, considering the characters' motivations and actions, LOL.

So yeah. If you still like it, this might be your future :D

It's not as simple as that, though. She could do it because they also insulted her and demeaned her value as a Jin Clan member. Whatever she would say didn't matter to them, she had to win her own honour based on being right.

Whereas Jiang Cheng in particular was basically helpless - one, because his sister is in love with Jin ZiXuan and that counts a lot, and second and most importantly, his whole clan was almost wiped out. He might be someone who stands among the mighty, but Lotus Pier was decimated and he NEEDS everybody to help him re-build it. It could be that he sees that WWX is right and they are all wrong BUT 1. these are Wen Clan people (who killed his family and clan, too), 2. he needs support to remain and rebuild his clan and home, and 3. he really is not that open-minded as WWX. He doesn't even KNOW yet that Wen Qing and Wen Ning helped him, he doesn't have anything to be grateful to them for (and WWX won't tell him). It's not the same - WWX is clan-less, a power on his own (so far), free-spirited and willing to take on PERSONAL responsibility for anything he wants to do. But JC's actions engage the whole clan, and if anything of the Jiang Clan was imprinted on him, it was that HE's the one responsible. He's the next clan leader. He can't afford personal emotions to intervene.

Then there ARE some personal hang-ups, too, as in, he always had a sense of inferiority towards WWX and as the younger kid (he's a bit younger than WWX IIRC) he always had to fight for his father's manifested affection and appreciation, while it seemed to come easy to WWX. Don't forget his mom was Mme Yu and she never really liked WWX. I'm not finding excuses for him, but I can see his point of view.

As for LWJ - what do you mean, find his courage? Remember who we're talking about. This is a very personal and PRIVATE feud that WWX just came into - LWJ is also pretty self-controlled and non-reactive, he does intervene when he feels he is a part of the solution. Otherwise, he'd be managing to involve himself - and by extension the Lan Clan - into actual strife with the only clan mostly un-affected by war (the Jins), and lose whatever anchor WWX would have in the orthodox Jianghu, therefore cutting him completely free. He's expecting to see his own BROTHER react in some way, because XiChen is the one making the decisions. LWJ will make his own decisions - privately.

You also have to remember all these guys are so very young. They don't look like it, LOL, but if you ever read the novel, you'll discover the school days were when they were around 16-17, and the Sunshot Campaign ends about 2-3 years after that. They have no practical politics experience, LOL. They all act in a restricted manner - and LWJ most of all - because this is what they have been taught as being proper.

Anyway, things will go bad but there will also be very bright moments. It's not long now til they come back to the present, and LWJ has matured a lot.

Spoiler tags, please, though :D Just in case someone else isn't there in the drama yet :)

Told you so :D

There was no need for a whole conspiracy, some of the police dealings make no sense - like there's no time lost and no consequences (legal or otherwise) for her being caught in the middle of actual killings - Kim HanSaem did a pretty fast switch between ten years of suspecting her to following her lead and caring about her wellbeing all the time, etc.

And I know the killer made sense story-wise, but power-wise, not so much. She's a small woman, yet she could put that painting tool through the neck of an adult man (who used to be a cop, and not a mild one, he would've fought), she could strangle the woman in the car herself, rig up the thing that made the mayor/counsellor whatever he was, fall from the top of the tower, etc.

And other than the dismembered victim, who shot the mayor anyway, and why? Because she said she didn't. Someone DID. The police forgot all about it, conveniently, because the murders were ~justified. Yeah right. And the most righteous cop, Cpt. Yang, ALLOWED six deaths because he felt the killer was maybe in the right - like, seriously??! Did his sense of right or wrong get a 404 error when it was about this one person? Didn't the rest of the kids he was taking care of deserve his continued presence and help, so that he would throw everything away, including his life, for this one person?!

So yeah - I guess the quirky profiler and the cynical but also idealistic cop would make a good match, but the quirks started becoming annoying by the end (the drama ended soon enough they didn't turn completely annoying), his puppy-like attitude started growing stale, too, once the psychologist and the patient started having moments outside of the clinic it was kind of clear the psychologist would be part of it all. So one thing in the drama's favour - they knew when its welcome would be exceeded and ended it in time.

