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Cdrams for n00bs
Dec. 2nd, 2023 01:58 pmI've been sick, and I'm a writer, so ofc i write up random crap when I'm bored. I randomly wrote up a "for n00bs" thing for Jdrams, Cdrams, and Kdrams. Don't really have anywhere to post it so i'll do it here lol. I should make this my random analysis and reviews that no one asked for blog lmao.
Chinese Dramas
Intro - Chinese dramas differ in one big way from Korean and Japanese dramas in that most of them are dubbed. But unless you understand Chinese or know the voices of the actors, you probably won't notice it. At least not at first, but eventually you might wonder esp in costume dramas why everyone sounds roughly the same. Chinese dramas are generally very heavy on certain genres and strongly emphasize costumes and settings in a lot of them. Modern romance and "costume" are the two overarching genres, but the following are the general genres you'll find most Cdramas fitting into.
Wuxia - this is a type of fantasy/adventure with a strong writen history. I would compare it to the American fascination with Westerns. It essentially centers around Jianghu, the martial arts world made up of various sects with different skiills and powers. It usually takes place in real historical eras, but focuses on the sects and the hero trope. Girls can be powerful too, but expect a lot of extremely obvious crossdressing of girls pretending to be guys lol. Example: Blood of Youth
Xianxia - the uninitiated might confuse this with wuxia bc of the costumes, but xianxia is far more fantasy-oriented and typically centers around immortals and fantasy creatures rather than humans, though it typically somewhat involves humans and Jianghu. Xianxia more than wuxia often involve elaborate love stories. You can also expect a lot less fighting choreo and more "magic fighting". Example: Love You 7 Times
Imperial - these are kinda rare bc most historical-looking dramas are wuxia. A real historical doesn't focus on martial arts sects except maybe tangentially, but almost all of these tend to focus on some dynasty that may or may not be real and something going on within it, so centering around a prince or princess. These can be really convoluted and long and usually involve palace intrigue vs a story about regular people. Example: Rise of Phoenixes
Modern Romance - some modern romances are also romcoms. This doesn't need too much explanation. It's a drama set in modern times where the focus is entirely on the romantic relationship between the leads, tho there's almost always a few secondary couples as well. Example: Moonlight
Crime/Action - these often but not always center around drug trafficking and drug gangs. Cops are usually portrayed as heroic except when they're corrupt and then you can expect them to be punished within the narrative. You can also expect a lot of propaganda against drugs within the narrative as well. Example: Age of Legends
Republican - this is a drama set in the Republic of China era before WW2. If the drama is set in this time period, it's considered Republican. But sometimes that's all it is is a setting, i.e. the costumes and whatnot. A True Republican is one that centers around the conflict between the CCP and the ROC. THese tend to be heavily propogandized in favor of the CCP. Example: Lost in 1942 for true Republican. For "set in Republican era" example: Truth of Smell.
School/Friendship - this typically follows a group of friends from their latter years of high school into university and/or beyond. May or may not include romance. Lately, a lot of them take place in the 90s, but some might take place in modern times too. One good thing about this genre in Cdramas is that the actors are usually appropriately young, i.e. in their early 20s, but they still might be dubbed. Example: When We Were Young
Final notes - Cdramas often take a long time to release from when filming ends and that's bc they have to pass strict censorship boards. Explicit supernatural content isn't allowed and neither is anything obviously gay or pro-drugs. Evil typically always has to be punished, so don't expect a villain you like to survive even if he redeems himself later, in fact he'll prolly sacrifice himself heroically lol. Evil wuxia/xianxia characters that are male are often portrayed as overly feminine or eunuchs. OH, and historical (republican and dynasty) and wuxia love to fit in an Evil Japanese storyline whenever possible. Most Cdramas fall into the range of 24 to 40 episodes at 35-45 mins each, but there are some longer ones in the wuxia/historical realm.
