mysecretsoul

It is my first, yup! If there are more this enjoyable, I'll be very happy. Mainland dramas are also starting to interest me, including Sealed With A Kiss (which I've just noted you've seen). It's exciting to experience another talented actor, though the violent character worries me slightly.

Mm, I've seen lots of Jet Li! Among his Hollywood works, I really found The One memorable; the sci-fi theme and superb action caught my attention when young. That might not be the best of his overseas filmography, but I remember watching it frequently back then, haha.

It's surprising right? Actually, from his listing, *I have* seen Ji Sub briefly in Sophie's Revenge. Otherwise, it's been a matter of missed timing. Ghost and Sorry, I Love You look great, but somehow similar or "shinier" shows keep grabbing me first....

Ah, I see! Thank you for clarifying that; I've heard that there were differences, but was unaware it could be so distinct. :o

Chinese dramas are so refreshing for me at the moment. Perhaps it's the new faces or differences in style, but the feeling is like discovering a whole new world (or rather, country). As for Legend of Lu Zhen, we learned the histories that form the basis of it and Lan Ling are closely related. So it's the perfect time to start it, almost like a continuation, haha.

Ah, which Jet Li films? Do you prefer his period/wuxia films or his more modern roles?

I also completely agree about So Ji Sub. His scenes are like green oases in that drama, hidden between the sandy dunes of lackluster. I really must see him in something decent soon; it's sort of a shame to experience him here first. @_@

Ah, thank you so much for the recommendations! I'll need to look these up now and add them, so as not to forget. Are there any actors or actresses to watch for? I like hearing the good and bad before trying out a new country, haha.

Ah, is that so? In my experience, it seemed as though the actors were using Mandarin and dubbed anyway. For instance, in Prince of Lan Ling, the main cast was forced to dub *themselves* over after the fact...so I had assumed it was an accent thing. I must agree though, it would be nicer to use a centralized language for the dramas; dubbing is just awful.

Over the weekend, I mostly researched and tried movies. My friend and I will be starting Legend of Lu Zhen soon as well.

It would have been time to start something Japanese, but a different friend convinced me to try The Master's Sun around Halloween. And I'll never forgive her, haha. It's so hard to sit through sometimes, I'm almost shocked. The ratings were so high o_o

Thank you for asking! I'm doing quite well, and you? How are the dramas you're following currently?

That is incredibly kind of you to say. I'm always trying to improve it, though my time can be somewhat limited. Thank you for inquiring after me, I'm quite well. I hope you are too?

I'm about to start The Legend of Lu Zhen, directly on the heels of Prince of Lan Ling. Otherwise, I'm following Empress Ki and Medical Top Team. And you?

And Feng Shao Feng makes an appearance in it as this adorably frazzled demon hunter. I've since decided him talented, because it performed totally different with all new mannerisms -- but I realized afterwards he might have been dubbed in Prince of Lan Ling, haha. His voice was so much lighter!

Apparently the shortened version of Love, Now is called the "International Version"; some places may have it for download, but it was mostly distributed on DVD and through official streaming sites.

I decided to step back from the Lan Ling final as well. While watching the penultimate episode, it struck me how incapable of objectivity about this show I've become. My original plan was to write something in-depth about it, but something has me shrugging off issues I would sneer at in other dramas. Perhaps it was the insanely likable main cast or the initial addictiveness? At any rate, I have no idea what I'm going to rate this. XD

I rather liked Painted Skin! Most striking was how thoroughly built and intoxicating its atmosphere was, as well as the vibrant cinematography and costumes. The story was a little "light," but as an original Asian fantasy, it was well worth the time.

I have never had the occasion to watch any Hong Kong productions before now. Perhaps that's why I'm finding them so refreshing after so many consecutive Korean and Japanese ones.

Do you have any suggestions? I have a few Mainland in mind, and of course Sealed with a Kiss. You really seem to have a lot more experience than me, haha.

Oh, definitely! Shall we try it together? It seems like a good follow-up to Prince of Lan Ling. And a strong female character surrounded by handsome men can only be promising, ne? XD

Isn't he terribly distracting?! Every time I go to Viki it's like: "George, darling! Wait, I'm here to watch your show, go away...."

