#city of streamer

[dangermousie]

Do you like your men to have private armies but prefer access to antibiotics? Come right on in...

Watching the delicious trashiness of Maid’s Revenge has inspired me to make a listing of my favorite (and not so favorite) warlord and warlord adjacent cdramas. If like me, you like your male leads with polished boots and a side of murder, come right in. From most to least fave.

Siege in Fog

My most favorite on this list, this is visually gorgeous and emotionally visceral. Plus, it’s not just ONE warlord, it’s a whole family of them! It follows a deeply dysfunctional marriage between a beautiful woman and a warlord’s second son, where they fight and angst and love and fight some more, all the while bullets are flying and bodies are piling up. If you like incredible visuals, insane chemistry, dysfunction by the bucket and not one, not two, but THREE hot warlords, come right in. It’s based on a Fei Wo Si Cun novel so I assume you know you need a lot of tissues.

To sum up:

Too Late to Say I Love You

Another FWSC adaptation! This is an older drama, done long before cdrama’s recent unwelcome slide into wholesomeness, which means epic makeouts but also a warlord that revels in murder (at one point he takes out all his potential rivals, including his loved sister’s entire fam.) The OTP is dysfunctional - they hate, then they love, then they break up but he can’t let go - and the chemistry is beyond insane, with Wallace Chung and Li Xiao Ran melting my computer. Also, for once, a happy ending!

Winter Begonia

Probably the only genuine masterpiece on the list (tho I love FWSC dysfunction best for purely personal reasons), this is a MM story (though being cdrama it’s not explicit, though quite clear) and Huang Xiaoming as a trader with a private army and Yin Zheng as an opera singer with whom he forms a bond are both!!! I highly recommend it.

City of Streamer

Should be called “City of Steamer” because those make-outs and chemistry are epic! Timmy Xu is a son of a shady businessmen (with a small army of gun happy goons) who falls hopelessly in love with an older governess (Jing Tian) who is out for revenge on his family. She starts out using him and ends up using him in a different sense, if you know what I mean! The plot derails a bit by the end but it’s still a great watch.

PS...

Maid’s Revenge

I am watching it right now. At only 10 minutes per ep, it skips plot and gives us the melo and chemistry we (and I mean I) crave and a guy whose muscles should be in a museum.

The Lady and the Liar

Hawick Lau is the ML and we all know this means “hot bastard.” He’s a crime lord with a goon squad falling for a lost heiress who loses her memory so he lies she’s his fiancee and deliciousness ensues. MMMMM

Arsenal Military Academy

Xu Kai is warlord jr but this is here mainly because of his awesome brother the businessman with murder squad. The drama is so-so (patriotism overtakes the amazing chemistry between Bai Lu and Xu Kai) but might be worth a peek.

Cruel Romance

(Can you say no to this face?)

Joey Chen has never worked in anything for me and this is no exception, but Huang Xiao Ming is dashing as hell as a sexy gangster.

Love In The Flames of War

The heroine is terrible (I kept rooting for her to get accidentally shrapnelled) but Shawn Dou is sexy as hell as a warlord. (In the novel he was apparently a rapey headcase; they made him lovely in the drama without making his wife saner which is...a choice.) I’d say worth it on FF for hotness and whippings.

The Mystic Nine

I tried. I tried to watch this drama three times. I could not. But William Chan as a warlord in a three-piece suit and cape is mega mega fine!

I suffer so you won’t have to:

Fall In Love

The worst drama on this list, insulting to intelligence of anyone above pre-school level, 90% of the cast, including the leading lady, incapable of acting, a plot that makes a picture book seem complex and fashion disasters galore. However, Chen Xing Xu, playing the smirky warlord, carries this mess harder than Atlas and deserves to be in another, better drama altogether. Oh, what wouldn’t I give for him as a proper FWSC warlord!

Honorable Mention:  Forward Forever - haven’t watched that one but keep meaning to.

