tsuyoi_hikari

lol really enjoying this drama since I find the intrigue pretty well written. Coming to MDL to see the ratings and wasnt disappoint lol. All dramas without romance will have this kind of awful ratings.

There is absolutely no problem with this short dramas since it caters to different type of audiences. I just said it might give wrong impression to unsuspecting viewers who thought that Cdramas are 'trashy' like this.

In Cdramas reddit, there will always posts asking why Cdramas are low quality, cheap or is Chinese like this (toxic MLs, abusive relationship, etc). Then this week, the mods have to write a long post asking them to stop generalizing since what they saw is only 3% of the industry. And also ask them to start watching quality Cdramas instead.

There is a problem since new viewers sometimes thought this is the normal Cdramas when it is not. Since when you go to certain sites, there will be people who asked why Cdramas are low quality with terrible writing. It turned out they are watching these mini/micro dramas or low quality idol dramas.

That is why even with MDL which is known to be generous with their ratings, these mini dramas usually score little low (mostly below 8) than normal dramas as there is indeed different in quality esp in the writing department,

I actually did enjoy some of these such as A Familiar Stranger which I thought is pretty good script wise.

I felt the opposite lol. I still think 2021 is his best year when he acted in One & Only and Forever & Ever since you can really see his range as an actor. His micro-expressions in One & Only is one of the best I've seen in Cdramas in recent years -- very subtle, so restrained yet it gave off so much feelings. While his socially awkward portrayal of Zhousheng Chen in Forever & Ever is just fantastic. :D I still think its my fave performance of his to date since he captures those awkward vibes to a T -- the way he constantly licked his lips, touch his tights, shy expressions, etc -- that its almost hilarious to watch him lol.

Then he did the naive merman in The Blue Whisper which one of the most refreshing child-like portrayal from a ML that I've seen in Cdramas. The vibe he gave at that time is like an innocent child even with the way he smiles -- that is why I really felt extra bad for his character in the drama. Plus, he never overdid the naivety thus it wasnt annoying to watch his character since the writer totally understand that naive/innocent doesnt mean stupid/dumb which I really appreciate.

After that, he did Twilight -- which I felt probably a character most close to his real life personality. Those bubbly and happy characteristics that Shan Shan has is a delight to see since he usually are known to play cold and aloof characters in his dramas.

Then recently in Burning Flames, I cant see a trace of his other characters in Wu Geng -- again, a new character from him. Wu Geng wasnt aloof or bubbly but just in between. He didnt bring the same mannerisms, smile or smirks from his other roles. He received tons of hate when he dubbed himself in Thousand Years for You but when he dubbed himself in Burning Flames, the reception is pretty good as he no longer monotone. Even his haters cant shade his line delivery aside from criticizing his soft voice which is his natural voice.

He is actually one of the C-actors I most enjoy watching tbh. First for the variety of roles his chose and second the fact that he picked excellent scripts. The fact that Twilight is a flop last year (lol) but the depth that the script possessed truly impressed me. I hope he continue picking this kind of scripts in the future.

The quality of writing and production values are way way different.

But if unsuspecting viewers watch these dramas, they will think all Cdramas are trashy like this lol.

Yes, due to censorship, they cant make her remember so they have to play around with that. In the novel, she never hesitate as she knew he is her Zhousheng Chen right away at the airport. It was an emotional scenes if you did read the novel.

One & Only literally perfect in term of acting, directing & writing. So, I actually really highly recommend that drama to everyone.

I wrote love details in Forever & Ever if you want to read them after you finished both of the dramas: https://kisskh.at/discussions/love-your-bones-forever/100175-love-details-in-forever-ever
-> Many people usually look the drama from the surface thus missing some important details in the story.

