cassiopeiastars

I'm glad you pointed out patriotism/pride, as I realized that it seemed like a pretty prevalent topic that contributes to ratings in Chinese dramas.

I'm curious as to why domestic audience/douban raters seem to be more critical on C-drama romance shows though. I'm seeing it as chick flick movies in the west. They're both love and disliked at the same time. Loved by those who like romance and disliked by those who dislike the cheesy adaptation of romance. Lol, I don't know if that's an equivalent comparison though ^^"

I don't think any rating site can get rid of fans/anti-fans skewing ratings but I think many can tell when it happens

There's this void in Chinese dramaland that's been missing because I've been seeing so many new actors and actresses. Nothing bad about it but I do miss some of my familiar faces - Hu Ge included. Happy to see that he's coming back to grace dramaland soon ;)

Indeed, it is about the perspective. In this case, trying to see it through Douban raters vs MDL raters. What I found interesting is that despite the many comments I see about Douban being too critical on MDL, somehow I expected higher ratings on MDL. I did take note that there were a lot of older dramas that were probably before MDL and the newer waves of drama watchers. Another thing is that apart from different standpoints (domestic vs international), that meant different age groups as well. There were also a lack of raters/viewers on MDL for these highly rated shows on Douban.

I don't venture much onto Viki but I remember seeing ratings there and was shocked at how nice they were. Probably because I'm pretty harsh when it comes to rating too XD

I'm honestly quite surprised Liu Yi Fei took the film industry route. She definitely could've done more dramas and outcompete a lot of actresses in dramaland. I'm also patiently waiting for her comeback with Chen Xiao as well :D

I believe Romance of Our Parents was taken off Youtube at some point. Glad to see it back! Also, thanks for providing some links :)

A Fleeting Blossom with Timely Rain is a great one, one of my many favorites with Zhou Shen. Haven't watched The Great Ruler but the OST sounds really nice. Thanks for sharing links to some of his best songs! :)

Absolutely agree! Ayanga was one I really considered putting on this list <3

I'm weak to fantasy genres, incorporation of ethnic groups, and the fact that it's a Taiwanese production is a plus! I started the first half of ep 1 and paused it because I don't think I can wait that long to watch the whole thing. I'll probably pick it up again as it gets close to the end of its airing schedule. Btw, beautiful coloring/layout :)

Woah! Thanks for sharing your little search results! I was honestly expecting more popular shows on MDL to make it into the top of Douban's ratings but very few were found. I think out of the Chinese dramas you listed, I remember seeing Hikaru no Go but I would've had to do more scrolling to find the others ones on this list.

I also did a little bit more research on Douban ratings on shows/movies from other countries and it does tend to be a bit higher - which I found interesting. I'm curious if it has to do with being more harsh to their domestic shows or not. I do know that quality of Chinese dramas has changed for the new mass of drama watchers and international viewers. That could be a possible reason as well. As to MDLers thinking that Kdramas are overrated on this site... this is my first time hearing of that XD

I was wondering if this was a fair comparison between Douban and MDL because of that reason. In terms of watchers and raters on MDL, it certainly doesn't compare to Douban.

Other dramas that may have made the list if complete English subs were found on my end:
- Dream of Red Mansions (1987) = 9.7 vs MDL 8.4
- Journey to the West (1986) = 9.6 vs MDL 8.2
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1994) = 9.5 vs MDL 7.4
- Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan (2012) = 9.3 vs MDL 8.4
- Awakening Age (2021) = 9.3 vs MDL 9.0

Some dramas that didn't have more than 100K ratings:
- Moral Peanuts Season 3 = 9.7 vs. MDL 8.0
- Qin Empire = 9.3 vs. MDL 7.9
- Qin Empire 2 = 9.3 vs. MDL 7.6
- Stand by Me (2016) = 9.1 vs. MDL 7.9

Some more stats on dramas that could've made the list

just added it onto the list - thanks for commenting! Zhou Shen has so many tracks its hard to keep up with xD I was peeking at Truth when it first aired. Seemed like you enjoyed it :)

Tiger Hu is another great one. I listen to a good number of his original works!

you zhangjing aka azora chin right?! If so, I discovered him 2 months ago and have been really liking his music!! <33

Ohhh interesting tidbit on Beyond's Broad Sky. I wasn't even aware of that but I love it when they bring back oldies for dramas and have their own versions too.

But I'm glad that the article made you feel like that because that's 30% of the reason I pick up some dramas sometimes. I usually watch random OST drama mvs to make a watching decision :)

While this list isn't complete, these are all pretty iconic OST singers and songs for these past couple of years. Some more than others but I agree that Chen Xue Ran is awesome ;D

I actually watched GGS2 before GGS1 and I have to say that Nameless Generation left a bigger impact on me. The composition itself it just really fitting for this type of drama but First Sunshine is a really great song/sequel opening song to the series. I remembering really liking First Sunshine but falling in love with Nameless Generation. I'm happy that they got Chen XueRan to sing both opening songs for the GGS series!

Yes! I can definitely relate to the struggles of a student - monetary and mentally! xD

I think it's harder for one to support an actor/actress/dramas/movies that aren't from one's country. Each country may vary but more or less I think it works the same (and I probably don't have the right information/knowledge), to my understanding... for movies, you can't attend the box office shows and for dramas, you aren't counted in the slotted tv ratings (minus Netflix). So it makes it much harder to show support that will count towards their numbers that matters. So legal streaming is indeed a good way if you have the monetary funds to do so and if not, take the web by the reins and go at it!

Side note, I'm happy you went and wrote an article about something that means something to you! I feel like MDL is a good platform for that. Hope to see more of your articles in the future :)

She does have a soothing voice! And seems like a favorite in this article's comment section. She used to do a bunch of OSTs (3-6+/year) but it seems like this year, there hasn't been that many. When you see an artist's name pop up this often though, that means people want to hear more, so I hope we do in the future <3