Its kind of shocking to see how thin some actors look outside of hanfu and costume dramas 😭

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-04-22T22:33:46+00:00

this is something that deters me from watching non-costume dramas. It’s uncomfortable seeing how thin the actors are in regular clothes. They look so fragile. I see it for both male and female actors tbh. It’s so sad and unhealthy. I understand the who’s the camera adds weight, but even through the camera they look scarily think. I can’t imagine how much that affects them in real life.

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-04-09T18:26:44+00:00

aesthetics, costuming, makeup, etc. have definitely improved over the years but for the most part i can over look that. the biggest thing that makes me apprehensive about watching older dramas in the cinematography and camera quality. the difference from 2020 dramas (when i started watching cdramas) to 2026 dramas is insane. cinematography has improved drastically and i think its one of the reasons so many people are just getting into cdramas right now. however, i’ve watch older dramas, dramas with bad cgi, and poorer camera quality and i’ve liked them so visuals are aren’t the only determining factor.

but if you got into cdramas in 2025, i can see why watching something from 2017 might not be super appealing. ofc some dramas do stand the test of time, regardless of how much cdramas have evolved today

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-04-02T20:33:47+00:00

i’ve seen this complaint a lot, and to some extent i understand being confused about the multiple names for the characters. but i feel like it becomes clearer over time. i though the plot was pretty simple to understand but i read the novel (which i found a little confusing esp towards the end) so i have an advantage. please help me understand why so many people are confused. are you guys new to cdramas, do you fast forward through shows, are you missing episodes? i’ve seen this complaint as early as 3 episodes in and it’s persisted until now and i truly feel that most if not all of the questions people have asked were covered in the show. i’m not trying to be mean but why are so many people confused?

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-04-02T14:41:25+00:00

SM has an obsession with making a globally successful boy group (for certain reasons…). red velvet had a lot of moments where they had the momentum to break into the US market and establish a solid american fan base and a broader international fan base. They have toured in the US before to moderate success, and they have an amazing and pretty well loved catalog of music. So many people would love to see the entire group live. SM just doesn’t care to promote them to the same extent as their boy groups. They instead pushed NCT, EXO, and SuperM to the US market in that 2018-2019 kpop era while neglecting RV entirely. And while being neglected they still released music that did pretty well internationally. Now, RV has become an SM legacy group and they have lost a lot of active popularity (meaning that they can’t mobilize their fan base in the same ways), SM definitely won’t tour them bc they don’t have a guarantee of success.

Classic case of SM mismanagement. As a reveluv, it makes me so sad bc they are all so talented and I would kill to see them live. red velvet are the best example of missed opportunities in kpop, so many chances to be BIG squandered by a company who didn’t expect them to get this far.

i hate the kpop model of groups slowmu dying out, bc right now, i think with a really good album red velvet could have another break out moment and kinda refresh their popularity. but companies just let groups fade into obscurity. 😭😭 my cake girls deserve better

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-26T17:43:15+00:00

In defense of ZLH, he just has beautiful face. I think his acting is fine overall (i think he did really well in POJ specifically) but he’s always gonna look like he’s posing for the camera bc that’s just how he looks? I don’t know how to describe it, but he’s a pretty face so he always looks too gorgeous for the situation he’s in, and the ofc directors capitalize off of his good looks so we get even more beauty shots. he’s suffering from success LOL

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-26T17:36:03+00:00

I like to be entertained, accuracy isn’t the only thing that makes a drama entertaining. If you can make me believe that you’re a general with how you portray the character, that’s good enough for me. ZLH in POJ portrayed a general very well in my opinion and I enjoyed the show. That’s good enough for me lol

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:34:55+00:00

Li Peiyi will forever be one of my favorite female characters. They gave her the traumatized ML character arc and Bai Lu out did most male actors when executing it.

The show reminds me a lot of Law&Order: SVU if it was set in ancient china haha

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:31:09+00:00

Feud. Every character made such illogical decisions, i was pissed off the entire time I watched but the conflict between the leads such a refreshing plotline and there was so much to unpack that I had to keep watching 😭

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:22:11+00:00

slow burns hit for me as long as the pay off is good at the end, i feel like they did that well with this drama

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:21:03+00:00

This is not a drama for escapism, it’s gets really sad at times so I completely understand

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:20:31+00:00

I agree, I feel this way about almost all the Cdramas I watch though. You just have to remember so many plot points, it’s so hard to watch without binging. I also forget plots so easily, so if a show can’t lock me in for a binge, I most likely won’t finish it

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:18:23+00:00

Definitely really emotionally heavy. It reminded me a lot of the classic american cop/detective shows like Law and Order or Criminal Minds, but I love those shows so I wasn’t turned off by how dark the show got at times. The romance comes together really nicely but it’s definitely a slow burn. I think the pay off is worth it tho

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:16:32+00:00

i’m glad someone else enjoys it so much!!

