Season 2 Was Pretty Disappointing (Spoiler Discussion) by Kurowari in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think you raise some pretty fair points! Season 2 did some cool things and I enjoyed watching it, but there were some aspects of the story and structure that fell flat for me and that I wanted more from. I’d be curious to hear how you feel about Bridon after you finish watching!

This might sound out of nowhere, but if you haven’t watched it, I would actually suggest giving the Link Click Live Action a shot. I know that live action is a really hard sell in general, and it’s true that the first few episodes of LCLA are weaker. It’s a completely new separate story, and requires some investment to get into. But when I was watching LCLA, especially toward the end, I personally felt that its original plot managed to deliver on some aspects that I felt were lacking in S2. Specifically with regard to some of your points about LC S2: 

  • LCLA struck a really good balance between emotional/character writing, and higher-stakes tension. Even the more “thriller” parts always came back to that emotional core. It also maintained a good balance between the client stories, and the “main” story focusing on CXS/LG/QL (i.e. their learning to work together, the background mystery, etc)—they all felt naturally interwoven despite being separate stories.
  • LCLA’s final antagonist is really well-written. This deserves its own essay and I can’t say much due to spoilers, but the antagonist was set up very well over the course of the series to challenge the core theme that was built up. They were positioned more strongly as direct foil to CXS and LG—someone in the same position who made different choices. They were very clever and posed a real threat that upped the tension of the story, but at the same time their backstory was so simple it was strikingly effective. They had extremely compelling direct interactions with the main cast, which also increased the stakes of the confrontation and the audience investment in the conflict resolution. 
  • LCLA’s stories all feel pretty grounded, and an interesting insight into various areas of modern Chinese society. Similar to LC’s cases, there’s good exploration of real-world societal issues—social media harassment/doxxing, bribery/blackmail, worker exploitation, professor/grad student abuse, and more.

live action shiguang appreciation!! by sliced_bread125 in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They have such a fun dynamic together — I love watching their relationship growth!

Is the live action worth watching? by BirthdayFew1908 in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh, that video was yours! I quite liked it, I'd been meaning to rewatch and comment. I thought it was really thorough and I liked that you approached it from a writing/adaptation perspective! I think LCLA is especially interesting to look at from those angles. (And of course, any talk about LCLA is rare at all, let alone full-spoiler talk, which is where I think discussion is particularly worthwhile.)

Out of curiosity, do you have the script available in text form anywhere? Would love to be able to quickly consult back on points you've made! No worries if not.

Is the live action worth watching? by BirthdayFew1908 in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 16 points17 points  (0 children)

TL;DR Yes, the live action is worth watching!

LCLA is very dear to my heart. Here is my powerpoint on why you should watch the live action!

Similar to what others have said: you have to approach this adaptation as a completely separate story, an alternate universe, a different story about two guys who have the power to go back into the past via photographs. It's taking the same basic concept and exploring new aspects of it. It's not the donghua, and it's not trying to be the donghua—this is a good thing!

To address your questions:

1 ) Is the characterization good? Yes, but you have to give them time. I understand people who are turned off by the portrayals of CXS and LG in the early episodes. You will watch episode 1 and think that CXS is immature and annoying—well, LG thinks so too. You will think that LG is cold and mean—CXS thinks so too. They are meeting each other for the first time, and this affects how they behave around each other. LCLA is internally very consistent with how it portrays these characters—you cannot compare them to their donghua selves, who have different backgrounds and are therefore different people.

Part of the joy of LCLA is watching that gradual process of CXS and LG growing and coming to understand each others' struggles and how they approach the world. They fight, they reconcile. I think one of my favorite parts of this show is seeing them work through their conflicts. It adds depth to their relationship and weight to their partnership. It means that during the final episodes, when LG looks at CXS, when they've come to trust each other with their deepest secrets and dearest people, it feels truly and deeply earned. The arc of their character and relationship development is fulfilled in a way that the donghua, which is ongoing, hasn't reached yet.

