sulkytofu

I'm actually really glad to see the discussions about the actor in this comment section. You can simultaneously recognize the terrible things that the main actor has done and raise discussion over them, while also recognizing the impact of "slanderous" comments on Korean actors and idols especially on mental health. In other words, raising attention towards the allegations about the main actor is not necessarily equivalent to hate comments, as these two things are not mutually exclusive.

In fact, to be honest, I think it's important we have these conversations ⁠— because clearly from the fact this man is still receiving projects and acting roles, the so called "slanderous comments" have done little to impact his career. Moreover, some of the incredibly misogynistic and out-of-touch things he has said, especially in his recent press conference, can be quite demeaning towards the very audience of the show. At the end, it is your decision to watch the show or not, and I completely understand if people do for many reasons (including the work of many producers, writers, and actresses like Go Sung Hee!) But it should also be important that we can question and consider how such an actor can continue to achieve success in the context of the serious concerns and allegations against his past behaviour.

I'm still trying to think about exactly WHAT made the Shangguan Xi and Da Yang loveline not work. I loved them both individually, and thought they were great characters by themselves. But for some reason, something about their relationship just didn't click with me. I'm not really sure what that is, but maybe it's that the main love line was too great (although I admit my next favourite relationship was the one between the general and his wife when they were trapped in Hangzhou, especially how commandeering that she was!)

I especially loved how you could see the love between the main couple without them having to explicitly say that they liked each other (especially in the early episodes!) I definitely think that the pacing of the relationship was excellently done, and both of them had such a healthy relationship where they continued to communicate and rely on each other for support. I really wish we could have had an ending where we saw them with their children, especially as that was how Lu Yi had "confessed" to Jin Xia. However, I'm still incredibly satisfied, and also agree that I loved how this drama depicted their relationship.

Apparently, Hu Yi Tian's screentime in Go Go Squid was limited because of his audio recording scandal where he said some misogynistic things (particularly about his former co-star Shen Yue) when the series was filming last year. The scandal itself wasn't confirmed to be true or not, but he also wasn't on set very often I think - which was why such an important character (Xiao Bai) was so heavily sidelined.

I actually started watching this after hearing the sequel to Go Go Squid would be starring him, and I was pleasantly surprised by how his acting has improved. Conversely, I absolutely love Leon Zhang as well, and he made Chusheng's "mafia" character incredibly likeable. Wish that Chusheng had more characterization in the series, and that the drama had gone a lot more into his backstory, but I know that the series is really focusing on solving cases.

No, I totally understand if you're not into her personality! I also recognize I generally love all female leads, and it's definitely valid to not like her or the ship in this series.

To be honest, I'm in the mid-stretch of the drama now, which was a lot better for me than the beginning as the cases are better. I admit it's pretty obvious Luo Yao ends up with You Ning (they will have a happy ending together) and I think the drama does a good job showing why (especially with a focus on how both are from powerful families, and bond over unique familial difficulties.) In this sense, I would say if this is something that might turn you off from the drama, to maybe just skip these scenes which occur in between cases. Although the romance is light and both go from enemies to friends to lovers, it's still there and it's obvious that both have a loveline together.

I do agree with you on the romance aspect — I am starting to warm up to Luo Yao/You Ning more, but there are sometimes ambiguous scenes of "brotherhood" between Luo Yao and Chu Sheng, and I personally like their relationship a lot more. I wish more of the focus was on them, but at this moment I still really like the "trio dynamic" and it works for me, so I'm okay with it for now.

There are also a lot of connections and choices made under the production's discretion. For example, in The Untamed, Yibo and Xiao Zhan had been idols for a while and had not yet seen the amount of fame they've received following the series. XZ was casted specifically at the producer's request, while Yibo was casted for his "cold" demeanour. Moreover, many of the side actors of the series were little-known, despite already having debuted as singers, idols, or other types of performers for years with not as much success in China already.

Chen Feiyu obviously is the son of the internationally acclaimed Chen Kaige. This is not to say that he's not a good actor, but instead that clearly he is well-connected in his acting career, and therefore may be luckier than others in being casted for projects. There are many actors and actresses who are incredible, yet more selective with their series and therefore have less projects (i.e. Hu Ge) and others who are great at acting yet may not receive the same fame for other reasons (i.e. smaller agency, less promotion, etc.) I've never seen any of Feiyu's works so I can't comment objectively on his acting per se, but considering how China produces so many dramas, the casting process is obviously impacted by many factors (many of which can be considered more important than "talent" itself).

I dropped this! The story had so much potential, but the main issue was that I was starting to tire of the relationship between San Hyuk and Young Jae. There were moments where they had chemistry, but the constant bickering eventually became messy, and I felt like instead of healing each other their miscommunications became increasingly immature and boring to watch. I particularly found Jo Boah's acting in this one difficult to watch sometimes, and felt like it was either over-exaggerated or unrealistic, even though I've been a fan of her previous works.

One of the main complaints was also the amount of genres packed into the story. I think this would have been much more interesting if they had just focused on the rescue team, instead of making it a backdrop for broader business and corporate conflicts. I felt like the drama was missing focus, which was unfortunate because I LOVED the setting of the series.

