Why didn't Tencent pick up this adaptation instead.
honestly Tencent pretty busy with 3 major BL IPs still in their vault. They also got Qing Kuang and I heard Qing Jin Jiu’s adaptation is going to them as well (which is probably gonna be a huge prodduction)
Youku has the SHBL adaptation and the big Modu adaptation.
so Iqiyi is an open door for this genre. It’s just unfortunate that chose the literal biggest one of them all lol
Although it's still considered a rumour, this would explain the hideousness of the costumes - cosplays look so…
I don’t wanna stroke their ego but the truth is a Tencent S+ project is a different breed than an S+ project from any other company. like if an fave IP of mine end up being announced as Tencent’s project, I do feel more relieved.
omg did they fix ZXW’s wig at lightning speed bc of the astronomical bad reviews of the old one? my eyes are saved and my faith is restored. https://twitter.com/tgcf_intl/status/1420551428087582721?s=21 ok so it’s the most generic young actor wig ever that will fit 95%, but I will take it any day. literally the only XL’s “canon” descriptions from the book are: dresses simple and in white, bandages around wrist and neck, ragged straw hat. that’s it. there’s so much room for creativity so pls exercise it
Guys, you guys are protesting for no reason. Is too early to judge. The costumes that you guys saw are just rehearsal…
not that we english speaking fans matter, but if it’s a test run then they need to be heavily criticized even more so it can still be fixed.
of course the criticism should be constructive and and ppl need to lay off personal attacks on the actors. they’re already casted and it’s gonna be them whether ppl like it or not lol
bruh, XL’s costume is literally the laziest designing work for an adaptation I have ever seen. it’s just straight up copy and paste from artwork, without a care for what the actor looks like. if they’re gonna cast ZXW then I expect them to have a vision of what suit him, and that is the opposite of a middle part and drowning him in billowy curtains. I feel bad that ppl are giving the guy such a hard time over these pics and write him off from period drama when there’s a million way to improve this look lol
they need to match the costume to the actor instead of trying to completely transporting an entire look from art/animation.
like gdi Iqiyi, no one expect y’all to exactly copy XL’s middle part hair that probably only looks good in 2D. just pull the hair back neatly and give him fitted sleeves like every other drama adaptation.
Well I'm not satisfied with the cast! After-all this is my favourite novel and how they just casually select cast…
I followed this drama’s news for awhile and the casting process was anything but casual. I heard auditions had been going on for at least a year with multiple rounds and thousands of candidates. we didn’t watch the auditions so we’ll never know why these choices were made, but this drama’s casting was so long ppl were calling it TGCF 101 lol
gotta say from the leaks, this drama is seriously stunning visual wise. the sets look exactly as I imagined the town to be.
I still think the drama can do great things and help ppl bc it deals a lot with poverty and autism. but there’s also the nagging reminder in the back of my mind that it could also be so much more...
I remember reading chapter 32’s mutual coming out scene and almost tearing up and thinking “oh god, this author knows what it’s like...they KNOW”. like there’s absolutely way that scene can be preserved in the drama the way it’s intended to be (even though god knows China so desperately need this kind of media) and it’s such a waste. why does it have to be Saye, why 🙃
I never saw XL described as a frail feminine flower in the book so I always preferred more boyish casting like Song Weilong and Hou Minghao instead of the preference of most other fans, thus Zhai Xiaowen’s visual actually aligns pretty decently for me. (also I guess since I knew him from Produce and remembered him being a good vocal pick with a good personality, I am biased to not be so mean towards him. and if it makes anyone feel better, he was probably not picked via nepotism bc he is not even an Iqiyi idol. Produce was done by Tencent, Iqiyi’s arch-nemesis lol)
BUT it still makes me sweat knowing he has zero experience with historical dramas lol. like at least one supporting role experience in a historical drama prior to this would have been nice...
