any_anka

I don't know about the book, but don't expect censored BL from this one. Bromance here is actually a bromance. And while it is more compelling (in my opinion) than the love story, with better chemistry and interactions, it is still just a bromance.

Two male leads do have some banter that could be interpreted as flirting in other circumstances and there might be an innuendo here and there... But there is a big "but": one of them actually has romantic feelings towards FL.

I'm more than halfway through the show and how this series didn't gain more popularity confuses me greatly.

While not flawless (there are things bugging me about the police work and some plot developments make me go "huh?"), when it comes to character writing (not just two MLs), their relationships, values, motivations, interactions this is genuinely really, really *good*.

The big villain? Chef's kiss!

Plus the drama is actually well acted. Moreover, i's available on YouTube...

And the "bromance"? 10/10

Episode 9 is (in my opinion) the weakest episode of the entire series, so don't give up in that one, it gets better ;)

As for the spoiler. Well, basically:

Sheng Wang realizes he has fallen for Jiang Tian, he almost kisses him when they sleep together at night (they share a bed due to some circumstances from ep 10), then he thirsts over him during the days and generally freaks out with this new realization, because they are supposed to be family/brothers.

He then gets a "brilliant" idea to mess up on a big test, so that he doesn't meet the points requirement to stay in their class, because he believes that if he puts more distance between them, he can "fix" his crush.

The drama ends with him transferring to another class, but before that happens there is a lot of angst and some crying, bcs JT realizes SW is lying to him and distancing himself from him, again.

YouTube probably has the official ones since it's there on Mango TV YouTube channel (?)
This show is also uploaded in its entirety on Dailymotion, but I'd say the subs there are just as bad if not worse then the ones on YouTube.

Well... the first season didn't really get much promotion and even now they're not doing a really good job at promoting the drama (there's literal crickets on their IG, e.g.)
I suppose the director wanted to create some more "organic" buzz and incentivise the fanbase with giving the audience the info of a possible S2. I can somewhat understand where he was coming from...

He is the one person really active on social media, reacting to fans' content, talking to people on YouTube under the official MVs for the op song etc. I mean, he does a lot 😋 So I guess he thought that's yet another way to help the drama (and season 2) get more attention.

It's all me guessing, though.

But at least we have some timeframe - we know when we might get really happy or really disappointed ;)

+ Does it have a bad ending?
Depends. Some people go "it feels life-like, realistic and bittersweet". Others go: "what's the big deal? it's no tragedy really", some - on the contrary - are broken-hearted. And some just straight-up hate it.

+Why everyone wants S2?
Well, the ending we got is a somewhat open ending...
Also, the script is ready. The director clearly wants to make it.

+ Is it really worth watching?
A thousand times YES.
To me, this is the best BL drama I've watched (not this year, in general).
And it's my #1 of all drama I've watched this year (straight, BL, GL, no-romance; anything Asian).

Of course, taste is subjective and theoretically you might end up disliking it in the end...
But objectively speaking, this drama has some of the best acting and cinematography you'll see in a BL out there. That I can guarantee.

I don't think there's any new info. We're still at the same point. In October Patrick Liu said that the decision would be made in 5 months, so we still have time until February. By then we will know one way or another, I guess.
Personally I'm hoping we get some news at the end of December, on the FM. But there's no guarantee either.

While I haven't watched Fangs of Fortune, I know what you mean when talking abt FLs being there to "make it less gay". They're like a human version of "no homo"😋

Incidentally, I am watching a different drama with Neo Hou (Psych-Hunter, though I'm mostly watching for Liu Dong Qin) and Neo's love interest seems to be exactly that type of a character. Their romance is so uninspired and lackluster, and the worse thing is... even the ML seems to forget from time to time abt her existence ;)

Anyway, I was pretty much binging Spirealm and now after our last exchange it's on pause 😋 I started Killer and Healer and... I'm invested.
Oh, and you were right, they are very smile-inducing and very much in the face. Plus, the eye contact? We're no longer talking about chemistry here, it's a frigging simmering, on the verge of exploding tension. At least on Jiang Yue Lou's part, but it's not like doc is not reciprocating :)

I still intend on finishing Spirealm. It's a solid show.

