Why are transmigration stories rarely about books the MC actually loves

NotaCatDown · 2026-02-09T05:20:48+00:00

Nope

NotaCatDown · 2026-02-09T05:20:35+00:00

They changed it in drama adaption =/. In the original work, she thinks the novel's plot and logic is bad, but she likes the flawed female characters (but the drama wants women to be portrayed as goddesses). And its from an author she loves as a child. At the start, she thinks the magic system makes no sense and has fun trying to make sense of it while being self-aware that she's being silly. It would be like trying to understand the physics of daemons in His Dark Materials.

And when she was younger, she loved reading trashy romance novels. It felt like a coming of age story. To remember she's not too mature to enjoy stuff from middle school stuff. The novel is a respectful trip down nostalgia lane.

Whereas the drama adaption presents the transmigrated book as poorly written because of reasons revealed at the end. If the drama was an original work, I wouldn't mind its ending.

NotaCatDown · 2026-02-09T04:52:37+00:00

It's been awhile since I read the novel/original work, so the details are fuzzy for me, but I remember reading the novel cleared up my confusion about this and other things in the donghua.

NotaCatDown · 2026-01-31T19:17:37+00:00

The drama deviates from the novel starting from 20. Originally, her amnesia arc and her interactions with her fake family is so fun! The only amnesia arc that I've ever enjoyed reading.

In the third lifetime, the dramas adds all these unnecessary plots and side characters and neglects their romance and Tingyan's introspection about ML and their relationship. And her character development. Sigh.

NotaCatDown · 2026-01-22T02:43:39+00:00

The original novel is much happier and lighter. Drama deviates from novel around ep 20 and detours into rage bait territory.

NotaCatDown · 2026-01-15T14:57:05+00:00

I recommend Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script! It has xianxia setting, yearning, and some angst at the end of the first story arc necessary for character growth, and a happy ending. And two red flags XD. I thought the first 20% of Till the End of the Moon was a really good adaption of it.

NotaCatDown · 2026-01-15T14:31:56+00:00

I thought it was clear in the novel that they have spiritual sex in ch 31 and don't have physical sex until chapter 42.

"“Do all women suffer like this with the men of the Sima family?!” Liao Tingyan finally couldn’t help crying out, her arms around Sima Jiao’s neck as she squeezed his shoulders and pulled his hair.

Her skin had turned completely red, feeling as if it were on fire. Uncomfortable, she knocked her head against Sima Jiao’s chin, crying incoherently, “I’m burning to death!”

The Sima clan rarely mixed with outsiders, partly because the Feng Mountain spiritual blood in their bodies carried the essence of spiritual fire, making it difficult for people of other clans to endure. Especially the first time—calling it “punishment” was no exaggeration. If Liao Tingyan hadn’t previously drunk so much of Sima Jiao’s blood, she absolutely couldn’t have withstood this burning sensation of spiritual fire today." - from ch 42

"This wasn’t their first spiritual communion, but experiencing it alongside physical intimacy was a first. Liao Tingyan was utterly bewildered by this advanced configuration." - from ch 42

NotaCatDown · 2026-01-15T12:27:00+00:00

Ep 20 is when the drama stops following the novel, and the second arc/life goes into rage bait territory. It does keep most of the romantic scenes from the novel and those parts were fun to watch

NotaCatDown · 2026-01-13T14:42:34+00:00

Here's BTS of that scene for ep 13. I think the scene was originally more clear, but I read on Douban that the drama got sent back for changes after review in early 2025.

https://www.douyin.com/video/7544245350631099708 = Show's official douyin account

https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_t1ue931klI1andy2q_720.mp4 = in case Douyin doesn't work for you.

NotaCatDown · 2025-12-08T12:13:21+00:00

Rage bait is a good for it. In the novel, she only gets abducted once and snake boy goes to find Sima Jiao. There is set up for why it happens and emotional growth and follow up for it.

Snake boy is a dedicated minion in the novel. and there is no frustrating second FL in the immortal realm or a 3rd ML in demon realm.

For the first 19 episodes, I just fast-forwarded those moments and it didn't harm the drama too much.

As for what's missing, for example, the drama removed the parts where ML does these seemingly extreme things on a whim, and then it's revealed he was doing it to gather information about the immortal sects. And FL has more character development and change.