You will understand the drama 100% without any problem at all. But I always said if you want to experience Forever & Ever to the fullest, you need to watch One & Only first. This is because, it made many of the scenes feel more emotional and with depth and you kind of understand Shiyi's eagerness in everything that she did. And when the first time she said 'I love you' to Zhousheng Chen, it will hit you differently since you know how long she waited to say that words to him. But still, the drama is very fantastic even as a stand alone. :D

''I just keep an open mind for everything else and stay optimistic.''

Yeah, me too!

I know. But if its too makjang and full of dumb misunderstandings, I cant stand it lol.

I need it to be well written. Something like The Glory of Tang Dynasty -- angsty as hell but the misunderstandings are brilliantly written and makes sense and not stupid at all.

Reading the synopsis, it seemed like a good Wuxia. I usually have faith in his scripts so I hope this will be a good one as well.

Okay... Okay... What do you mean by crazy? Should I be worried? 😂

I feel like RJL is too old to act in overdramatic or makjang dramas. 🤣

So, they are going to marry twice in the drama? One time in this black & red outfits early in the drama and later the all red outfits when they have fallen in love with each other?

I seriously love mostly all the characters in the drama. I cant chose. Usually, I dont really get attached to supporting characters but I truly love 95% of them. They have this layers and quirks to them that makes them very memorable despite they only on screen for a couple of minutes. But the way Wang Juan wrote them makes me feel attached somehow. I feel that I will be very bitter if they died.

Basically, the supporting characters that cant die on my list 😂:

- The whole Fan Family. I adore adore every one of them. Fan Jian, the Stepmum, Ruo Ruo & Fan Sizhe. They are the best family in Cdramas and I stand on this hill.

- Wu Zhu. I think Fan Xian will be heartbroken the most if he dies.

- Wang Qinian & family. Do we need explanation? Fan Xian will be the loneliest if his bestfriend no longer there.

- Prime Minister & Da Bao. I always like him in S1 but S2 proved why he is such a brilliant character. He is definitely more clever than Fan Xian. The only person who is more brilliant than him would be The Emperor & Chan Ping Ping.

- Deng Ziyue! I adore this old man. I cried during his scene when Fan Xian asked when he lose his innocent. I was like, dont do that to that man. Of course life gonna tire him out. ;_;

- The 1st Prince! I love how he laugh when he sees Fan Xian (like when he is hanging on the roof) and secretly judging, worry & also liking him. I also like the ''look'' he gave his siblings and their never ending battle for power.

- Fei Jie. He supposed to be one of the top on my list since I really like this old man as well. The hug that Fan Xian gave him, yes, I want that hug as well lol.

I guess there will be more like Yan Bingyun & Gao Da. Like I said, I love all of them lol. For a drama to do this is just a miracle in my book.

Agreed 100%. This is one of dramas that show and do not tell. You can interpret characters' motivations and objective on your own since they are so 3 dimensional -- and you are probably wrong about them 50% of times.

Even when you watch S1, you still will have questions. Some people screamed 'plot holes!' when they simply didnt understand the story.

Definitely. Joy of Life season 1 is probably one of the best written Cdramas for the past years so you definitely should watch season 1 first in order to understand the story.

I adore adore Fan Xian and Wan'er's relationship. We all know Wan'er has always been smart and they way she speak up to the 2nd Prince is not surprising at all since she always know people want to use her as a chess piece but she was like ''Nope, I wont allow you to do that.'' -- strong yet graceful at the same time. She did the same thing to her mother in the 1st season -- pointing out her hypocrisy and refused to be included in her schemes.

Plus, I knew she always trust Fan Xian but the way she troll him by reciting the poem are funny since she actually use the exact words that has been changed to match Duo Duo's name. 😂 And Fan Xian wanting to write a poem for her which he writes on his own, well, its not gonna beat all those classic poems for sure and asked her to wait for a lifetime for that lol. And him casually put his head on her lap -- I love this details! One thing about Fan Xian is that I love that he never lie. He always said that it was not him who wrote the poems (of course, everyone not gonna believe that) and he even admitted that he is good friend with Duo Duo's to Wan'er but that's it. I love this part about him tbh.