Oh, that's a relief to know! I was really excited to see Luo Yunxi in a BL drama, since immediately after his acting in Ashes of Love I thought he'd be a perfect pick to star in a BL series. Many fans have also praised the casting of Feiyu and Yunxi, and so I'm hoping as well that he has lots of chemistry since the relationship in Immortality contains quite a lot of depth.

I think it depends on your taste! If you want something that's more fluff-oriented over plot, Dr. Cutie and the Sweet Girl are good picks that are short and easy to watch. I was also a fan of the Love by Hypnotic, but I've seen some comments finding the latter stretch to be more boring, and would recommend you read some reviews first.

If you want something that's romantic (even though there are no kiss scenes) but also has a lot of brotherhood and a broader plot/conspiracy, I'd definitely suggest Arsenal Military Academy. It's set in the Republican Era and not the Ming Dynasty, but it's still a very well-produced drama and Bai Lu and Xu Kai obviously have incredible chemistry.

I'm surprised at the criticisms towards Bai Youning — I love how she assists with cases and provides information specialized to her profession (which she is incredibly passionate about.) I have a feeling much of this might be coming from expectations, as I can see the setup between Lu Yao and Qiao Chusheng being ripe for a BL narrative, and it also seems like in the comments this was the impression many people initially received.

Personally, I do find the relationship between Chusheng and Lu Yao very interesting, and I think the show may have been better if they had decided to focus on this as the "main line" instead. I think there's a lot of material that can be done by focusing on their bromance or brotherhood (and the "queer undertones" of this relationship IF this were meant to be a BL series). That being said, I think Lu Yao and Youning do have chemistry, and so far I'm liking their banter and their bickering with each other even if I do find the relationship between Chusheng and Lu Yao more interesting.

If there's any complaint, I'm not a fan of back-to-back cases, and wish that cases were stretched out across several episodes, and/or past cases link to a broader conspiracy. I'm still early in the show, but it's unsatisfying seeing the resolution of cases so quickly. I am however pleasantly surprised by Hu Yi Tian's acting — I generally find anything with him in it difficult to watch, and I think that so far he's been quite competent especially in conveying Lu Yao's personality. But for me, the star of this show really has to be Chusheng, who is so far my favourite character and I'm very interested in seeing more of his personality!

To be honest, I'm now rather nervous about Feiyu being casted for Immortality, especially considering the comments on his acting in this section. He really had the look for the character, but I think that strong acting will be absolutely necessary considering how Immortality is a BL drama (and therefore the acting will be central in conveying elements in the novel that will be censored in the drama). I was thinking of watching this since I have yet to see some of his works, but am now more cautious and may be thinking of holding off after reading this!

I'm really surprised at all of the great reviews for this drama. I love fluffy romances, and I thought this would be a great pick, but I find Zhang Jiong Min's acting to be quite hard to like?I'm also finding a lot of character inconsistencies with the ML (first cold, then becomes nagging, then becomes warm, then becomes cold again). This may be because I'm skipping through the drama, but I had a hard time seeing the romantic progression of the relationship. I think it started off really well, but then all of a sudden they become lovers very quickly, without really showing how they both grow to rely on and care for each other.

I also find some of the edits to be really difficult to tell apart (sometimes I think it's a flashback, but then I realized it's a cut that's meant to show a transition to the next scene.) I may be being harsh, but I didn't enjoy this very much even though this drama had all of the elements of what I'm looking for, and have dropped it since I haven't really found the storyline to be cohesive and the main pairing to have enough chemistry for me.

The one character I did not expect to love so much was our quirky, clever, and loyal Taoist priest. He had a wonderful arc, and I really loved how Lu Yi saw him as an equal and as a true brother and friend (especially as someone who has a lot of enemies). I think it's great his characterization developed immensely through the drama, and he was very memorable despite being a support character that only emerged halfway into the series. His death was very painful to watch, and I did not expect to get so emotional over his character while watching.

Most frustrating character to me, however, was the Emperor. Not only was he so incompetent, but it was so difficult to see how he wasn't dethroned or poisoned earlier considering just how he seemed so invested in himself. Perhaps this is historically accurate (the self-centered nature of the ruler instead of working for the people), but it was frustrating to see him be so useless where there were huge factional wars amongst his ministers.

I did like, however, and was very impressed by how much Lu Yi changed. Alan Ren did an incredible job acting, and I loved how his moral beliefs were often brought into conflict with his much more conservative and cautious father Lu Ting.

To be honest, I think this drama did a lot of unique things, and also a lot of things that were similar to other dramas. I would probably recommend Arsenal Military Academy (2019) for sure, which has a bickering couple set in the Republican Era, who work together to unveil a broader conspiracy during the Japanese invasion of China. There's a lot of bromance here and like a "close friends main cast," moreover Xu Kai and Bai Lu have a lot of chemistry (although there is no kiss scene in the drama!)

