dramatour

now I'm glad that I saw the movie this late because it's the last Ossan's Love thing in my mind and not the 2nd season...

this was even more crazy and zany than the drama but it was so fun. when the promos came out I wasn't keen on the idea of adding new characters to the already short movie format, but I actually ended up liking them. any HaruMaki scene can easily be the best scene but boy that confession in the burning building scene had me ugly crying. i did NOT expect the dialogue to get so REAL. they really hit jackpot casting these exact 2 actors in these 2 exact roles, what were they thinking with that 2nd season recasting one but not the other....(but I digress)

I liked the ending more than I expected from reading reviews last year. but one thing I agree with other reviewers about is that it's a major missed opportunity they did not give the one happy and perfect wedding scene in a mainstream nationwide movie to the gay couple. audiences really need to start seeing that kind of imagery and get comfortable with it, and it would have been perfect to use an already beloved couple for that. Japan is probably still not ready for that, but some producer/scriptwriter out there need to take that first step. maybe in a few years I hope

it's open ending in the novel.

when war broke out, CFT left Beiping to bring his family (yes his wife and kid) to a safe place. He wants to bring SXR along but SXR doesn't want to leave Beiping. CFT tells SXR to make a choice and gave him train tickets on the day of his theater show. on that day, the theater staff looks for SXR to go onstage but he is no where to be found. it's implied that he is coming to meet to CFT but it's unclear whether it's to leave with him or say goodbye to him. meanwhile CFT's sister is also on her way to stop them. the novel ends with CFT still waiting in the snow at the train station...

novel title is the same as drama title 鬓边不是海棠红 written by 水如天儿

" I don't see any of the other cast saying anything that can be misconstrued."

yeah unfortunately, that's not true....
XZ and WYB have said plenty of things about each other that have been misconstrued by their solo fans. Chinese XZ solo fans and WYB solo fans hate each other so much that they fight every waking moment. like you can't imagine the amount of shitpost that have been written from both sides. (and BJYX fans are so abhorred by both sides that they're not even allowed to tagged XZ or WYB's name to any post with shippy contents lol)

just as XZ fans took offense to Yu Bin's jokes, they're also angered by WYB constantly "mocking" XZ's age and being physically "violent" towards their idol. Yu Bin just got extra heat bc the BJYX fans sees him as a threat to their ship and decides to pile on as well

Chinese fandoms are incredibly extreme and they always look for targets to take their anger out on. that's why I do not recommend bringing weibo drama to the international fandom like OP is doing; it's just an endless can of worms and spread false information when fans already don't know Chinese in the first place

"He badmouthed Xiao Zhan on Weibo, saying that whoever was managing to get the role of Wei Wuxian would have become automatically famous, and is not the merit of Xiao Zhan's acting skills for the success of the drama."

I really want to ignore this comment but I have to do the public service announcement that this claim is absolutely baseless. if he said this on weibo there should be a direct link, a screenshot, just anything other than random cnetz writing with quotations marks and claiming that he said this on their blogs. but actual proof has not surface, not in any of the link in this thread or ever

Yu Bin have said stuff that XZ fans are maybe within their right to be upset about. (yes he said XZ is "hard to date", yes he said XZ is vocalist so he doesn't understand rappers, and he did joke that XZ getting hit by the other cast members could possibly due to XZ bringing it onto himself) but for the love of god don't make up extreme stuff

Yu Bin says "I've seen his livestream.[...] It was very awkward. How can his livestream be so awkward? [...] but I can understand him, he hasn't livestreamed in awhile. [...] *reading comments* 'not as awkward as Wang laoshi'. I think there's not much difference between us. nah, he's more awkward than me. but I won't say that"

that's all. maybe he said more things, but that's all that was included in this video. and of course, WYB fans are free to feel upset about his livestream being called awkward, but how the hell did it turn into "he said it was funny and embarrassing that wang yibo was scolded and cried" in the description box...

and btw this is what the other content of the video is like:

- Yu Bin: *reading comments* have Wang laoshi ever bullied me? he bullies me sometimes
caption: bullshit! Wang laoshi only likes to bully Xiao laoshi