in HC’s case I have to say out of all the rumored names that came up, some were downright horrific and Zhang Linghe is really the best possible option, so I’m just grateful 🙏🏻
Why doesn't thai production companies adapt such storylines?? They should adapt better bl novels. Not Chinese,…
imo patriotic chinese writers/novel platforms won’t sell their best source material to other countries, and also no production company in tw or thailand can afford rights to these popular novels. works from a top tier writer like wu zhe probably have a price only giant chinese conglomerate like tencent/iqiyi/youku can pay
I m scared of watching this series. .what if one of the male leads died at the end or it ended with cliffhangers…
probably a very unpopular opinion but the happy ending in the novel was kinda random and not well explained. it was so ex deus machina and happy for the sake of being happy
like it would be sad but a tiiiny part of me I wouldn’t mind if they changed it to ending when the “final battle” ended
I don't care that they changed Shi Mei into a girl. However, I just have this nagging feeling that Shi Mei is…
so there’s a “insider review” of the drama script on weibo that says shimei’s background will be kept and that there’s a lot of expectation for chen yao to perform this complexity. i don’t know how dark they can make her story, but the word on the street is she won’t definitely be an innocent and simple character. i also take solace in the fact that they casted mu yanli and changed that character gender, there’s probably a purpose
I know this is based on a true story and all but I was definitely not a fan of the huge time skip. It should have…
I hear they chose that amount of time skip bc 2017 was when Taiwan’s court ruled that the marriage law prohibiting same sex marriage was unconstitutional. the director thought that even though it was a great thing, for him and ppl from his generation it felt “too late” and regretful I agree though that it was stylistically not the best for the movie, even if it was true to the sentiment that the director wanted to express
I also felt many cuts in the movies were too abrupt and out of context so I have been searching the web for what got cut out. I agree that a lot of what was cut was probably for the ambiguity in whether Birdy loves A-Han. and don’t skip the movie ending credits bc there’s some nice scenes there.
some stuff I found:
-there are stills of Birdy in A-Han suggesting that A-Han’s “wet dream” might not be just a dream.
-there’s a scene in the ending credit of A-Han’s class being punished by holding chairs over their heads or something, and Birdy snuck into the class and fed him juice. then he looked at A-Han’s test score on the desk and made a face. then in the deleted scene, Birdy stole the physics test answers from the teacher’s office for A-Han. this relates to the movie scene where we see Birdy looking concerned through the bushes that A-Han has to change majors due to poor grades
-when A-Han commented on Birdy keeping short hair even tho the school didn’t enforce the hair rules anymore, and Birdy didn’t answer. I get it when I saw the deleted scene of A-Han of cutting Birdy’s hair.
-this is in the ending credits but after the fight they slept leaning on each other on the train, Birdy wakes up and looks at A-Han
-also in the ending credits: when they were on the ferry Birdy actually climbed into A-Han’s bunk bed and hugged A-Han, but A-Han pushed him off. and that’s how he ended up sleeping on the floor
-various beach scene content in the OST MV, BTS, and ending credits. Birdy taking photos of A-Han in the water, A-Han trying undress Birdy, Birdy undressing himself, sharing food on the beach...the final cut was def condensed
-so there’s a single still of A-Han examining Birdy’s hand injuries he got from jumping off the balcony. I’d love to see that...
Have to say, 2ha lucked out so hard. Literally everyone has been fancasting Luo Yunxi as their favorite BL protagonists…
I watched a fanvid of LYX’s most popular danmei fancast and it’s so many and it didn’t even get all
https://m.bilibili.com/video/BV1k54y1q7GM most of the comments are like “2ha so lucky” lol. I think age wise 2ha and Scum Villain’s characters suit him the best though, so I’m glad CWN is his
Can't speak for anyone else, but personally I wanted to see the integrity of the character maintained...particularly…
sorry to jump in but I love talking about SM and it’s rare to see someone talk about the gender change from SM character perspective and not focus on just the romance!