Some other good ones include Sound of the Desert (2014) for the same balance between military and romance, and The Untamed (2019) for a murder/conspiracy story if you're into BL/Boys' Love.

To be honest, the ending is happy, but it's not strong enough for me personally considering all the angst that happens in the last 10 ~ 15 episodes (it's like a 5 minute "happy scene" and then the series ends). Xie Xiao doesn't really get better, until near the final last half when he collaborates with Lu Yi. I agree with your thoughts, because it's disappointing that he's actually very smart and competent, but he's written as if all he cares about is Jin Xia. I also skipped a lot of scenes with Shangguan Xi + Da Yang as well, but they do get A LOT of screentime.

At where you are right now, I think you'll probably get to the scene in which they both become a couple maybe around somewhere from episode 30ish? If you're finding it hard to finish this, maybe it is time to drop the series, because some of the problems you've mentioned don't really go away until much later.

This drama is so good, and very difficult to put down! I'm not completed yet, but I really love how healthy and gradual the romance is. You really see how both the ML + FL not only trust in each other completely, but also change and grow stronger together. I also especially like how the drama not only has a relatively large cast, but makes sure that characters don't just drop off after a case (which I find is a problem with many dramas that incorporate many little cases into one series). People that were introduced in one case not only become relevant in later cases, but many also experience interesting character growth and development.

If there are any complaints I have, it's that the main villain is really so hateful (which obviously means that the actor Han Dong is doing his job), and perhaps that the loveline between Shangguan Xi and Yang Yue is much less interesting to me. I also find it frustrating sometimes how the second male lead Xie Xiao often gets in the way of completing and solving cases. Beyond some of the production issues (i.e. the CGI) this is definitely a solid watch and there's no filler in the series, and it maintains its crackly and tense atmosphere throughout the series.

They were actually my favourite couple next to Yanzheng and Xie Xiang! I absolutely loved how Tingbai seemed like such an impressive and dangerous character, yet became completely obedient when it came to Manting. I do wish more time was actually spent on their love line (although I really do think Manting needed to have romantic affection for someone else such as Yanzheng to realize her true feelings for Tingbai). At least we got one kiss scene in this drama, and it was through them!

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I agree that in some dramas, it's really obvious when they decide to use dubbing. Yet other drama do a really great job (i.e. The Untamed, especially as the dubber was also the voice actor for the audio drama.) I understand that because of all the dialects, sometimes dubbing is used, but I'd much rather they keep the original voices. In this drama too I liked how you can hear second male lead/Li Chung Lin's Taiwanese accent and am glad that they kept it in! Hopefully they continue to use the real voices in the future!

I know this is an odd thing to focus on, but I LOVE how they didn't dub the voices in this one. Gala Zhang's voice is much deeper and assertive than I expected, but coupled with the fact that his character often speaks more passively and/or constantly doubts himself, it created this really nice effect which I thought made him even more attractive. This is the first of his works I've seen, and I think he did an incredible job as a very unique main lead who is not only very swoony, but is in fact especially charming because of his flaws and his worries.

I really came in with no expectations, and I'm still in the first half of the drama ⁠— but one thing I really liked is how much like a "second lead" the ML is. Gala Zhang did a great job at creating a lead who was insecure of his talents, who isn't great at what he does right away, who doesn't always want to take the lead or is "specially talented," and undergoes a lot of hard work to become a competitive archer. He and Ireine Song also have so much chemistry, and overall I love their childhood "enemy" relationship. If there's one complaint I have, it's that the FL's "fantasy" about "having a perfect family" doesn't seem realistic considering her age. In any case, however, this is one of the rare dramas where you see a ML who really isn't perfect, and in fact in many cases can be quite unsure of himself, which I've found to be so refreshing.

I feel like before watching this drama, people should be warned - there definitely is romance, but it's a drama that is quite depressing at times and messes with you psychologically, emotionally, and mentally. It's like you feel as if you're being manipulated as well, because of the way that edits are made (which make you suspicious of everyone) but also because of how the sinister tone is maintained throughout the drama. The colour palette is quite bleak, and I feel very unsettled while watching because of the excellent pacing of the drama. This isn't a thriller, but it's an emotional human drama which can sometimes be very sad and heavy.

Surprisingly, the relationship between Ha Jin and Jung Hoon is so healthy, despite the fact that in real life such a pairing would not only be impossible, but psychologically very difficult. They communicate really well, and the acting is so well done that you really emphasize with everyone's pain - especially Tae Eun, who cares for both characters deeply. My only issue is that there are a lot of bad guys in this drama who are bad in the sense that they seem to lack a moral compass. The characters in the drama also have A LOT of emotional baggage, which can be distressing but also incredibly heavy and tiring, especially with the way that their storylines are intertwined. I think this at its core is a story of healing and recovery from immense pain, but as a viewer, the drama really makes you have to experience that sadness first before seeing the sweet parts with our main couple.

The best drama I can compare this to is actually Beautiful Mind - while this is definitely not a medical drama (some of the medical practises in this drama absolutely constitute malpractise) the constant "unsettling" feeling and a focus on character growth before the development of a romantic relationship are quite similar.