- Yu Bin: *points to his mole* this one?
caption: am I thinking too much? after the heart mole...the chat is full of comments about your mole under the lip *insert screencaps of WYB/YB shippers talking about the mole*
(fyi, BJYX shippers thinks WYB drew a heart with a dot under it in an interview to represent XZ's mole. they're mad that Yu Bin also has a mole under his lip, but Yu Bin never said anything about WYB's drawing. he pointed to his mole once in the livestream bc a comment mentioned it. if WYB/YB shippers want to be delusional about it too then that's not his problem)

- Yu Bin talks about how Wen Ning did most of the fighting and protects WWX. caption is mad af saying Wen Ning is nothing without WWX...

maybe better compilation of Yu Bin's "being nasty" exists out there, but these videos and the stupid comments under them are definitely not it

my god, this series of videos is truly made by delusional bjyx shippers for delusional bjyx shippers...after terrorizing meng ziyi for a year they are all looking for a new target or what

I hope everyone finding offense actually understand Chinese and know exactly what Yu Bin is saying and the context in which he says it, instead of relying on these video edits and translations that twists words

my favorite is this one where she talks about the progress of LWJ's feelings in the early scenes https://www.bilibili.com/video/av64526544

she points out stuff that I myself didn't notice in the library scene, like how LWJ's eyes has already stopped reading the book the moment WWX approached him lmao or how he doesn't want to pay attention to WWX and his drawing but he can't control his gaze. he says "extremely boring", but what he does is not crumble it like the paper talisman or give it back to WWX; instead he sets it down carefully and gently on his other side

also the part where WWX and JC asks to come along to fight the water ghost. this scene actually doesn't need to be analyzed bc LXC literally spells it out LWJ's feelings in dialogue later on, but still the acting here...sobs LWJ's tsundere is so cute

she also asks the viewers to consider when LWJ started to compose the song Wangxian. this is a really good point bc I see a lot of viewers say the Xuanwu cave scene is where LWJ's feelings shifted, but it has to be earlier than that. in the reviewer's opinion, the song started to materialize when WWX left the Cloud Recesses

there is a drama reviewer https://space.bilibili.com/2627161 who made a series of popular videos analyzing Wang Yibo's LWJ. they're in Chinese and unsubbed, and I really wish they were subbed so I can refer ppl who don't understand LWJ's character or just see him at surface-level. even as someone who can only understand 50%, some of her narration of his inner thoughts made me cry....
but her visual editing is still on point and she points all the exact minute detail of the acting so anyone who knows the drama well can check the vids out

someone: wow LWJ was so annoyed, he didn’t like WWX at all

me: sobs so you skipped every single LXC/LWJ scene in the first 8 eps :( my poor Lan Jades

*raises hand* I'd like to contest the claim of WWX's "straightness"

ep 3: WWX wandered off leaving his sister to wonder about whereabouts. JC: "he's probably together with some Mianmian or some Yuandao right now." (JC really calling his bro out like this)

ep 5: the porn book WWX showed LWJ depicts homosexual intercourse. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_homoerotic_print_Hua_Ying_Chin_Chen.jpg. WWX is very upset that LWJ tore this book up and told Nie Huaisang later that he still haven't had a chance to look at it. NHS said it's okay he has more of those (alright NHS)

ep 8: the scene in the streets under the flower shower. NHS commented on LWJ's great beauty (alright NHS 2.0). WWX agreed, then made a joke. but when NHS looked away WWX sneaked a look back at LWJ. honestly idk what else to say about this scene lol, other than wonder why hetero viewers need things to be spelled out when it comes to queerness? if one of the 2 was female and the scene played out the exact same way, would there be this amount of doubt?

(ep 14: ok no one cares about this but that drawing at the top of WWX's bed. I didn't notice it at all until I saw the donghua's version of that drawing and all I can say is there is intention there)

and this is just a general comment but ngl I’m barely restraining myself from going on a rant about why for some, WWX calling a girl pretty or interacting with a girl or just protecting his sister seems to cancel out all that has happened with LWJ for 50 eps. I just can’t understand

I wonder why many people assume the anime version would be more gay?
cos I always thought stuff like subtext romance is way easier to portray with expressions and emotions made by a real human face (and epic battles on the other hand always look better in animation)

edit: oh no not drama vs anime fight here too? what’s the point when it’s all money padding Tencent’s pocket in the end lol

this is just a general observation but it’s starting to be kind of funny how many times these huge budgeted, tv broadcasted dramas are being brought up to be compared to this niche genre idol webdrama. I guess it’s flattering but maybe the high ratings are somewhat of a curse lol

"Its a usual way of filmming romantical scenes. The way Wen Qing looked at him, the way he responds to those looks."