SM’s plotline will very important and powerful, if done properly. the reason I’m not that mad about his gender change bc I don’t think it’s all that crucial to his story. SM’s story is really about racism, oppression, exploitation. (on the other hand, changing YWX’s gender would make me very angry bc is the most important aspect of her character. she was written to showcase the dumb shitty sexism in that world. if they change that they might as well just remove the character altogether, why bother.)
I totally see what you mean about HBN/SM being juxtaposition to TXJ/MR. both characters developed darkness in their hearts bc of their horrible childhood, and both were given a second chance, but one was able to let go of his vengeance and find redemption; the other one could not. I guess it’s easier to compare if they both have the same gender, but imo the meaning of SM’s character won’t change as female, nor will she be less of a multifaceted character (again emphasis on if the drama want to do this properly and not cut out the racism and abuse stuff bc it’s too sensitive or whatever...).
and this is probably a very unpopular opinion, but for me if we put aside the effect on Moran’s sexual orientation, SM’s gender change might actually enhances his plot as a character. bc of the particular way the female members of his race are treated, I think the things that SM sees and experiences (with his mother, with Song Qiutong) would add an extra layer of anger and suffering if SM was born a woman.
I am currently reading the novel the and honestly Wang Anyu as Gui Fei would have been a very wrong choice Zhu…
Yeah *sighs*...Some of my favorite scenes from Saye isn’t even the romance, but the eye opening experiences that JC had in college. like when JC came out to his roommate and his roommate was so casually cool with it, or when JC wad buying flowers and the shop owner is being inclusive about boys buying gifts for their boyfriends
imagine if lgbt youth in china get to see that on screen?? especially the ones that are stuck in some backwards hellhole like the town JC and GF were in before college. show them hope is out there!! Wu Zhe is literally the only BL writer that write that stuff into their novel, but now all that us gonna be bleached by censorship and turned into fangirl bait to push the careers of young actors...I just can’t :/
I have to admit I’m a little distressed they want to run Saye through the censorship mill now lol. Saye is a very special coming-of-age novel for Chinese readers bc its about gay teenagers coming to terms with their sexuality in a tiny rural town. you know those shows/movies in the west that gets called groundbreaking bc they gave gay teenagers hope and media representation? like Saye could be THAT show...
a part of me wishes the production gets delayed for another decade when MAYBE restrictions get looser...am I too optimistic
Youku has the SHBL adaptation and the big Modu adaptation.
so Iqiyi is an open door for this genre. It’s just unfortunate that chose the literal biggest one of them all lol
https://twitter.com/tgcf_intl/status/1420551428087582721?s=21
ok so it’s the most generic young actor wig ever that will fit 95%, but I will take it any day.
literally the only XL’s “canon” descriptions from the book are: dresses simple and in white, bandages around wrist and neck, ragged straw hat. that’s it. there’s so much room for creativity so pls exercise it
of course the criticism should be constructive and and ppl need to lay off personal attacks on the actors. they’re already casted and it’s gonna be them whether ppl like it or not lol
if they’re gonna cast ZXW then I expect them to have a vision of what suit him, and that is the opposite of a middle part and drowning him in billowy curtains. I feel bad that ppl are giving the guy such a hard time over these pics and write him off from period drama when there’s a million way to improve this look lol
like gdi Iqiyi, no one expect y’all to exactly copy XL’s middle part hair that probably only looks good in 2D. just pull the hair back neatly and give him fitted sleeves like every other drama adaptation.
I still think the drama can do great things and help ppl bc it deals a lot with poverty and autism. but there’s also the nagging reminder in the back of my mind that it could also be so much more...