I hope the last moments don't ask for a sequel because some things would definitely need to change in their dynamic, and I don't mean just her not being part of the police anymore.

Overall - the ML was kind of insteresting, the FL tended to come off as too strange. the police stuff fizzled out (TBH, I was all cheering for Choi San - LOL @the name - because he got the "he's in charge of CCTV" job down pat), but the first half was pretty good still. Too bad they didn't keep the same energy in the second half.

It started off well, but it got lost in the second half, like some of them do. The best thing about it was the transformation of the OP sequences though.

PS The music was pretty good.

Yeah but did you see those things?? I would've at least died. And then came back to haunt someone too, maybe.

More jump scares. I've found my safe place in horror dramas, LOL. Give me more!!

This is the second time they've made fun of Otto for being sleepy on set, this is going to turn into a trend isn't it? :D

I really liked that confrontation. Singha's also right - if Thup trusted him he wouldn't have even started to doubt him.

Also, the thrill-seekers are stupid and I'm glad one of them at least got scared out of his mind.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE no more vomiting amulets and blood please that was really scary. But I kind of liked it anyway. I need a drink then.

LOL, prepare yourself for ep13's end, when WWX makes a fool of himself (again). And use the spoiler tag :D

Errr... they do end up together. The order of the scenes in the final ep is a bit scrambled in the long form series (but IMHO it went really well and follows the spirit of the drama - and also, even if the final scene COULD be interpreted somewhat, there's no suspense about it, they're together) but the ACTUAL order is shown in the Special Edition and it ends with them together (and married with kids LOL) in Cloud Recesses, supposedly going on night hunts together ever more. And dual-cultivating *cough being married in all aspects cough* for the rest of their lives together.

The novel ends with some spicy scenes AND the extras are mostly all spice (and them some, LOL).

The original novel is danmei, so a love story is expected BUT WWX is OBLIVIOUS to the effect he has on men, specifically on WangJi. There's a whole extra about a teen LWJ finally dealing with WWX the way he always wanted to deal with him, LOL, and WWX's big mouth is the cause of it all - WWX is NOT happy about it. Well, kind of happy. But not really. Still, a bit happy, LOL. (Turns out LWJ is actually a bit of a fetishist and he likes to bind WWX hahaha~ A little bit of it comes into the drama, too, subtly).

So yes, there are some sweet scenes in the novel but up until the very last few chapters, WWX has no idea what he's doing to LWJ and LWJ isn't talking.

For example, there's a famous scene in the drama - you'll get to see it, and it's so cute - that replaces another famous novel scene, where WWX gets a blindfold kiss. *Someone* couldn't help himself but kiss blindfolded WWX secretly and never told him until the very last scenes of the novel. In the drama is much less, but it's noticeable, LOL (no kiss though).

Then there's the also famous scene in the XuanWu Cave (it's in the drama too) where WWX opines LWJ won't ever marry because girls won't like him and LWJ agrees SO easily while looking at this obnoxious brat who's consuming all his love interest, LOL. I'm telling you, WWX is hopeless with lovers.

OR the drunk proposal - they let it in the drama!!!! I have NO idea how the censors allowed it, but it's the very best, LOL.

And you'll notice how jealous LWJ is of ANYONE who gets too close to WWX - from Jiang Cheng (whom he never calls on by his name, except once, and never forgives for having a part in WWX's original death), to Wen Ning (because WWX is too friendly with Ning, LOL), to ANY/EVERY girl around WWX, even to Nie HuaiSang, LOL. And WWX basks in it, completely oblivious. It's amazing how blind he is to it, hahaha~ And while WWX is doing his carefree butterfly dance around, LWJ is always on guard for anything that might put him in danger. Including WWX himself.