#cdrama #fall in love #siege in fog #winter begonia #love in flames of war #forward forever #the mystic nine #cruel romance #the lady and the liar #city of streamer #maid's revenge #too late to say i love you #arsenal military academy

[lyselkatzfandomluvs]

Jing Chao 經超

JC Studio Wb update 2024.02.24

For @ilgaksu

#jing chao #chinese actors #warm and sweet #ode to joy #city of streamer #princess silver #dream garden #lost track of time #the legend of xiao chuo #sunshine police #falling down #burning #medical wxaminer dr qin

[bittergloss]

THE RISE OF PHOENIXES (2018)| MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN ALIEN (2019)| FORWARD FOREVER (2020)| INTENSE LOVE (2020)| THE PROMISE OF CHANG’AN (2020)|THE LEGEND OF FEI (2020)| CITY OF STREAMER (2022)| THE BLUE WHISPER (2022)| THE KILLER IS ALSO ROMANTIC (2022)

#the rise of phoenixes #my girlfriend is an alien #forward forever #intense love #the promise of chang'an #the legend of fei #city of streamer #the blue whisper #cdrama #cdramaedit #mygif #sometimes u just have to say fuck it and post the gifset #love #the killer is also romantic

[dilebe06]

My Top Female Characters of 2023

#my top female characters 2023 #kdrama #korean drama #jdrama #japan drama #thai drama #love to hate you #yeo mi ran #gomenne seishun! #hachiya risa #the gifted #namtarn #the spies who loved me #kang ah reum #extraordinary you #eun dan oh #city of streamer #feng shizhen #cdrama #chinese drama #weak hero class 1 #young yi #medical examiner dr. qin #li da bao #alice in borderland 2 #kuina hikari #cafe minamdang #lee min kyung

[dilirebas]

My Top 5 Dramas of 2022

Note: Rankings reflect my personal enjoyment of the drama, while ratings reflect how I perceived the drama’s overall quality; so the rankings and ratings don't always match. Anything higher than 5/10 is a decent rating for me. I wouldn't finish a drama that I didn't enjoy!

(1) City of Streamer 流光之城 -my rating: 8.5/10 -this Republican era romance broke all the rules and truly took my breath away; I felt every tension and held my breath for every character -link to my review: (here)

(2) Lighter and Princess 点燃我，温暖你 -my rating: 8.5/10 -a captivating romance, and an equally captivating character study of flawed heroes -link to my review: (here)

(3) Reset 开端 -my rating: 7/10 -a fun sci-fi mystery with a cool concept, and probably the most discussed drama of the year -link to my review: (here)

(4) Falling into You 炽道 -my rating: 7.5/10 -the funniest idol romance; basically a comedy -link to my review: (here)

(5) Love Between Fairy and Devil 苍兰诀 -my rating: 7/10 -a hilarious xianxia drama which lives up to its enormous hype -link to my review: (here)

Other 2022 dramas that I finished: New Life Begins 卿卿日常 - (6/10) (review here) The Blue Whisper 与君初相识/恰似故人归 - (6/10) (review here) A Familiar Stranger 虚颜 - (6/10) Dream House 新居之约 - (6/10) Dream of Splendor 梦华录 - (5.5/10) (review here) Simmer Down 好好说话 - (5/10) The Murder in Kairoutei 回廊亭 - (5/10)

Non-2022 dramas that I finished in 2022 A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower 摩天大楼 - (9/10) (review here) Ancient Detective 侠���简不知 - (8/10) (review here)

Dramas that I started but didn't finish: Oath of Love, The Wind Blows from Longxi, My Sassy Princess, Love in Flames of War, Love Like the Galaxy, Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty

#cdrama #City of Streamer #Lighter and Princess #Reset #Falling Into You #Love Between Fairy and Devil #my thoughts #review

[convenientalias]

This is quite belated, but I just realized I never did a compilation post of my pen fanart from 2022, which I had originally planned on doing. So here it is!

I did a lot of original art in pen in 2022, but not a whole ton of fanart actually. Still I feel I did a couple interesting pieces. I wonder what I'll do in 2023?