Really, tame? Now I'm intrigued about Killer and Healer (esp. since I checked some bits aftr reading ur comment and it seems for starters I won't have issues with acting in this one). I saw this name pop up here and there, but never got down to watch it.

I guess I'm not so well-versed in those CBLs/"bromances". I watched The Untamed (loved it), Word of Honour (didn't love it, but to each their own) and then things like Desire Catcher or Under the Skin, which to me were really just bromances, unless you try super hard to see sth more.
In comparison to those, Spirealm felt pretty... wild (on Ruan Lanzhu's part, at least) 😂

Puff is not much older than that, though? :)

You might not be missing anything, 8.0-8.5 is a very solid rating already, isn't it? :)

I've watched 18 episodes so far (out of 38) and I would also rate it arnd 8 at this moment. While I don't mind it myself (my qualms are with the performance of some actors), I agree with you that this drama follows monster-of-the-week formula.
I'm thinking maybe it'd change towards the ending of the story? Or who knows, maybe the ending will completely blow our minds and affect the final rating? 😋

Or maybe it won't. Either way, I'm still getting entertained.

I think there's at least some group of people who might love this drama for its bromance/BL vibes. I myself can't deny there is a certain appeal in those censored Chinese BLs that, due to constrains they operate within, have to focus on and manage to create really intense chemistry between characters that's shown through eye contact, body language etc. Maybe those who love this drama so much are big fans of such "bromances".

Now mix it with with elements of fantasy and horror - it does sound like a pretty good deal already, I'd say ;)

Depends on your definition.
Some people would call it a bromance, others would consider it a BL. In my book is a censored BL.
I'm 16 episodes in and there's very clear tension and flirting between two main characters that I simply could not pass as just bromance (understood in its original way, not the cdrama way ;)).
However, there are no direct confessions, kisses, needless to say more explicit displays of affection.

Anyone else ended up with The On1y One OST on their Spotify Wrapped? 😊

Interlude by TRASH made its way to my top 3 this year (and my 2nd most listened to "song" is a frigging white noise recording I listened to to be able to sleep 😋 so more adequately Interlude is my #2 this year).

Certainly, The On1y One is a variation of that trope, forbidden love between brothers blabla (sorry, I'm not a fan of that premise, which actually puts in question why on earth I even watched 5 out of 6 of these titles you mentioned and, even more so, actually enjoyed 4 of them😋)

Still, I just tried to put in my "technically" comment in an apparently failed effort to sound uplifting and humours ;)

Aaaand that curiosity could be a good reason to watch it. Just saying ;)

If you're scared of a cliffhanger, you could actually watch up until episode 8 (including that episode). It ends with a semi-closure. It is also a very emotional journey and chances are its ending would have you in tears (good ones, not sad ones :))

But I'm gonna stop now. I don't want the convincing turn into pestering.

Technically, Addicted, Stay with me and Addicted Heroin (haven't watched that one) are all the same story, while The On1y One isn't really a stepsiblings story either.

Thus, statistics actually don't look so bleak ;)

Nah, stahp... Am I? It's the emojis, isn't it? I tend to overuse them... 😋
Thank you. I guess (?) ;)

But I already know you love this show, you're not objective ;)

But If I can convince a new audience to go and watch it (preferably on official platforms), I'd consider it a win :>

Why? Come join us in suffering, I mean waiting for season 2 ;)

This drama is great, you will not regret watching it and since season 2 is not a certainty (ok, some people say it was confirmed, but there was no official announcement, so in my book that means nothing is guaranteed at the moment) if you wait for s2, you might end up never watching it...

And trust me, that would be a shame.

The cinematography is beautiful, the writing poetic, the acting top tier (the leads are phenomenal). I mean it sincerely.

So... did I convince you? 😋

I just searched "on1y one" and it showed up for me.

Isn't February just the "deadline" for them to give us an official answer?