If you're inclined to read into the clues, the drama left plenty of the more romantic aspects in, taking care not to go too far. (Except with the drunk proposal, LOL. That can never be explained by simple bromance). Or the half-marriage (the three bows to heaven, parents and each other, that they almost completed) Or the headband (meant only for the very closest persons to a Lan Clan member, that LWJ calmly uses to tie around WWX's hand). Married, I tell you :D (and yes, with children! :D)

Okay I'll stop here or I'll get too spoiler-happy LOL.

16 in the drama (to give the next gen kids time to grow a bit, LOL), 13 in the novel, because our leads need to still be young and fiery themselves LOL.

LWJ is a quiet personality, but yes, he falls first and harder, too. But he too is driven by what needs to be done and not at all by the thing that draws praises from the audience. There's a saying going around him - where Lan WangJi is, trouble is. Because he's going where that trouble arises, no matter how big or small. He is honest and disciplined and you'll learn the story of why he became like that in the drama.

WWX is quicksilver. He's not that silly after all, but his circumstances allow him to be more carefree in his dealings with the Jianghu. Yet when push comes to shove, he always chooses the right thing, even if it costs him his entire life (and sadly even more than just his life).

This is a story about heroes, sung and unsung, and brothers (found or born) and even love (despite the censorship). And yes, a classic already. I don't think they'll ever dare to go as far and as close to another OG danmei story as they did with TU. Though there's still some hope someone slips free 2ha or Eternal Faith, LOL, and then we'll see.

Yes, yes, the soulmate song BUT what about Grass/Cao Mu?? That's my go-to soul-healing theme in the drama...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8hMzV1GWoM

In the drama, he looks the same, before and after, anyway, LOL. (Again, that smile!!!)

And Lan Zhan is suspecting he is WWX because LWJ is attuned to him, LOL, and was WAITING for him for 13 freaking years to come back. Because that's how LWJ is when in love. Even with the mask, WWX betrayed himself to LWJ immediately when they met, he just didn't realise it LOL.

But it's also about souls - you'll see, there's just something about WWX that always shines through despite what body he's in, even when he's in the darkest moments of his life (or afterlife, LOL).

So he's been grooming her since before he had half his upper body tattooed, and she's having thoughts about him too... And there's even a kiss at the end of the movie?!

And let's not pass over the ~it was ONLY "attempted" [gang-rape of a minor]~ and the ~she's MY WOMAN~ (still freaking 15-16, she didn't age much since beginning school.)

I know there's a problem with not even masked pedophilia in manga and anime in Japan. But they went and made a MOVIE with this kind of content, too, and presented it as wholesome and cute? No it's freaking not.

The way he's declaring she's his ~everything~ while getting up from another woman's bed, after obviously having had sex with the woman, and the girl who's his ~everything~ is just a little kid at the time - no but seriously what the actual f!ck?!

And the other gangster, what the hell?!

What the f!ck is it with the normalisation of gangster-type romance, NO women don't really want more ACTUAL bad guys to be romancing them any more, it's been a freaking while since the 80s, the F!!!!! I mean, he's grooming/"romancing" this 16-YO and then going right back to his actual work which involves organising human trafficking (of potential minor girls, too, just like the one he's "in love" with), selling them drugs, getting them to become "hosts" and what not else that yakuza is doing. WHY the hell would this person be a romantic interest to anyone?!

And HER?! She's a YAKUZA's granddaughter and acting like an unspoiled little flower - like, HELLO!!! Do you know how your lifestyle is being funded?! She KNOWS what being an yakuza involves and still she acts like she's all that innocent and untouched by the underworld. I guess the manga author felt this is possible and people would just accept it. F that too!!

This left me with a unclean feeling, I'll need lots of lemons to get myself rid of the gross aftertaste. Don't do this to yourself. I guess I was hoping for some redemption but no, there's straight-up grooming nonsense that contains ZERO character growth and a lot of nonsensical tropes.

I want these hours back.

What in the actual....

I have zero idea how I ended up watching this garbage (at 2x speed). I usually have no problem with age gap and the size difference is definitely one of the selling points BUT she's freaking 16?! Anf chatbots tell me the normal HS-entering age in Japan is 15 actually.