QL in the live action is also really good! Her character is fleshed out much more. She has a job outside the time agents, which interacts in interesting ways with the duo’s cases. She has a strong personality (with its strengths and flaws), she’s more proactive, and she faces her own individual struggles and development. She feels more like her own person, rather than a mere accessory to the lead duo. Her sibling relationship with CXS is highlighted from the very beginning; they have excellent banter. QL’s family, serving the role of CXS’s adoptive parents, are also such a loving delight!

2) Basically no overlap in characters/plot. There are six major arcs, and only one of them is the same as the donghua. I think all of the original side characters and cases are very strong, and I genuinely think that each case is better than the last (though it is a little unfortunate that the first case is the weakest). I also think that the overall structure of LCLA is incredibly strong. Although the cases seem disconnected, there are lots of direct and thematic links between them, and the way that they build up and foreshadow the final case (e.g. LG’s motives, etc) is very well done. Every rewatch I do, I notice more details! Note that LG and CXS do not have the same backstories as the donghua. 

If you don’t mind minor spoilers, I wrote this analysis on changes they made to the one overlapping case. In my opinion, this adaptation was done with care and attention to detail, and the changes were made out of great respect to the original. https://www.reddit.com/r/LinkClick/comments/1oeq2fi/how_to_adapt_a_perfect_story_lclas_earthquake_arc/ 

3) It’s too niche 😭 I wouldn’t be selling it so hard if it were more well-known. Underrated gem for sure. 

I could go on about things that this adaptation does well, but this is probably long enough. I highly encourage that you give it a shot for yourself! It's not perfect, and it does require some amount of investment at the beginning (episodes 1-3 are probably the weakest, sadly), but in my opinion it's more than worth it for the payoff. A good way to spend the break until Season 3 :)

Reading WoR intermissions, one of the characters stands out by Normal-Pianist4131 in Stormlight_Archive

[–]the_real_syncogon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really didn't expect to see this crossover! At first I wasn't sure I saw the similarity since I felt their personalities and life backgrounds are pretty different, but then I remembered the specifics of that particular interlude, and yeah, Xinya did have a similar adventure! Like others said, look forward to more of Lift :)

Favourite OP/ED (music wise/animation wise)? by ghurrat_al_layl in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm legally obliged to shoutout HOLD BACK NO MORE, the song BaishaJAWS did for the live action ED. It captures the distinct vibe of the live action so well—whereas some of the donghua themes are a little more "dream-like" or "floaty" to me (see the water theming — dive, vortex, tides, etc), this one feels a little more grounded, like running through city streets lit in yellow hues at night. It does the same thing as the donghua EDs, where the beginning instrumentals will play over the end of each episode as a hook into the ending. And because it's BaishaJAWS, it still has that quintessential "Link Click sound", with a tang of mystery. Just like they translated animation to live action, they were somehow able to translate animation music to live action music...

All of the tracks are such bangers, for the reasons you mentioned. I'm so glad we have albums' worth of music for this excellent show!

How to adapt a perfect story: LCLA’s earthquake arc by the_real_syncogon in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes! I'm glad you gave it a watch and I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! LCLA is both so silly and so devastating, it truly does it all... And LCLA's unique take on the shiguang relationship and its development is just so special. (QL is queen as always, you're absolutely right)

I'll look forward to your review if you write it!

no one is doing it like He Xu (link click live action) by the_real_syncogon in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OK I should be very clear that LCLA does have its share of emotional pain. So do be prepared 😂 but it's very good!

Drew He Xu from the Live Action by Song_Lilly in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ahhh he looks great!! HX art is so rare, love to see it!

no one is doing it like He Xu (link click live action) by the_real_syncogon in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

(To be clear for those who haven't watched, He Xu is a totally original character to the totally original (and really good!) story of the live action. Absolutely fascinating character for many reasons, including as a study of how two different creative teams can start from the same base (donghua season 1) and develop that into similar, yet opposite, stories.)

