Wish Upon A Star

While i enjoy Flower of Evil better than Move to Heaven and HosPlay, I can accept Move to Heaven as Top 1, but seriously how is HosPlay better than Flower of Evil, Nirvana in Fire and The Untamed???

Thanks to all who have responded to this poll!

For clarity, one should have watched all top 10 MDL dramas (edited in bold and underline in the poll description above) and then re-rank all these top 10 MDL from the 1st to 10th place. The premise is that the default Top 10 MDL dramas all deserved to be ranked among the top 10, but in a different ranking order.

For this poll to be done correctly, do self check that you have responded to the poll accordingly please. Thank you so much!

It's plot, the protagonist's struggles to fight evil and help the weak, and powerful messages and quotable quotes on society norms, how people often surface judge, how hypocritical nobles manipulate society norms for selfish causes, good vs evil, weak vs strong are what drew, impressed and touched me immensely. Top that with a passionate, determined cast, especially the two male leads, who put in their hearts and souls in their roles, bringing the characters to life, making each of their characters so iconic and bringing the viewers to resonate with their stories. The OSTs, costumes, location filming are commendable too. Other perspectives here: https://wukong.toutiao.com/question/6808830898306302216/. Do watch it and find out for yourself.. it's a series not to be missed

noted that you dropped at episode 2.. if it was confusing, episode 3 brings you right to the start when the young cultivators attend boarding school

All top 3 cdramas on MDL (Nirvana in Fire, The Untamed and Joy of Life) are good costume dramas you should check out. Noted that you have only completed Ashes of Love

It's anyone's guess for now for the drama, as there are deviations from the novel. I do think we are led in the drama to believe that Yan Bingyun is Xiao En's grandson.

I didnt read the novel, but went to read the novel's baidu page after the cliffhanger ending and bothered by a perplexing question that to me is so obvious but not answered by the end of season 1, nor questioned by anyone...

To your theories, i can share these much from the baidu page: There are already deviations from the novel for JOL1 - e.g. in the novel, Yan Bingyun is Yan Ruohai's son by blood, and thus no blood ties with Xiao En. Also, in the novel's baidu page, Yan Bingyun is listed as Fan Xian's subordinate. However, in the series, we have been led to believe that Yan Bingyun is the real grandson of Xiao En.

It is not and i do think it is better than NIF https://kisskh.at/discussions/nirvana-in-fire/27398-terribly-slow-and-not-able-to-hook-even-after-12th-episode?pid=2112283&page=2#p2112283

Cha Eun Woo??

Don't be misled by the BL-label often tagged with The Untamed, or missed an epic series.

I'm not a BL fan and watched this only seeing that this is the top cdrama on MDL available on Netflix. I knew of its BL-label, and never went on to watch another BL-labelled drama, after watching it. In fact, i don't even know what BL stands for until i googled for it, after completing the drama and viewing analysis videos/articles related to the drama.

While this drama is adapted from a BL novel, the male leads are portrayed as soulmates in the drama, and the "soul" of this drama is not on their relationship but the struggles the protagonist faced going against society, when he was forced by circumstances to practise alternative cultivation for righteous causes. At its core, this drama delivers powerful messages and quotable quotes on society norms, how people often surface judge, how nobles manipulate society norms for selfish causes, good vs evil, weak vs strong.

Managed to complete only after speeding through the endless long pauses, sighing, walking, waiting/taking the subway, eating and drinking. I can't relate to the characters (FL + 3 brothers). Lives were bleak for them by their own choices rather than by circumstances. Only enjoyed the camaraderie of the neighbours rallying and looking out for one another.

Enjoyed reading your viewing experience and thoughts and I really like that you are watching with an open mind and heart! Will let you see for yourself if the story unfolds per your observations and thoughts. But should you have any burning unsolved observations, feel free to message me.

I watched a few months back with zero background, only that this is the second highest rated cdrama on MDL. I found the opening episodes more intriguing than confusing. It is a complete story on its own, without the need to refer to the novel or other adaptations which i feel degrade the series. Censorship downplaying the BL and gore in the original novel, transcends the series, bringing out the core plot, clan rivalry, moral decay and power manipulations more clearly, and those are what make this series a compelling and phenomenal series to me.

Wang Yibo filmed this when he was only 20-21 years young, and this impressed me utterly. Ask ourselves first if we can be as good as him at that age.

While majority of the cast may be young in their 20s, relatively new faces and with no professional acting training, they were a bunch of passionate and determined youths who put in their hearts and souls in their roles and brought the complex 3D characters to life, making each of their characters so iconic and bringing the viewers to resonate with their stories.

Those are the top three rated Cdramas on MDL and are all good series that one must check out. Of the three, only TU touches me immensely though. Beyond its candy pop layer, there's great depth at its core: the plot, complex 3D characters, powerful messages on society norms, morality, good-evil, strong-weak, judging people, make TU a shoutout watch among the higher budget productions.