Rant under spoiler. Just in case you want to watch this garbage un-spoiled.

The drama starts with WWX being killed / falling off a cliff at Nightless City, in a long-ago cultivators' war where HE was the villain according to the official story. 13 years on, he's become a legend and his body was never found, so there was a suspicion of him having escaped or something, but no proof of him still being alive (people really did search, both friends and foes).

The story of the present timeline begins with someone having taught Mo XuanYu how to enact a soul-summoning ritual where MXY had to sacrifice himself in order to call WWX back from wherever his soul was meandering. MXY is one of the Jin Clan leader's bastard children that he neglected, as he did all his bastards, and there are some circumstances that led to MXY being kicked off from the clan back to his own mother's family's manor where he's neglected and abused by his family and step-family until he goes mad and decides to take revenge on everybody by calling the most "evil" person he knows of, which is WWX.

In the novel and donghua, the body is MXY's and different than WWX's original one so even if he used a powder/make-up mask (MXY was a known gay madman), there was no need for an iron mask and there isn't one, LOL. In the drama, they chose to keep the same actor - because helllllloooooo, Xiao Zhan and that blinding smile!! - so the mask was used to hide his face that everybody remembered (I would have remembered that smile too, LOL).

Be advised that the timeline is split into two - the present is in 1-2 and then 33-50, and the past, in a linear manner, comes in 3-33. The story starts turning dark around ep 14-15, and then it's a rollercoaster of emotions til the end.

YES, WWX is a ray of sunshine, and the story is so much worth watching... I'd ask everyone to try staying with it for a while. Just for the untamed hero to have a chance to win you over :D

The statue isn't even horror, LOL. There are a few gory scenes, but not jump scares. People are more scary than supernatural things in this drama. Keep watching :D

More like the donghua is closer to the novel's plot (including the time skips - IMHO it's better to watch the drama first to get the main line of the plot). Then the drama changed some things, mostly the Yin Iron origins and backstory, and fleshed out a lot of secondary charas (particularly the women - Mme Yu, YanLi and Wen Qing aren't as prominent in the novel as in the drama).

Aaaaand they did keep a lot of the innuendoes as they went in the novel - the thing about the Lan headband for example, LOL. And you'll see in S3 the actual revenge in the Burial Mounds when JGY traps them all in the caves.

They also kept it almost as gory as in the novel, and the SFX are better (but then they just had to draw them and not computer-generate them, LOL). AND the changed body for WWX.

You HAVE to watch the chibi donghua next, it's the most sugary version of MDZS we could have ever asked for. Even the tragic characters have some good moments :D and WWX is sooooo much cuter when chibi. Then there's LWJ chibi-drunk in front of his uncle. PERFECTION!

The heart of the story is in the drama, too. I'd advise for someone who isn't really into danmei to watch the drama, as it's censored enough that if you want them to be just platonic soulmates, they can be that, AND it presents the plot in a linear timeline (split between past and present), whereas the novel jumps back and forth a lot.

But just FYI, the novel itself ISN'T all that romantic (there are parts that hint it, but WWX is Capt. Oblivious throughout 90% of the story anyway) so if you like it, the novel might be also a good read.

Still haven't started the novel? :D

Anyway - the VAs in the the donghua are mixed and matched in the live adaptation but Bian Jiang voices LWJ in both, so that tone might be familiar (too few times heard though... at least they did keep LWJ's amber eyes in the donghua). WWX's VA from the drama, Lu ZhiXing, also voices him in the audio drama (in the donghua, his VA is Zhang Jie.)

The first season of MDZS is as close to a masterpiece adaptation as they come, but be prepared for the story to get a little muddled toward the end of S3 (they were made with years in-between and censorship did some tricks in that period).

Seconding Spare Me Your Mercy, it's a subtle BL that has actual weight in its plot AND good acting. The ending isn't a HEA but it's not a BE anyway. Give it a chance, it's so worth it.

Also rec'cing Peaceful Property - the first half is more of a doozy romcom but the second half makes it very good. And there's so much eyecandy...