I remember reading chapter 32’s mutual coming out scene and almost tearing up and thinking “oh god, this author knows what it’s like...they KNOW”. like there’s absolutely way that scene can be preserved in the drama the way it’s intended to be (even though god knows China so desperately need this kind of media) and it’s such a waste. why does it have to be Saye, why 🙃
BUT it still makes me sweat knowing he has zero experience with historical dramas lol. like at least one supporting role experience in a historical drama prior to this would have been nice...
in HC’s case I have to say out of all the rumored names that came up, some were downright horrific and Zhang Linghe is really the best possible option, so I’m just grateful 🙏🏻
like it would be sad but a tiiiny part of me I wouldn’t mind if they changed it to ending when the “final battle” ended
I agree though that it was stylistically not the best for the movie, even if it was true to the sentiment that the director wanted to express
some stuff I found:
-there are stills of Birdy in A-Han suggesting that A-Han’s “wet dream” might not be just a dream.
-there’s a scene in the ending credit of A-Han’s class being punished by holding chairs over their heads or something, and Birdy snuck into the class and fed him juice. then he looked at A-Han’s test score on the desk and made a face. then in the deleted scene, Birdy stole the physics test answers from the teacher’s office for A-Han. this relates to the movie scene where we see Birdy looking concerned through the bushes that A-Han has to change majors due to poor grades
-when A-Han commented on Birdy keeping short hair even tho the school didn’t enforce the hair rules anymore, and Birdy didn’t answer. I get it when I saw the deleted scene of A-Han of cutting Birdy’s hair.
-this is in the ending credits but after the fight they slept leaning on each other on the train, Birdy wakes up and looks at A-Han
-also in the ending credits: when they were on the ferry Birdy actually climbed into A-Han’s bunk bed and hugged A-Han, but A-Han pushed him off. and that’s how he ended up sleeping on the floor
-various beach scene content in the OST MV, BTS, and ending credits. Birdy taking photos of A-Han in the water, A-Han trying undress Birdy, Birdy undressing himself, sharing food on the beach...the final cut was def condensed
-so there’s a single still of A-Han examining Birdy’s hand injuries he got from jumping off the balcony. I’d love to see that...
stills: https://twitter.com/bukosaitsay/status/1341729029477396481
deleted scenes: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=806491826563735
bts: https://youtu.be/skUCgxunifg
https://m.bilibili.com/video/BV1k54y1q7GM
most of the comments are like “2ha so lucky” lol. I think age wise 2ha and Scum Villain’s characters suit him the best though, so I’m glad CWN is his
SM’s plotline will very important and powerful, if done properly. the reason I’m not that mad about his gender change bc I don’t think it’s all that crucial to his story. SM’s story is really about racism, oppression, exploitation. (on the other hand, changing YWX’s gender would make me very angry bc is the most important aspect of her character. she was written to showcase the dumb shitty sexism in that world. if they change that they might as well just remove the character altogether, why bother.)
I totally see what you mean about HBN/SM being juxtaposition to TXJ/MR. both characters developed darkness in their hearts bc of their horrible childhood, and both were given a second chance, but one was able to let go of his vengeance and find redemption; the other one could not. I guess it’s easier to compare if they both have the same gender, but imo the meaning of SM’s character won’t change as female, nor will she be less of a multifaceted character (again emphasis on if the drama want to do this properly and not cut out the racism and abuse stuff bc it’s too sensitive or whatever...).
and this is probably a very unpopular opinion, but for me if we put aside the effect on Moran’s sexual orientation, SM’s gender change might actually enhances his plot as a character. bc of the particular way the female members of his race are treated, I think the things that SM sees and experiences (with his mother, with Song Qiutong) would add an extra layer of anger and suffering if SM was born a woman.
imagine if lgbt youth in china get to see that on screen?? especially the ones that are stuck in some backwards hellhole like the town JC and GF were in before college. show them hope is out there!! Wu Zhe is literally the only BL writer that write that stuff into their novel, but now all that us gonna be bleached by censorship and turned into fangirl bait to push the careers of young actors...I just can’t :/
a part of me wishes the production gets delayed for another decade when MAYBE restrictions get looser...am I too optimistic