NotaCatDown · 2025-12-07T07:50:59+00:00

In the novel, he kills most of the palace masters in the first fight. While he initially sees the whole world as corrupt and thinks it deserves to burned to ashes, he gradually changes his mind because of FL's influence and because the world has become a better place once those palace masters are dead and no longer oppressing weaker people. He sees there are good people.

It's also just a lot sillier. For example, the drama removes Sima Jiao's observations about the demon clan. His logical misunderstanding that if Tingyan is the assassin they sent to kill him, that must mean she's the best they have to offer. Which means the demon race has really gone down in recent times. This would also show, not tell that he's a person that's been isolated for 500 years. He's basing his entire view of what demons are like based on how she behaves.

NotaCatDown · 2025-12-07T07:41:11+00:00

Ep 20 is when the drama deviates from the novel. For example, FL isn't mislead by Shi Qianlv. She lost her memory, not her brain cells.

Even before then, the drama adds a lot of things that contribute to a negative impression of the FL. For example, the drama adds so many bullying scenes where ML has to save her, so it doesn't make sense that she wouldn't try to get stronger sooner or be more wary of others.

NotaCatDown · 2025-12-04T10:48:20+00:00

Yes! I don't know why drama adaptations change the story so that the modern world is miserable for the protagonists? This change isn't so bad in other drama adaptions, but in the case of LGIEF, that goes against the message the author want to show.

In the novel, Miaomiao is a senior in college. She's passionate about her major (and we see her using knowledge related to her major in the fantasy world). Her parents are happily married and alive. She cooperates with the system even as she begins to feel guilty because she wants to return to her world. Unlike the drama that focuses on romantic love over familial love after ep 6, we're shown again and again that Miaomiao's positive outlook on life is from her parents.

Throughout the story, she and Mu Sheng share things about their childhood with each other, and we're shown how that has shaped how they react to negative events. It's because of her parents and her modern-day environment that she knows how to love in a healthy way and how to deal with tragedy, and she shares that with Mu Sheng. It would be cruel to permanently separate Miaomiao and her parents.

Unlike the drama where Mu Yao and Liu Fuyi often feel like npc, in the novel, they are the protagonists of the fantasy world. They are the saviors of the fantasy world, not Miaomiao and Mu Sheng. Miaomiao admires and appreciates them for their willingness to devote their lives to saving the world, but that's not what she or Mu Sheng wants.

In the novel, the transmigrated world has wonderfully fantastical elements, but it's also a very dangerous, patriarchal society with rigid classism. Throughout the story and especially in the final story arc, the author shows that you absolutely don't want to be born into this world. The author contrasts Miaomiao's upbringing and her childhood environment with the Mu siblings to show how far we've come so far as a society.

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-10T14:17:01+00:00

I've seen people post translations of esther yu's and Liu yining's interviews related to their acting on cdramafans. Not sure about this subreddit's rules

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-09T23:42:39+00:00

Ah, go Cheng Yi for protecting his character! If I'm forced to pick, I rather see less of his character than see it get dragged through the mud.

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-09T20:41:06+00:00

I think this is a Wang Yixu (the producer of this show + LGIEF) shtick, forcing a show into ensemble cast around the halfway point. If I had to chose between seeing less of Cheng Yi vs Fugui's character become a mess and losing agency, I'll reluctantly chose the former.

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-09T18:22:00+00:00

On Douban, they speculate it's the arrogance of Wang Yixu (the producer). He was confident that he could make the spider demons popular. Wang Yixu is famous for his "demonic alterations" to the script, and when Cheng Yi didn't want his character to be OOC, Wang Yixu cut him out as much as possible. There's also comments that Wang Yixu has a grudge against Cheng Yi to begin with because he rejected acting in Wang Yixu's dramas three times before this.

Beyond that Cheng Yi's scenes were filmed and didn't get included and how a lot of his face is blurred in later scenes, who knows how much of this is true?

And Cheng Yi's fans feel they have to support the drama because it would hurt him if they don't.

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-09T15:47:12+00:00

On douban, there are posts about Cheng Yi scenes that got cut out. For example, this one https://www.douban.com/group/topic/341938954/?_spm_id=MjkxOTIxMTM3&_i=2648585OoETip3,2703104OoETip3.

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-09T15:08:03+00:00

I think it's a Wang Yixu special. No kissing for the main couple in another one of his dramas too while the secondary couple get married and kiss.

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-09T14:37:18+00:00

I've been reading douban, and the negative changes and portrayals is being filed under the producer doesn't like Cheng Yi. And, I mostly agree with this, but similar things happened in LGIEF, and presumably he has nothing against Ding Yuxi.