Love, Now worries me a little bit, because there are apparently two versions. One is 36+ episodes, and the other is the full 72; I have no idea what they could have cut/which is a better watch/etc. Some people say that the 36+ slices out all the filler, while the 72 has lots of important couple scenes. He and Annie Chen have wonderful chemistry no matter what, though.

Ah, hello! Thank you so much for your friend request; it's nice to meet you!

It seems to be, though listed under the title "Female Prime Minister." Fully subbed as well, which is amazing; I couldn't imagine translating 50+ episodes over the course of a few months for free, haha.

Ah, so he was the previous emperor! It's cute they aired both of these this year. Watching both would be like one big continuation.

Imagine being so bad you destroy an entire nation! It's actually kind of interesting how they poised the Zheng Er character to become Xiao Lian. They were able to expand her motivations and soften her image, all while retaining the crazy. But wow! She and Gao Wei were a match made in hell, even in real life.

By the way, I noticed there was another series on Viki centering on members of the Gao family. It's called Legend of Lu Zhen; apparently, the male leads are in close generational proximity to this era.

I agree completely! Fourth Lord could be so naive; if I had been Xue Wu, there were several points I'd have dropped him for one of the other guys. There are only a few episodes left for me to watch now, but I feel kind of sad to part with it.

Ah! That's such a coincidence. Is the lead actor very good then? The Chinese seem to court the best for mainland productions, so that's usually a good indicator. :o

Gathering my thoughts on Lan Ling will be such a challenge! Something about it loosened my objectivity, so it has become one of those rare times my enjoyment of a series overrides its actual merits. That said, it's surprisingly good; the characters are very sympathetic indeed, which is part of the magic.

Ah, did you enjoy that incarnation of Condor Heroes? My friend actually mentioned it recently, as she is finally finishing it. Apparently yet another will be coming up in 2014, though which changes will be made this time remains to be seen.

I hope you can find something that will break that trend. Nothing is worse than a slump.

Hello, and thanks so much for the friend request! :)

You should! George is wonderful. They were saying his popularity reached a crucial point, which means projects basically fall into his lap at the moment. For instance, he had yet another major project this year -- though it seems as though it won't be subtitled.

Looking back on the episodes as a whole to this point, few were truly bad. I feel that reading up on the history would make those that were much easier, though.

As we near the end, my curiosity about it has expanded. My hopes for the story are for the Zhou invasion and Xue Wu/Fourth Lord eloping (historically accurate or not). Did you find whether Zheng Er appeared in his records? I figure that she must, though probably as "Feng Xiaolan."

I actually dislike the character so much, I find myself losing objectivity about the actress. She does such a great job as a force of misguided, yet spine-tingling evil. @.@

Hearing George Hu speak English is wild! You can definitely tell he learned in America, though a cute Chinese accent colors his speech. From what I garnered from some of his interviews, he's kind of a ridiculously cute nerd too. Am I crazy or does English change the tone of a voice? He sounds so much deeper~

I just continued and I almost screamed, oh my gosh. With the lengths to which they took things, I thought for sure Fourth Lord was...! Everyone jokes about wanting a pretty guy in a dungeon, but this is a shade too far. >.>

I'm excited, but also kind of sad. There are only a hand full of episodes left ;A;

At the moment, I'm nearing completion with Prince of Lan Ling. It has various wuxia elements, while being pseudo-historical.

There are several others which appear interesting as well, such as Bu Bu Jing Xin. Unfortunately, I'm still feeling the genre out; most of my experiences with it have been film length. It's such a refreshing break from the usual in any case. :)

The dubbing practice confuses me somewhat. While I can understand doing so with a foreign actor whose Chinese is poor, it's done with native speakers as well. There is nothing stranger than realizing later a person has a completely different voice. Do they place a great deal of importance on dialect or something?

I'm kind of a turtle when it comes to dramas, haha. It would be fun to marathon something again soon, though. Just need to find the time.

Ah, do the books set up the mystery then? That sounds like a fascinating mixture.