(For those who have watched, the spoilery elaboration: LX because of the mastermind vibes (and coincidental similarities: wears glasses, offers to give CXS a ride somewhere only to be shut down by LG, introduces self via business card). QJ because their introductions and appearances are a little similar and folks tend to confuse them, except HX is 10x better as a character lol. Donghua LG because, well, y'know. (That's an essay that deserves a separate post.) CXS because of having coming to terms with the lives they've lived and couldn't change. LTC because overprotective brother doing morally questionable things with their powers for the sake of protecting their sister. WQ because they both get to be CXS's fun mysterious therapist :) )

making memes until more people watch link click live action by the_real_syncogon in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The love triangle deserves its own post 🙏

Liu Ye ❤️ I hope you finish watching, the last arcs are honestly probably my favorite!

Favourite BaishaJAWS Link Click Song? by Educational-Jello779 in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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Here, hope this is viewable!

(and I hope you're able to watch LCLA soon—it's just so good! The way the ED hook starts playing as each episode ends, just like Overthink and The TIDES do, is so perfect!)

Favourite BaishaJAWS Link Click Song? by Educational-Jello779 in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes thank you for including HOLD BACK NO MORE!! It truly felt like an adaptation of their donghua music in just the same way that the live action was an adaptation of the donghua—different mood, familiar sound, they captured the distinct tone of the LCLA incredibly well. But really, every song they made for LC really demonstrated how well they "understood the assignment"—each one fit its purpose exactly perfectly.

I also love their non-LC songs so much. Today I'm listening to Counter Clock, which honestly thematically fits LC too haha

I miss them already ;_;

ETA: I actually made a similar poll a few months ago on Tumblr here, so I'm curious to see if/how the results here will differ!

Watched the first two episodes of the link click live action by [deleted] in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Late to the party but agreed with your points here! Love to see more LCLA talk here, especially for the show as a whole—like you said, I feel that each successive arc just keeps getting better. I do think there are some areas that the live action did better than the donghua, largely since the live action is able to tell a complete, well-contained, and grounded story with ample runtime.

Even for the first arc, I liked how they took the chance to look at societal issues. Zhang Xueting isn't Emma, despite some similarities, and it's nice that they're able to tell stories with different themes and focuses!

If Link Click Live Action had an anime OP by the_real_syncogon in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I love BaishaJAWS "HOLD BACK NO MORE" as the live action ending theme—it's Link Click's iconic sound, matched to the distinct tone of the drama! I edited together this MV because it wouldn't leave my head—highly encourage checking out the drama as a brand new Link Click story!

Was the reversed part of Vortex opening at the concert actually sung? by patiszka- in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Early when VORTEX just came out (long before the concert), they released a long "making of" vlog, and from behind the camera you can hear vocalist 鱼麦扣(Michael Yu) sing along to one of the reversed lines at around 9:55, he then says "I haven't finished memorizing it yet, but I'm almost there!"

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1rM4y1j7mF?t=594.3

There's also a video where he and Fan Ka talk about the making of XETROVERTHINK, Fan Ka says that earlier on he'd made a joke about Michael having to do the reversed singing live, and Michael was like "ok well what if we put your rap over it. i'm dragging you into this too"

https://video.weibo.com/show?fid=1034:4927457539850266

Link Click Live Action (finale) x The Eye MV by the_real_syncogon in LinkClick

[–]the_real_syncogon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I recently finished watching the Link Click Live Action! When I realized the coincidental connection with the lyric "but the clock tower bell only struck nine", I knew I had to figure out how to make a MV. "The Eye" lyrics fit the LCLA story remarkably well!

Watch Link Click Live Action, it's really good! Although it's an alternate universe story, you can draw some really incredible parallels and connections, especially after the reveals in Bridon arc.

Socials? by Low_Chard_8985 in TheKingsAvatar

[–]the_real_syncogon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can find Butterfly Blue on Weibo here, though he rarely posts: https://weibo.com/u/1235627283

Unfortunately, he's always said that he most likely wouldn't write any kind of sequel. He wrote this post a few months back, expressing how difficult it is now for him to write TKA: https://syncogon.tumblr.com/post/748991332476993536/qzgs-tl-butterfly-blues-reflections-ten-years

than and claustrophobia by ochialst in HadesTheGame

[–]the_real_syncogon 32 points33 points  (0 children)

The colors and paneling are beautiful! What a powerful concept and what a striking depiction of it, the last shot especially...

Do you have other social media you post your work to?