#my art #nirvana in fire #eve kdrama #mr sunshine #city of streamer #pacific rim

[rubylane]

I would avoid it even if you didn’t pull me. Was I wrong again?

#city of streamer #cityofstreameredit #cdramaedit #chinese drama #cdrama #cdramanet #流光之城 #feng shi zhen #rong jia shang #jing tian #timmy xu

[niaoniaos]

SHOWS WATCHED IN 2022

City of Streamer (2022)

#city of streamer #cdramaedit #cdramanet #cdramanetwork #chineseartistsinc #udeokmis #dailyasiandramas #samblr #tuseralexa #maregifs #gifs #mare22 #shows22

[audreydoeskaren]

There’s a new republican era drama set at the beginning of the 20th century called City of Streamer. Is the costuming accurate?

It's the least accurate thing there can be. I think it's a great example of Republican era guzhuang or stock Republican era costuming in recent years, using completely modern clothing to recreate ✨the vibe✨ of the period. Obviously, it recreates neither the actual clothes nor the vibes. Some costumers think it's a good way to appeal to younger audiences, I just think it's insulting our intelligence. Maybe it makes sense from a budget perspective, maybe it doesn't, I don't work in the industry so I don't know.

#republican era guzhuang #city of streamer #republican era

[zhaozi]

#xu weizhou #timmy xu #addicted #my girlfriend #ping pong life #city of streamer #m:gifs

[forwritingisdreaming]

In a nutshell, there are dramas that are better than “City of Streamer”, and there are those that are worse. However, I have been watching this one for the past few days, and I’m still interested. Still invested. For this viewer, that means the drama is not too shabby.

The pace is mostly good, so is the acting. So far, there have been a couple plot points that left me a bit puzzled, but that doesn’t affect the overall experience. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made it past the first episode.

I am fine with the romance taking center stage. The casting of the main leads is on point. I like his initial awkwardness and stiffness of an outcast that hide loyalty and passion, and intelligence, and I like her serene outer shell that gives a false impression of simplicity and indifference, hiding the force of nature inside. I feel what they feel, and I hold my breath when they do.

The end credits song is gorgeous.

#cdrama #city of streamer #timmy xu #jing tian

[dangermousie]

And now as a result of trying to save FL’s father’s life, ML gets publicly whipped and thrown in jail (with no medical treatment for the welts; dude you are gonna have scars if you don’t die of sepsis, that is.)

When he’s finally released, his reaction:

Meanwhile FL is planning to run off with hobo on another harebrained adventure (the man who almost got her killed and then helped zip, you remember?)

You know, I wish I could say I feel bad for ML, but his unwavering devotion to an impulsive, ungrateful moron no matter what is beginning to make me wonder if he is just as epically stupid as she is. Like - she is not exactly pretending she cares for him on even a simple decent human being level, nor does all his behavior ever get any different result. At this point he’s cashing misery checks he writes himself.

I was telling mutuals that the difference between something like this and Siege in Fog is that in the latter both of them lashed out and hurt the other, both seriously wronged each other, both were complicit in miscommunication and pain (and not to mention, FL had a first love AND our ML was pretending to have a mistress etc etc.) It felt equal and even and logical (within confines of the melo genre.)

But here, in making him saner (in the novel, he apparently rapes her at one point - yeah) and basically someone whose main characteristic is openly adoring her and saving her life over and over and her not even loving hobo (let alone loving him before meeting ML, as in the novel), this turns the whole narrative into a decent if hot headed dude and an utter ungrateful and impulsively moronic heroine. And that’s a pity. It doesn’t help that perhaps I’d be willing to buy his simping more if they had insane chemistry or if she was so beautiful/charismatic I could buy ML doing anything to get her. (City of Streamer and Siege in Fog both have that. Too Late to Say I Love You has that too AND the heroine saving ML’s life and his eventually wronging her as well blah blah.)

(Much more my type of thing heh.)

Anyway, this bit from Siege in Fog sums up what kind of dynamics I love (and the novel of Love had) and we are not getting here:

Alas, in the drama of Love in Flames of War, ML is piece of cloth.

