sulkytofu

YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT EVEN WHEN HE'S THE MAIN LEAD MI RE CAN'T GET THE GIRL I'M SOBBING WTH IS THIS

Immediately after reading the comments I checked his upcoming projects on kisskh and he's not a main lead in a SINGLE ONE! At this point even more tragic than the ML of this drama is the fact that I need to wait again to see Mi Re finally get a happy ending in a romantic drama...

Some things that worked for me and some that didn't! For one, this drama was really hilarious. The comedic timing is absolutely great — and many of these scenes are not dialogues, but instead play off of character's personalities (one of my favourites being when Yang Jin sits in his chair, completely poker-faced, while holding a huge Moomin doll in his arms). I think I also love the chemistry the main cast have with each other as roommates. In a way it's a drama where there's romance, but it also gives off the feeling of a "ragtag bunch of different roommates working together to solve cases," so that keeps the plot fresh and interesting.

I found some arcs and stories to be boring, but the one arc where Jeremy Jones Xu was in (the cooking one) was very well done and incredibly touching. I think this is a good drama for something a little different and unique from a fluffy romance drama. It spans so many different genres, from republican, to historical, to modern because every story/case they solve is different. If there's one thing I didn't like, it's that I find the main character personalities to be quite stock-like — Bai Qi's coldness I think is a disservice to Bai Yu's acting skills, while I sometimes find that Lin Xia's personality and her head-first approach to cases can often get her into trouble. Not to mention that I found Hei Qi to be a much more compelling and interesting character. On the other hand, Ji Xiaobing's performance as Yang Jian was a real treat, and Marcus Li did an adorable and amazing job as Bai Qi's loveable assistant. Overall I liked it as a watch for when I didn't have anything else on my drama list, but I didn't find the chemistry to be explosive or felt the tension to always keep watching.

For those who are interested, Tingting Hu and Cathy Yue Wang just published an AMAZING academic article on this drama, that analyzes aspects from the interviews between the actors to the actual drama itself. For those of you who want to read it, it's called "Who is the Counterpublic? Bromance-as-Masquerade in Chinese Online Drama—S.C.I. Mystery." If anyone wants to read it but can't get pass the paywall, let me know and I'll send you a copy!

I think you'll like this! It's pure fluff and sugar in every episode, and it was really the cute palate cleanser that I needed!

I think it benefitted a lot from a lack of competing dramas, but also I've heard Kabby Hui is slowly acquiring more popularity in China. I think the series did well because of the fluff, but it would be really interesting to see the differences towards drama reception between Chinese fans and international fans!

Finally, had the heart to start the series knowing just how tragic it was. It's been really addictive to watch so far, and honestly a complete shocker that at the time of the series Chen Xingxu and Peng Xiaoran were rookies in the acting field (I've heard rumours that it was supposed to be Chen Kun and Fan Bingbing who were starring in this series!)

Both are doing an amazing job. I admit it's also really difficult to keep the fact that this is a tragic show in the back of my mind, because I am still on the "fluffier" parts in the beginning. If I hadn't known ahead of time, I would have really thought that this was going to be a historical adorable romcom.

If I had to give a drama that had the same feelings, I'd probably say Ballad of the Desert, which is one of my all time favourites, except that drama is the much less tragic and much more healthier? romantic version of this. Not that Ballad of the Desert didn't have angst either, but I can tell that this series is gorgeously dark, tragic, and watching just how evil the ML will become is a treat that I have yet to see in any other drama.

Just in case, not sure if this clarification was needed, but I was REALLY confused about Meng Hui's condition at first. I thought this was going to be like Kill Me Heal Me where she has DID, and cannot control her different identities. But instead basically the premise is that whenever stressful events happen, Meng Hui "changes" to become exactly what she wants most deep in her heart, in order to achieve her innermost desires. And I think this is really interesting — what would you do if instead of holding your words back and being restrained, simply acted on what you wanted to do?

Also, I think the strength of this drama is that normally I start to lose interests when the main couple gets together. But in this case, there's still a lot to see because of Meng Hui's condition. For those who read web novels, even though everything is in the same storyworld, it feels like each of Meng Hui's changes are like an "arc" — i.e. we have Meng Hui who wants to date, CEO Meng Hui, little sister Meng Hui, etc. It keeps you watching especially because you want to know what happens!