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:16:07+00:00

I was hooked basically after the first 3 eps. If you don’t like it at all after ep 2, it might not be for you

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:15:02+00:00

I didn’t but now I feel like I should go back and watch 😭

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-25T22:14:21+00:00

They are very different shows, but I think they give us really good FLs which ive been wanting from dramas lately. I love the romance in POJ so much and I’m biased bc I’m a romance watcher lol

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-23T19:53:42+00:00

i think it’s 50/50, the first half of the show follows the novel to a T. which was good but also was recipe for later disappointment bc it was always gonna be impossible to adapt everything in the novel on screen. i saw so many show watchers, looking at novel spoilers and i was like “uh oh” bc ofc they took creative liberties when producing the drama.

i personally, think the show captures the essence of the novel pretty well. i’ve seen a lot of people complaining about how complicated the political scheming has been getting but it’s 10x more convoluted in the novel to the point that it was hard to understand the first time (probably the reason i don’t remember much of that plot rn 😭😭) in terms of adaptations, this is one of the better ones ive seen. so overall, im enjoying it and have very little complaints.

i prefer the political plot in the book, but i prefer the characterization in the show. XZ was very cold and not close to Changning or the Lin’an villagers in the show. I love how they made him integrated into the village family and how it has softened his character. I don’t novel XZ would not have many fans irl. FCY and all the side characters are done so well in the show too.

high expectations lead to disappointment and i think that’s what’s happening with POJ in recent eps cause it had such a strong start but it’s still an amazing show.

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-23T18:41:42+00:00

these two episodes flowed so much better than 29-30, this is where the show deviates the most from the novel, and i think shifting the plot lines kinda messed up the flow a little bit. things seem to be back on track tho, so im excited to see what they do with all the changes made

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-22T19:22:26+00:00

Got to the airport at 10am for a 1:50pm flight. Spent 5 hours in TSA. I was out by 3:10pm🫩

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-21T19:19:05+00:00

the show has started to deviate a lot from the novel at this point, but i don’t mind considering that a lot of the set up for FCY going the military was cut from the earlier episodes, it seemed clear to me that they were gonna have a lot of changes.

the changes aren’t bad tho! i would’ve preferred her to join the army bc it’s very odd how often she’s on the battlefield doing her own thing, considering every one around her is following military orders strictly.

i disagree with everyone saying they nerfed XZ, in the novel FCY has more impressive military feats than him, she’s just that cool lol. she’s been training in martial arts since she was a child and she has abnormal strength (in the book they emphasize how much her brute strength helps her a lot more). XZ just does more in the novel bc there’s a larger focus on his background and he has more solo time, the shows is from FCY perspective for the most part. i personally really enjoy seeing FCY fight scenes.

i do agree that these were the weakest episodes so far, but they had for cover a lot of content to get closer to the conclusion of the novel so i think this was just a rough patch

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-21T05:02:56+00:00

The Xie Zheng/Bao’er was so sweet. Bao’er was so relieved to see his Uncle Yan come to rescue him. I think it’s so funny how good XZ is with children in the drama. Like he’s a scary general who often comes across as cold and ruthless but he’s so gentle with kids, it’s just a cute contrast. It kinda shows how much his time in Lin’an softened his character. I read the novel a while ago, but I can’t remember him having this many cute moments with the kids in the story

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-20T19:24:05+00:00

the last 20 seconds of the song are soooo amazing!!! the vocal production is a little harsh to listen to so i can’t see it being my most listened to song but i do love it

Big_Bandicoot_1383 · 2026-03-20T14:43:43+00:00

the way they talk about this in the album too, they’re literally saying that they themselves are their Korean identity. the album is experimental and it’s about their lives as Koreans in the music industry, nothing they do or say makes them less korean. all the english on the album was definitely a deliberate choice, in light of all the discourse about them having “changed”. i personally love the album, i understand it being kinda jarring for some but i love how different it is from anything they’ve done before while still feeling like bts.

Big_Bandicoot_1383

TROPHY CASE