For those who are still wondering why non-romance Chinese dramas always have low ratings/viewership in the 'international' market (I'm not too sure about the domestic Chinese market).... i think you must be quite new to the C-drama world, right? If so, let me explain the reasons:
1. The romance genre is much 'easier' to digest for everyone; besides being a healing watch, you don't have to overthink while watching it. Because of that data, production companies naturally go all-out with their promotions. This is completely different from non-romance, which I think is a bit harder for the general public to accept.
It's basically like this (broadly speaking): when someone wants to watch a romance drama, they'll just try it out first and then form an opinion, but when it's a non-romance genre, they'll think twice or even more, and look for reviews first. This doesn't apply to absolutely everyone, but generally speaking... this is what happens.
You can figure out for yourselves why HIDDEN LOVE, WIFTY, THE BEST THING and other romance dramas get so much hype. And from that 'hype', you can further conclude that 'Chinese dramas are the ultimate source of romance.' Get it?
2. From the statement above, I think it's clear enough, but let me add one more thing. Many romance drama lovers use rating accounts, while non-romance fans only a few—maybe limited to TikTok/IG/X just to review a series, or simply by word of mouth.
For example, my family loves the action/mystery genres. But do they make reviews/ratings for every single series they watch? Of course not. Making reviews/ratings, I think, is just a personal hobby for people who actually feel like doing it.
Even though I enjoy all genres except 'horror', romance/romcom is still my absolute main genre! So I really dislike it when people kind of 'look down' on romance series fans just because thriller and mystery genres give off a more 'WOW / heavy / puzzle-solving' vibe and all that.
It feels like romance fans are treated like commoners while non-romance fans act like royalty, hahahahaha.
At the end of the day, romance lovers are just looking for 'HEALING' from the weight of the real world... whereas for non-romance fans, maybe their life burdens just aren't heavy enough, AHAHAHAAHH!
And even so, please be polite when sharing your opinions—don't look down on others just because they aren't what you want them to be. Everyone has their own taste, so respect it.
As someone who enjoys all genres except 'horror', of course I can analyze this drama from various perspectives....
If you love mystery and suspense, this will suit you absolute wonders—forget about the ratings!
If you're a romance lover, this is 'not the right field for it'... even so, their chemistry is insanely good... maybe because they've reunited in several projects, though I haven't watched 'Sword Dynasty' yet.
ahhahaha me tooo, but since 7 of the entire cast are my biases..... I'm still really looking forward to it... well, even if 'maybe' the plot turns out bad (hopefully not) yaaaahh at least it'll be a feast for the eyes. If anyone later says 'meh, they only win in visuals'..... well at least they already 'WON' in terms of VISUALS 😘👉🏻👈🏻hahahahaha
i hope the plot is as engaging and good just like the aesthetic nowdays xianxia dramas after 2023 are just bare…
I agree with you... hopefully the plot is as good as the aesthetics.... but have you watched FEUD / Veil Of Shadow? After 2023, there are a lot of dramas that I think have really good plots.
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1. The romance genre is much 'easier' to digest for everyone; besides being a healing watch, you don't have to overthink while watching it. Because of that data, production companies naturally go all-out with their promotions. This is completely different from non-romance, which I think is a bit harder for the general public to accept.
It's basically like this (broadly speaking): when someone wants to watch a romance drama, they'll just try it out first and then form an opinion, but when it's a non-romance genre, they'll think twice or even more, and look for reviews first. This doesn't apply to absolutely everyone, but generally speaking... this is what happens.
You can figure out for yourselves why HIDDEN LOVE, WIFTY, THE BEST THING and other romance dramas get so much hype. And from that 'hype', you can further conclude that 'Chinese dramas are the ultimate source of romance.' Get it?
2. From the statement above, I think it's clear enough, but let me add one more thing. Many romance drama lovers use rating accounts, while non-romance fans only a few—maybe limited to TikTok/IG/X just to review a series, or simply by word of mouth.
For example, my family loves the action/mystery genres. But do they make reviews/ratings for every single series they watch? Of course not. Making reviews/ratings, I think, is just a personal hobby for people who actually feel like doing it.
Even though I enjoy all genres except 'horror', romance/romcom is still my absolute main genre! So I really dislike it when people kind of 'look down' on romance series fans just because thriller and mystery genres give off a more 'WOW / heavy / puzzle-solving' vibe and all that.
It feels like romance fans are treated like commoners while non-romance fans act like royalty, hahahahaha.
At the end of the day, romance lovers are just looking for 'HEALING' from the weight of the real world... whereas for non-romance fans, maybe their life burdens just aren't heavy enough, AHAHAHAAHH!
And even so, please be polite when sharing your opinions—don't look down on others just because they aren't what you want them to be. Everyone has their own taste, so respect it.
If you love mystery and suspense, this will suit you absolute wonders—forget about the ratings!
If you're a romance lover, this is 'not the right field for it'... even so, their chemistry is insanely good... maybe because they've reunited in several projects, though I haven't watched 'Sword Dynasty' yet.
Not my dream pair, but if it turns out to be true... I think it's okay too.