Props to how loveable all the side characters are as well! Each of them play an important role, and I really appreciate the trio of best girlfriends (and then the trio involving their boyfriends). It's also very clear to see that this is the same scriptwriter as The Romance of Tiger and Rose as well as Unexpected — the chemistry between the entire cast is very similar, but there are also lots of jokes and introspective moments characteristic of the scriptwriter in this one.

I think it's also interesting because it's really clear that this drama is one of those that fits into a "niche" - that being fluffy, cliche, not angsty romcom. By no means is this a plot masterpiece, and it was specifically for this reason that I enjoyed this a lot, because I knew it would fit into this specific category and it was what I was craving for. I really think it's a matter of expectations, as this drama was overall quite solid for what it meant to do and what audience it was targeting. And as someone who wanted something to take my mind off, even with all the plot issues and things I didn't like about the drama, this was a good fluffy watch for me to pass my time with!

I think I was just too greedy! I loved the happy ending, but I wanted to see their children and their little family haha. Perhaps I've been spoiled by fluffy romcoms like The Sweet Girl where the ending was very satisfying for me, but the ending of this one I felt wasn't as sweet as all of the sugar that I experienced throughout all the previous episodes. I am still satisfied, however, and perhaps I'm just already missing this adorably stupid couple after finishing this series!

Li Jiaqi and Zhao Yiqin are honestly the perfect casting for this drama. It's kind of cute since sometimes I am reminded of just how adorable they were in My Youth and feel like I'm watching that drama again, but like the parallel universe version. It's really clear how natural they are together, and I love how even behind the scenes they are close friends and have really great chemistry.

I've also been really surprised by the story. A lot of the character relationships are very refreshing, and I love the relationships amongst the entire main cast. This drama is currently really suiting my tastes for a fluffy romcom with some introspective parts, and really hit all of the tropes that I was really into. I'm glad that a show which I was highly expecting turned out to be quite solid, and while I'm still early into the series it's been a really crackly and light watch so far!

You will need to really, really, REALLY lower your expectations for this drama if you want to like it. This is a low-budget pure modern day fluff romcom, it's basically a Chinese romance webnovel turned into a drama. If this suits your taste, then you'll probably like it and its cliches, even with all of the audio and music issues that the drama currently has. But if you're looking for something more introspective then this is definitely not for you. It's basically mindless fluff and "sugary" romance drama cliches.

Thoughts on the ending everyone? I was surprised, but also in a way it made sense. Wasn't what I expected or thought would happen, but I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks!

Agree! I wrote my undergraduate thesis on The Untamed and will be presenting at several conferences, but even when I was writing it I barely touched the surface of what is possible to discuss with the series. Not to mention that in the past several years, there's been really great academic articles written on Chinese BL series such as Guardian, Addicted, S.C.I, etc. just to show how much there is to unpack and write about!

Caught up with the new episodes, and Liu Haikuan's new character song that he sings as part of the OST is pretty heartbreaking. In all honesty, I find him both a really interesting second lead because he never really feels like any kind of threat to the main CP's relationship. I just find him a pretty tragic character overall, and in many ways I feel like part of this drama is more about him trying to come to terms with his own past than him being a true romantic interest.

That being said, the main CP is really adorable together. I really like how Fang Zhiyou and Xu Yiren try to communicate their problems to each other and just how much they respect each other. They have a very healthy and wholesome relationship, and I think this is what makes this drama sparkle, even if it is a lighter romance series that does operate on some cliches. I love how Fang Zhiyou's honesty is so endearing, especially when he's in love, and how Xu Yiren is so adaptable and emotionally strong. I've been enjoying it a lot so far, and I really hope that their dynamic continues even through to latter episodes.

Thanks for your sweet words, and I'm so glad you liked my review! Truthfully, I had a REALLY hard time writing it. By making the rating too high, I was worried that I would heighten expectations of the drama (and then cause others to miss out on a series that really suited my personal tastes for light fluff!) I therefore tried to balance what I felt the drama does best, and what I felt the drama is a little weaker on, in the hopes that future watchers will enjoy it just as much as I did! I agree with you that I just loved all the cliches, and loved that this was a drama that basically threw plot aside and focused on the romance.