Noted that you are currently watching JOL, which i have just completed. The MLs in JOL and TU are alike in personality - positive, cheerful, sassy, chivalrous. The tone and pace of both series are thus similar with many comedic moments. There are manipulation tactics and mystery to solve for both series, though JOL is palace/court politics like NIF, with a sci-fi twist, while TU is wuxia with sorcery/cultivation elements. Be forewarned that it's a cliffhanger ending for JOL as there are plans for another 2 seasons which filming has yet to start.

Comparatively, NIF has a much more serious tone, with very few comedic moments. The ML is almost always serious, calm and collected. More of my thoughts on NIF vs TU here: https://kisskh.at/discussions/nirvana-in-fire/27398-terribly-slow-and-not-able-to-hook-even-after-12th-episode?pid=2112283&page=2#p2112283

There are a lot of details in the first 2 episodes which are confusing on first watch. You can try starting at 39:20 of episode 2 when the flashback starts. Interestingly, the series on MeWatch's episode 1 starts from that point when the flashback starts.

Did you know Xiao Zhan is also quite a prolific drama OST singer?
Joy of Life ending song: https://youtu.be/BED1GuR9ro8
The Untamed ending song: https://youtu.be/1mBLqw8thGA
The Untamed Wei Wu Xian character song: https://youtu.be/y5v6dMnyk1Y
Doulou Continent theme song: https://youtu.be/XMKx_XiVYf4

Plus catch Xiao Zhan, together with Zhou Shen and Liu Yu Ning, in the same frame in Our Song! https://kisskh.at/52253-our-song

I'm truly pleasantly surprised to see an editorial on Singaporean drama My Star Bride here on MDL, since Singaporean dramas are not in MDL's database. Can MDL add Singaporean dramas to MDL's database, please???

I would add Prince of Lan Ling (2013) - it is a historical cdrama that touches me.
https://kisskh.at/4033-prince-of-lan-ling

I have been catching up on MDL top ranked Cdramas and got reminded repeatedly of POLL.

1) Nirvana in Fire and Joy Of Life took place in the same era as POLL, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589). Surprised to see JOL's Chen Ping Ping on a metal wheelchair, as POLL's FL Yang Xue Wu was also mentioned to have made a weird chair for an injured neighbour in her village.

2) The Untamed scenes on Wei Wu Xian's invention explosion and teaching Wen Ning to sell radish also remind me of similar scenes in POL. See the vids here:
https://twitter.com/whatever_weus/status/1475163918943199233?s=20

Wrap-Up
========
Thank you to all who have participated in this poll. Some observations and thoughts:

1. The 2021 top 5 dramas in this poll are all highly rated dramas with rating of at least 8.6, and constitute more than 42% of all votes for this poll.

2. 1st placed Thai BL drama "Bad Buddy" is also 1st placed in "Sweetest Romance Of 2021".

3. 2nd placed Korean drama "Racket Boys" comes as no surprise as it is also 1st placed in "A 2021 Drama That Deserves A Shoutout", "Best Produced Drama Of 2021" and "A Drama That Surprised You".

4. 3rd placed Korean drama "Vincenzo" bags a mixed bag of positive and negative polls, including 2nd placed in both "Best Produced Drama Of 2021" and "A Drama That Was Too Long", and 6th placed in "Most Disappointing Drama Of 2021".

5. 4th placed Korean drama "Happiness" tops many positive polls, including 1st placed in "A Drama That Was Too Short", 2nd placed in "A Drama That Surprised You", 4th placed on "A Drama That Kept You On The Edge Of Your Seat" and 5th placed in "Favourite Character Of 2021". As the drama aired on 5 Nov - 11 Dec 2021, it can be expected that "Happiness" could rise in popularity and ranking as more viewers watched the drama.

6. Also 4th placed Chinese drama "My Little Happines" comes as a surprise as it did not make it to the top 5 of any earlier polls, while more popular Chinese drama "You Are My Glory" is only placed at the 10th spot.

7. What is a favourite drama to you? A quality production and a critically acclaimed drama? A drama casting your favourite actor or actress? A drama that touches you immensely? Or just simply a drama that you find comfort in and which you go back to every now and then?

The above points are also posted here: https://kisskh.at/discussions/general-discussion/67811-end-of-the-year-drama-challenge-2021-edition?pid=2126787&page=5#p2126787

Wrap-Up
========
Thank you to all who have participated in this poll. Some observations and thoughts:

1. All the top 5 dramas in this poll are helmed by popular actors/actresses and consist a mix of Thai, Korean and Chinese dramas.

2. Thai dramas "10 Years Ticket" to be helmed by Ohm of "Bad Buddy" and BL drama "Vice Versa" are placed at the 1st and 3rd spots.

3. Korean dramas "Glitch" to be helmed by Jeon Yeo Been and "The Youngest Son Of A Conglomerate" to be helmed by Song Joong Ki are placed at the 2nd and 5th spots.

4. Period Chinese drama "Who Rules The World" to be helmed by Yang Yang and Zhao Lu Si is placed at the 4th spot.

5. Are you excited for those dramas simply because they are the next blockbuster drama to be helmed by your favourite actors/actresses?

The above points are also posted here: https://kisskh.at/discussions/general-discussion/67811-end-of-the-year-drama-challenge-2021-edition?pid=2126759&page=5#p2126759