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  • Last Online: 10 hours ago
  • Location: Cooking up world-changing ambition
  • Contribution Points: 146 LV2
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  • Join Date: July 13, 2024
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Xiang83

Cooking up world-changing ambition
Replying to love triangles anti Jan 10, 2026
IT'S COMING...
It's airing today. Youku released the trailers, stills and necessary less than 2 hours to airing at 12 pm.
Replying to Yuchen Jan 10, 2026
"Loving Strangers" has officially announced its premiere today, January 10 at 12:00 PM CST.First Trailer:https://weibo.com/9082061222/QmribEqaxFirst…
Thanks for sharing!

Somewhat annoyed with Youku, given official promos for this drama is so disorganised and last-minute.
Replying to Xiang83 Jan 10, 2026
Wow, a great pre-CNY present!
Youku is slated to start airing this drama today at 12 noon (less than 3 hours' time). But the official drama accounts on weibo and douyin is still zero for posts D: https://m.weibo.cn/status/5253229826804058

WTF is a shared reaction by others, considering it is supposed to be broadcast online: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5253261301122634

It will definitely air today (Cnet youtubers are also waiting): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_IYlv6w-fw

15 videos (BTS, etc) hidden here by official Youku channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLATwx1z00HsduYIzzE5P-Ok_OpQFrGiFG

ETA: Yuchen has just shared the posts of trailer, poster and stills from the official weibo account less than 15 minutes ago (also Youku, really really disorganised on promos D:): https://kisskh.at/748667-wo-de-da-shu#comment-24781752
Replying to roddib Jan 9, 2026
Title River Sunset
Inoue is disgusting to the max. Desperately want him sent off from the island. Why does he have to be both smart…
The despicable chap is also happily kicking in episode 17. But wow, 17 episodes and so many epic moments, turbulent and touching, and tension to the max between various Japanese officers and ML. Hats off also to the actors as Oshima-san and Commander Fujita.
Replying to Pytheos Jan 9, 2026
Aah… finally show finished… ooh whooo ‘tipsy pipsy from Nikka’… me will binge with XiXi this w/end after…
You're getting a mini-carton of mineral water before that happens. And possibly a lovely sunset by the river XD
Replying to MyLiking Jan 9, 2026
Title River Sunset
I'm only half way through of the You""be documentary and noticed how alike the real American aviators…
Glad you are enjoying the documentary! The realism in this C-drama is highly laudable and respectful on multiple fronts, such as the American aviators and other details related to army officials. The fact that one can watch a WWII C-drama without needing the history background (My review of "The Guardians" necessitated inserting history of the KMT, CCP and other details: https://kisskh.at/profile/Xiang83/review/508286 ) is marvellous.

This drama clearly had a lot of big and small technicalities considered before being well-sorted/planned and prioritised, when it's actually too easy to screw up. Sterling production this far.

Episodes 9 and 10 are wonderful examples of interweaving high stakes, tension, emotional bonds and humour while constantly advancing the plot and subplots. The sad history of the current situation pertaining to number of villagers on Sanzao Island is heartrendingly unforgettable, captured and conveyed through poignant stark camerawork.

FL could easily have turned out to be very annoying, over-simplified and over-dramatic if the acting was any less stellar, but Janine Zhang (also known as Chang Ning) is doing a splendidly realistic job of eliciting mixed emotions from me while demonstrating nuanced understanding of her role. Her evolution over episodes is organic. By episode 13, she is truly her father's daughter, but she will still need perspective with the ever-changing situation.

I summarised the main context here of Ye Biying, for the first 6 episodes: https://kisskh.at/27149-sunset-in-glory#comment-24687478

Gary Sinise is great at narrating and he's a phenomenally wonderful humble gentleman helping veterans for decades. His courage and compassion in the process of losing his son and fighting personal battles, while helping frontline workers- I only have deep respect for him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND3bAyuWdKc
Replying to Xiang83 Jan 9, 2026
Title The Truth Within Spoiler
It's both sad and assuring that Qi Sizhe (Luo Yunxi) posted in reply on weibo with "老万放心,剩下的路交给我们。"And…
In FoF, I felt Liu Huan as a villain was too caricatured and stereotypical (GJM can be uneven for characterisations and wastes his villains). Here Liu Huan gets to really exercise his acting chops in micro-emoting and be pushed to the maximum (he was also in 2025 Republican-era espionage thriller "The Guardians" as a different sort of villain against sterling actors too and I also enjoyed his performance there), and he still has room for improvement when it comes to the most melodramatic scenes of snapping.

I usually don't root for characters in a drama or movie to have a romance unless they act well and they have great chemistry in their individual roles. This was a pleasant surprise for me and I'm happy if Han Feng is only at the level of seeing Qingyue as a good friend or possibly starting to see her in a different non-platonic light, but no actual romance for this series. The ability to portray such subtleties at most as hints is a pleasure for me, because any of them can easily pull it off if it happens. That's not the case in a large number of idol dramas where it becomes painful for me to watch because the leads' ability to micro-emote is lacking and cannot deliver. That's also a large reason why I usually go for non-romance dramas because the delivery I am used to and expect isn't there. HK stars of the 80s and 90s have spoilt me XDs

I really like Jiang Qi Lin in this drama, and he delivers as expected. Because of this veteran cast, Luo Yunxi can finally do what he comfortably does once he has grasped a character: He's just as capable of micro-emoting well in a modern drama as with a historical costume drama. Qi Sizhe had doubts in the first half of the drama coupled with not yet acknowledging how he needs to be aware of the lingering effects of PTSD from what happened to him and his GF, and Luo Yunxi had to portray that obsession with restraint due to doubts about himself. It's difficult to peg him. After he makes a certain mistake, he's more cautious and grounded yet also passionately professional due to his convictions growing with certainty. Not easy at all.