And Dumb and Dumber at Beiqi! OMG, how ineffective they are as spies (and totally clueless about it 😂) that Beiqi need to turn blind eye not to report them had me in stitches. And poor Haitang, no matter what she said, no one gonna believe that she has no relationship with Fan Xian. The way they smile and wink at her just hilarious and there is nothing she can do about it! 😂

I watched more episode today and even more impressed with the writing as it is so intricate with so many layers -- for every characters. The Emperor's wisdom is the greatest example of this. Remember the scenes after the morning meeting with CPP and Fan Jian -- he is totally cool with them officially investigating his son but at the same time 'HE IS MY SON!' and the change in CPP's face explained everything. But that is the great thing about their friendship -- Fan Jian and CPP always know when to back off while at the same time dare enough to utter words like 'You dont want him. I want him!' to the Emperor.

Also, the Emperor's manipulative and twisted nature and the layers of his character -- he always want his government clean -- he took pride in them but at the same time, ''you can investigate, but not until it threaten my position and my ego.'' He likes Fan Xian bold enough to make that accusation, but at the same time, he throw Fan Xian's batch into the lake to save face towards the 4 of his sons but behind the scenes, he gave Fan Xian Gao Da and the Tiger squad to assist Fan Xian (Yan Bingyun) with the corruption case. He is very calculative with everyone and unfortunately, as much as we see how he runs upon hearing Fan Xian's death, we know that he probably never love anyone or anything except himself. But he is such an enigmatic character -- I love him while hating his twisted nature as well.

Many people seemed to watch the drama from the surface and always said this is dumb or why this character behave out of norm but actually when you look into the details, that characters are never white blankets as there are many colors on it -- you can never guess what they capable of as they always being painted as grey. Like Fan Xian poisoning the 2nd Prince. It is truly deliberately done on purpose to mess with the 2nd Prince. Fan Xian wants him to taste his own medicine as he simply treat the 2nd Prince's life as worthless just like the 2nd Prince's view of everyone else's lives. But look now how his life is in danger, look how he behaves -- scared like everyone's else -- very embarrassing to witness. If Fan Xian really want to kill him, he will not purposely show him the poison and later give him an antidote. This is all part of his mind games. He never intended to kill the 2nd Prince. But, he achieve his purpose which is to send the 2nd Prince a message on how his life, just like everyone else is fleeting and can be gone at any time. This served as a warning to him. Also, this again to highlight that Fan Xian has always been petty -- ''you tried to kill me? I will never let it go.''

All characters seemed to be that way -- written with these layers and interesting quirks. It seemed like the writer really have sheets where he makes every of his characters with interesting substance even the small ones. Take example the 2nd Prince's Guard when he told the 2nd Prince 'But not many people are good in the capital' -- just this simple sentence, conveys so many things which painted he is not as simple as we seen him on screen.

Or how we can view certain characters differently upon knowing more about them like the 1st Prince for an example. It is after all not about pissing contest against Fan Xian during his entrance to the Capital -- but more towards he wants to test Fan Xian's character as he is the Man who is going to marry Wan'er and in charge of Treasury in the future. This is why I find JOL's script is so layered and have so many depth. When you rewatch certain scenes, it gave different perspective now when you know these characters better. I really like the 1st Prince! He is brute but also tender -- such an awesome character!

She always been smart. That is why when her mother wants to manipulate her last time, she didnt fall for the trap at all. She is sheltered but has progressive idea just like Fan Xian and the one who truly understand him when Teng Zijing died when no one understand why he makes such a big fuss about it.

They wont. As the vibe they gave each other more like BFF than lovers. Haitang is too much like other girls in his life. He wants someone that give him calmness and tranquility and that person is Wan'er. She is the symbol of a life he truly want -- away from the game of throne he is playing right now.

Yes, and I love the scenes with his father. He is after all not stoic like we all originally thought from S1. I guess the explanation would be he behave differently at enemy place and at home.