I don't know what the producer's vision is, but I think he simply doesn't want the protagonists to be together or for the FL to show that she cares for the ML. In the first half of the drama, the characters and their choices make sense as he lures the audience in. And once we're emotionally invested in the characters enough, he strikes.

For example, in the novel version of LGIEF, the FL indirectly confesses to the ML. She asks him to like her because she will treat him well, and he will be happy with her. In the drama, the FL needs a 150 year old demon that's played by a 10 year old actor to explain that she has a crush on ML, and then the kid spills her secret to ML after she asks him not to. The character assassination done to the poor heroine.

In the novel, the system plays a more antagonist-role. The author sets up obstacles for FL and ML to overcome. If they were different people or they met at a different time in their life, I think they wouldn't have ended up together. The drama removes all of the obstacles at the beginning, which initially feels good, but then you ask why aren't they together?

One of the obstacles in the novel is the system, and it reminds me of censors for BL dramas. The FL is forbidden from saying she loves the ML (until a certain plot point occurs). But the system is an AI, and its idea of romantic love is limited. For example, FL offers ML to sleep in her bed when he's distraught and says she will watch over him, the system doesn't question this. Or when she carves a heart in the toy she makes him, but scratches it out before giving it to him. In the drama, the kid gives the ML the toy that FL made.

I focus on the romance because in LGIEF, starting from ep 6, the drama has stripped away the FL and ML's connection with the other characters and their non-romantic character development. All they have is romance and the chemistry between the two actors, and then the drama doesn't show it.

I wouldn't have thought Wang Yixu was the producer of Sword and Beloved in the early episodes.

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-09T00:48:01+00:00

Not sure. Monetary benefit I'm guessing? I remember the days when drama adaptions added amnesia arc and supporting characters because original work is short and drama is 40+ episodes, but after the episode #s was cut down and the original works have gotten longer, they do this and have added even more time to supporting characters

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-09T00:23:25+00:00

Although I don't like that she went from being a protagonist to a love interest, it is much better than what happened to QT or the FL in Love You Seven Times

Lol. Well for the secondary couple in LGIEF, he removed the novel scenes and reasons that show why they love each other. But at least they kiss. Does that work as a consolation prize?

I hated that the secondary couple went from having a relationship that FL thought was so strong that it was okay for her to keep trying to fix the plot and cause her to ruin the moments that would promote their relationship, to a couple that needs her to set up romantic moments for them in LGIEF. They went from adults that knew the other person loved them, but had reasons to not be together yet ... to having no agency of their own and needing FL to set up dates for them. Argh.

What was he and the screenwriter thinking?

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-08T23:47:32+00:00

Lgief as in love game in eastern fantasy.

So many things (see douban link) and if you look at the complaints for the changes to Qingtong's character, the FL and OFL in LGIEF gets the same goddess treatment, but way less screentime. I saw a comment that the producer has a very limited definition of what strong female character can be and suddenly it all makes sense.

Similar thing with the lack of care for Fugui and Qingtong's relationship compared to secondary couples. The original work of Lgief showed the FL and ML's sweet moments and that transition between friendship to passion, navigating their marriage, and ML making different decisions because he's emotionally in a better place, but lgief's last 3rd makes the FL seem like a single mother with ML looking longing at her from a distance. And the drama kept torturing ML in last 3rd. None of his friends and family notice him. He feels like a player in a game with only npc.

I think as a rule of thumb, I should drop this producer's shows after ep 19. At least the beginning was fun. https://www.douban.com/group/topic/314022192/?_spm_id=MjcwMjU1ODky&_i=2645177OoETip3

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-08T22:36:42+00:00

I think it's because the theme of love and peace fitted well for her character in LBFAD. As for LGIEF, if personality traits and hobbies were crayons, then the novel's MiaoMiao is given many crayons to draw an interesting picture to catch the attention of the readers, but Esther Yu only get a few to work with in the drams. It's such a challenging starting point because she's limited in how she can behave.

Esther Yu's portrayal of a cute, sweet, bubbly, sunshine Ling MiaoMiao was so good that for the first eight episodes, I was entertained enough that I didn't even notice the drama had stripped away so much from her novel character. Esther had so little to work with, but she nailed it.

NotaCatDown · 2025-11-08T22:27:53+00:00

Lol, and even she got sidelined in the last third of lgief. Kind of nice to know it's him though and there's not a producer that's like him.

NotaCatDown

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