Chinese Dramas
Intro - Chinese dramas differ in one big way from Korean and Japanese dramas in that most of them are dubbed. But unless you understand Chinese or know the voices of the actors, you probably won't notice it. At least not at first, but eventually you might wonder esp in costume dramas why everyone sounds roughly the same. Chinese dramas are generally very heavy on certain genres and strongly emphasize costumes and settings in a lot of them. Modern romance and "costume" are the two overarching genres, but the following are the general genres you'll find most Cdramas fitting into.
Wuxia - this is a type of fantasy/adventure with a strong writen history. I would compare it to the American fascination with Westerns. It essentially centers around Jianghu, the martial arts world made up of various sects with different skiills and powers. It usually takes place in real historical eras, but focuses on the sects and the hero trope. Girls can be powerful too, but expect a lot of extremely obvious crossdressing of girls pretending to be guys lol. Example: Blood of Youth
Xianxia - the uninitiated might confuse this with wuxia bc of the costumes, but xianxia is far more fantasy-oriented and typically centers around immortals and fantasy creatures rather than humans, though it typically somewhat involves humans and Jianghu. Xianxia more than wuxia often involve elaborate love stories. You can also expect a lot less fighting choreo and more "magic fighting". Example: Love You 7 Times
Imperial - these are kinda rare bc most historical-looking dramas are wuxia. A real historical doesn't focus on martial arts sects except maybe tangentially, but almost all of these tend to focus on some dynasty that may or may not be real and something going on within it, so centering around a prince or princess. These can be really convoluted and long and usually involve palace intrigue vs a story about regular people. Example: Rise of Phoenixes
Modern Romance - some modern romances are also romcoms. This doesn't need too much explanation. It's a drama set in modern times where the focus is entirely on the romantic relationship between the leads, tho there's almost always a few secondary couples as well. Example: Moonlight
Crime/Action - these often but not always center around drug trafficking and drug gangs. Cops are usually portrayed as heroic except when they're corrupt and then you can expect them to be punished within the narrative. You can also expect a lot of propaganda against drugs within the narrative as well. Example: Age of Legends
Republican - this is a drama set in the Republic of China era before WW2. If the drama is set in this time period, it's considered Republican. But sometimes that's all it is is a setting, i.e. the costumes and whatnot. A True Republican is one that centers around the conflict between the CCP and the ROC. THese tend to be heavily propogandized in favor of the CCP. Example: Lost in 1942 for true Republican. For "set in Republican era" example: Truth of Smell.
School/Friendship - this typically follows a group of friends from their latter years of high school into university and/or beyond. May or may not include romance. Lately, a lot of them take place in the 90s, but some might take place in modern times too. One good thing about this genre in Cdramas is that the actors are usually appropriately young, i.e. in their early 20s, but they still might be dubbed. Example: When We Were Young
Final notes - Cdramas often take a long time to release from when filming ends and that's bc they have to pass strict censorship boards. Explicit supernatural content isn't allowed and neither is anything obviously gay or pro-drugs. Evil typically always has to be punished, so don't expect a villain you like to survive even if he redeems himself later, in fact he'll prolly sacrifice himself heroically lol. Evil wuxia/xianxia characters that are male are often portrayed as overly feminine or eunuchs. OH, and historical (republican and dynasty) and wuxia love to fit in an Evil Japanese storyline whenever possible. Most Cdramas fall into the range of 24 to 40 episodes at 35-45 mins each, but there are some longer ones in the wuxia/historical realm.
Cdrama Pros:
- There are LOTS of them, you'll never run out
- Male and female actors are very attractive
- Wuxia and xianxia are exclusive to Cdramas and are very entertaining if you like fantasy
- Clear good and evil lines
- Great costuming
Cdrama Cons:
- Dubbing ye gods
- Often sloppy editing
- Wigs in wuxia/xianxia are annoying and bad
- Romances will do almost anytyhig to avoid kissing and sex, too much emphasis on virginity, major cockblocking in other words
- Censorship can be very heavy handed
Cdrama 101 (i.e. five representative dramas to watch first)
1. Rise of Phoenixes
2. Ice Fantasy
3. Reset
4. Blood of Youth
5. You Are My Hero