Great emotional buffet for me! I am a happy camper XD
Replying to Enigma05 Jan 8, 2026
Thanks for this; did someone translate the songs?
Whoever you're referring to may not have done translations (yet) for this OST (plus I typically use bilibili and other mediums for C-Ent music). But the above channel has done so. Enjoy!
Replying to Xiang83 Jan 8, 2026
Title The Truth Within Spoiler
It's both sad and assuring that Qi Sizhe (Luo Yunxi) posted in reply on weibo with "老万放心,剩下的路交给我们。"And…
I don't think Chen Chuchuan anticipated that his own reaction to what he'd been told by Hu Jie was to kill her. I have mixed feelings, because I'm also wondering at what point did he lose sight of what he'd been taught by his teacher and how did that happen?

I didn't expect to feel sorry for him. But given how often I've seen Liu Huan as a villain, I'd be surprised if he was the ultimate villain because Director Zhuang Xuanwei likes to keep people guessing. I like that for once, he's been given a role with a background that makes one ponder.

And biggest surprise: Never thought I'd want Han Feng and Qingyue to get together. Jiang Qi Lin and Liu Ya-se have done so well individually that I believe they would be such a cutely awkward and endearing couple. Jiang Qi Lin is a totally different character in "Man's Inhumanity to Man" and he's turned in one of my favourite portrayals of a cop in C-drama here.

Looking forward to how Qi Sizhe evolves for these final 4 episodes. In terms of emotional buffets of micro-emoting, these four characters mentioned here have kept me well fed and very happy, with episodes 15 to 17.
Replying to Sharlotka Jan 8, 2026
Title The Truth Within Spoiler
Goodbye Chen Chuchuan, you will not be missed. Lao Wan, though... T__T It's interesting that we kind of got an…
It's both sad and assuring that Qi Sizhe (Luo Yunxi) posted in reply on weibo with "老万放心,剩下的路交给我们。"

And Han Feng (Jiang Qi Lin) is, "老万 🫡 放心"

Cya Liu nailed her emotional scenes, and what a spectrum of subtleties. All the emotional scenes from episodes 15 to 17 were brilliant, between the three leads plus Liu Huan. I have mixed feelings for Chen Chuchuan, and I also felt sorry for him.

Given how well the acting has been going, I was thinking at least twice if only Han Feng and Qingyue would get together! I believe they would be sweet, awkward, funny, and the team would be YES! And that's how good their acting is. Nothing romantic implied whatsoever, but their individual portrayals... Rooting for two characters to get together in a drama I know has no romance was unexpected.

Not-yet-aired final 4 episodes have me trying to decide whether to ready snacks, a towel or lots of hydration.
On The Truth Within Jan 8, 2026
Episode 15, from 23:05 to 25:04, our three leads.... Their interactions and chemistry between each other is spot-on. Tension and all else is perfect. And episode 16, when Qi Sizhe is one on one with- Brilliant. This is the emotional intensity I've been waiting for between four characters, building up masterfully to these episodes.
Replying to kwanto Jan 8, 2026
Thank you for the summary. After weeks of SLY data collection and compared them to TTOETM (I did an even more…
Luo Yunxi is amazing. He's primarily first and foremost about his craft of embodying a character with psychological depth and precision.

His role as Runyu is unforgettable, already revealing hints of TTJ and Tang Lici. Demon Kings are actually very difficult to portray convincingly because they require a lot of micro-emoting and precise nuancing anchored by a certain amount of presence, and mature actors are best for carrying this role. Tan Tai Jin catches you within the first five minutes of episode 1 in TTEOM to continue watching. In Tang Lici, C-Ent has an unusual protagonist who insists he is the solution, and he will prove this truth.

I don't admire an artist based on their looks, but their talent and hard work. He has both, and he understands the importance of the latter to further improve the former. I'm also happy for many of the cast after SLY, such as Xiao Shunyao starring in "Origin" with Wu Jinyan and still filming. This drama has given them exposure to a very wide audience, and it's up to each of them to build on that :D
Replying to LoveDemonGodTTJ Jan 8, 2026
loving the stats !! keep them coming !!! SLY should hit 5B
I thought you were keeping an eye on one of the stats? XD I was waiting for your update!
Replying to Mizuhira-san Jan 8, 2026
I'll start this now as all episodes will be out tomorrow ✨ It's time for some crime thrillers... (⁠☞゚⁠∀゚⁠)⁠☞
Enigma05 asked for translations, so I found translations for the five songs and shared those above. You can check them out (the other five songs on the OST are instrumentals of those songs).
Replying to Mizuhira-san Jan 8, 2026
I'll start this now as all episodes will be out tomorrow ✨ It's time for some crime thrillers... (⁠☞゚⁠∀゚⁠)⁠☞
Enigma05 asked for translations, so I found translations for the five songs and shared those above. You can check them out (the other five songs on the OST are instrumentals of those songs).
Replying to Enigma05 Jan 8, 2026
Thanks for this; did someone translate the songs?
I usually don't search for translations of songs. But here, the same source pairs the original songs with newly-released English translations~

Stop Falling by 小阿七 (Original is English, paired with mandarin translation XD):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZEb0wDE0Cs

Translation of《诱》(Temptation) by 杰克wilven here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVG1YyLfQB0

Translation of 《坏,理由是爱》(Bad, Because of Love) by 潘法海 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-hYSWeYfLU

Translation of《悔》(Regret) by 郭筱莹 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlbQUA_cdVE

Translation of 《剥》(Peel) by 洪智函 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmN_YckYhkk