I do admit, however, it's been interesting to see the patterns of comments in this thread. It's no surprise that FLs in dramas often get targeted for being dumb, naive, or stupid, but it surprises me that this standard isn't addressed towards the ML as well. One thing I loved about this show is how sometimes the ML messes up and is too hot-headed, and Jinyan helps him instead through these problems. Not to mention I found Jinyan to be very endearing, and therefore I was surprised to see how vitriolic some of the comments towards the FL are. I hope my review clarified some of this, and really hope that more people watch this show, which was really the sweet, mindless, and adorable drama that I really needed!

So many great comments in this thread! I find a lot of the thoughts here to be quite interesting, as The Untamed is known for having a cast of quite strong female characters, from Shi Jie's emotional strength, to Wen Qing's skills, to A-Qing's bravery and courage. I do appreciate some of the nuance in the article (i.e. for sure, there may have been fans that chose to watch the series because of "hot guys," but this is not the only exclusive reason why.) There are many who love the female cast just as much as the male cast, and I found the women of MDZS to be one of my favourite aspects of the franchise.

In addition, a lot of the arguments posed here are also popular in academic BL circles, especially when we talk about the lack of a female love interest in BL stories, and how a predominately heterosexual female audience interacts with this characteristic (although I note that there are MANY fans of BL that fall out of this category, and express numerous gender identities that are non-heteronormative.) They're great thoughts to consider, especially if we think about how we consume media and how "queer TV China" both subverts and is complicit to patriarchal and heteronormative standards in popular culture.

I also feel like assessing the popularity of The Untamed may be very different if we compare the fanbase transnationally and within China. For example, I think that transnational fans also benefitted from a lot of fanwork, from translations to online forums, on top of the fact that Tencent obviously chose to tap into an existing popular IP in China for broadcast overseas. One thing I can say, however, is that if we contextualize The Untamed in relation to previous BL adaptions (i.e. Addicted, Beloved Enemy, Guardian, etc.) I think that it is quite unique in terms of how popular it was and the way in which it did not experience censorship in the same ways as those series. And I do think these are questions that we will need to continue asking and looking at, especially with the rise of BL adaptations in China over the next year (looking at Sha Po Lang, Faraway Wanderers, and Immortality!)

Does anyone else feel like Su Cheng Yun was a bit of a waste of a character? I'm saying this because I feel like there are so many interesting things that drama was doing, and seemed to be doing, but then during the middle stretch it seemed to crash and fall flat a bit. I wish we learned more about the relationship he had with Lin Wei Jun, especially in their past, so that I could actually feel invested in him as a second male lead. But without that, I felt like his character was mostly flat, and I never really saw him as any serious challenge to Jiao Yang (nor did I really find anything sympathetic or likeable about his character).

If there's anything that continued to save this drama I really have to say it's Li Hongyi, whose performance as Jiao Yang was really great to watch. I do agree with the comments that probably the best stretch is from Episodes 2 ~ 15/16, which does a great balance of work, romance, and even a bit of "thriller/tension." But after that, it kind of starts falling apart and loses a bit of the spark it had earlier, and I think that's where this drama suffered a bit. I feel like it had the potential to be a more romantic and office focused version of I Can Hear Your Voice, but unfortunately fizzled out during the show's mid-stretch.

Yeah. The only problem is that sometimes because of the plotlines, it's easier to cut out the BL aspect and make it more plot-focused instead. Agree what you mean, with the popularity of adaptations there's always the worry that having them pumped out so quickly may impact the quality of the story! I'm hoping the same as well!

No problem! Thanks so much for your kind words too and for sharing the links ^^

No problem! It's so weird to see how this rumour started. I know that webnovels (especially if they are uploaded on platforms like Jinjiang) often have many different versions, and so I was always wondering about whether there are multiple different copies/editions of Lang Ya Bang.

For now this is super strange, and I don't think the anthology started the rumour but instead probably was built on existing rumours instead. In any case, the authors mentioned how Lang Ya Bang does have a lot of BL fans (even if the original novel isn't BL) so maybe that's also what they are referring to.

Many thanks for your comments ~ I've just started reading and am pretty excited! I've heard both the drama and the novel version are great, so It'll be interesting to watch and read them both at the same time!