I'm sorry but I'm so confused...what scenes are you talking about?

and definitely gonna have to disagree with camera work getting blamed for this hetero perspective lmao. bc while they do suck at action scenes, I have never seen a camera crew try so hard to portray romance between 2 male leads. like the slowmo wrist grabbing scene, the entire xuanwu cave scene, that angle of them falling on top of each other outside the Lan ancestor cave, every cut to LWJ 's face looking jealous af when WWX stands too close to someone...now that's the cameras trying to code romance. they don't even do half of that for any other ship lol

yeah I think it’s time to drop the drama. if it’s ep 20 and you still can’t pick up the subtext with LWJ but sees romantic tension between WWX and his siblings instead (i mean, really???), there’s a major disconnect you have with the drama that won’t be fixed even in the later eps

it’s not that viewers didn’t notice, it’s bc we’d rather accept a vague explanation in order to keep Xiao Zhan in the role of WWX rather than switch him out for another actor that might not be as capable. Xiao Zhan’s WWX is more important to this drama and its viewers than having this one rebirth detail (which is banned from cdramas anyway) be exactly the same as the novel

just putting this out there bc I see confusion day in and day out, but plot censorship is NOT a myth.

here are specific bans written for dramas that pertains to the character of WWX

- Sets a negative character as a main character, or exaggerates the positive sides of a reactionary, backwards, evil, or illegal [acting] person, society, or organization.

- Blurs the value judgement between truth and falsehood, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, or confuses the basic boundaries between justice and injustice

so no he can not be the founder of demonic cultivation or the dark arts for evilness and he cannot go nuts and kills a large amount of ppl just bc. name me 1 drama since the year 2016 (aka the year that Chinese gov went insane on regulating dramas) that have such a main character and still get to air on tv or a major web channel like Tencent Youku iQiyi...

Chinese mythology and superstition are also banned. please refer to Guardian for how they turned an entire novel based on magic and Chinese mythology into a drama about gadgets and aliens (and they STILL got in trouble)

and don’t go “why did other adaptations blah blah” bc every form of media has a different set of laws. regulations on live action dramas are strictest bc it is the most popular and influential with the general public. China is so crazy about it they write new laws every time a drama becomes too successful. they literally just published some new ones about BL after The Untamed...with every passing year the noose gets tighter for content creators in China so appreciate your creative freedom if you’re in a location that allows it

I agree with other users saying ep 10-14 is the litmus test. if you’re on ep 20 and the drama is still not clicking, I’d advise to stop bc the rest is just gonna be wasting your time

my favorite scene is the whole sequence from bowing in the ancestral hall to revealing the truth about JC’s golden core. it was such an important scene for who I consider the 4 leads of the drama. WWX’s resignation towards JC but still won’t let JC insult LWJ, Wen Ning having an outburst to defend WWX, JC realizing the extent of how much WWX cared about him, LWJ heart breaking TEARS....the actors did so good, it’s almost identical to how I imagined it in the novel

of course time and effort is part of budgeting? if they’re running out of money towards the end they’re not gonna do detailed wound makeup or multiple retakes to make a perfect scene. they’re gonna use whatever they got and rush to other scenes so they don’t have to rent the studio or pay salaries for 50+ ppl on the crew for extra days. in a perfect world drama productions would be passion projects for everyone involved, but in reality that’s maybe 1 out 100.

btw I’m not at all denying that this drama has a lot of flaws. in the end it’s a webdrama with a lower end budget that clearly frontloaded their money (ie funneled into pre-production costs like music costumes and sets). maybe that’s the mistake on their part as well...like maybe they didn’t need 10+ character songs with all different singers, they just need better cgi lol