#cdrama #love in flames of war #shawn dou #siege in fog #city of streamer #too late to say i love you

[xiaoshengnu]

sooo I watched the first few episodes of City of Streamer and honestly I’m quite meh about it. The plot is alright and the chemistry between the two leads is fire but it’s not the best and most creative or clever drama I’ve see so far. It feels quite shallow; the set up of the drama does not serve to make a statement it’s merely just to set the mood to make the romance between the two leads more ‘exciting’ and ‘sparks flying everywhere’- 

have you heard that one saying where it’s like; if the introduction does not hit home, then there’s no point in writing the rest? well well, one of the things that really dug at me as soon as the drama opened was Feng Shizhen’s presentation. 

like, immediately when I saw her wide-eyed, half smile coupled with her first costume I went ohh nooo. the bright white qipao gave her an air of innocence and naivety, which did not line up with the ‘smart and experienced mature young woman who is fierce enough to handle manipulative neighbours and two-faced bosses’ narrative the script was feeding us. 

furthermore homegirl is being lined up to be the destruction of a family- as horrible as the family might be, there are children and servants who will be taken down with them, and it would have been better if the costume had acknowledged her moral responsibility in that. it doesn’t suit to try to force a narrative, even if it’s just through presentation, of oh yes she's good and a 100% good from the outset. 

#but yeah #that's my five cents ig #hoping things develop towards a slightly more positive note in the future... #hoping #city of streamer #jing tian #feng shizhen #xu weizhou #si teng #rattan #liu gang zhi cheng #cdrama #Chinese drama review #republic of china era

[tytangfei]

gonna be obnoxious about giffing jing chao I think. Any fans of him and want to be tagged of him in Lost Track of Time (and potentially City of Streamer, if I get to it)? Open to mutuals and non-mutual followers!

#i just. love him #jing chao #lost track of time #city of streamer #jina watches cdramas

[dilebe06]

My Top Male Characters of 2023

#my top male characters #my top male characters of 2023 #kdrama #korean drama #cdrama #chinese drama #taiwanese drama #tw drama #turkey serie tv #extraordinary you #beak kyung #city of streamer #meng xu an #kairos #kim seo jin #ikebukuro west gate park #mizuno shun #weak hero class 1 #jdrama #japan drama #small and mighty #liu lang #yeon shi eun #cafe minamdang #jang doo jin #medical examiner dr. qin #alice in borderland 2 #chishiya alice in borderland #shuntaro chishiya #midnight at the pera palace

[dilirebas]

My review of City of Streamer /  流光之城

Feng Shizhen (played by Jing Tian) is a trained spy who seeks revenge against the Rong family, a wealthy family of 1930s Shanghai. To uncover the terrible secrets of the patriarch Rong Dingkun, she infiltrates the family as a tutor and wins the heart of Rong Dingkun’s son, Rong Jiashang (played by Xu Weizhou). But as Feng Shizhen seduces Rong Jiashang, she finds herself giving away her own heart too.

The chemistry between the lead actors is simply breathtaking. You can really feel the love and the growing tensions between them.

It’s a beautifully written romance. Feng Shizhen’s control and sophistication is a perfect match for Rong Jiashang’s intensity and passion. There is a fundamental dishonesty and asymmetry to their relationship, yet the connection and understanding between them is real. Neither is willing to give up everything for love, yet they continue to love each other in spite of so much history and betrayal.

The whole cast of characters is brilliant. Each character is fascinating in their own way. Qi Ye is a jaded troublemaker whose presence made me feel both comforted and afraid. Du Lanxin is a spoiled heiress who has the maturity to fight for what she wants and to let go when disappointed. Yu Zhihui is an opportunist who ruins it for herself, but can you really blame her for having dreams? Each character is memorable and unique.

Even the “villains” are charismatic characters who experience development and leave an emotional impact.

This was a rare drama where I never wanted to skip ahead. In fact, I was afraid of missing a single detail. Every event and every story arc contributed to the progression of the main storyline and the central themes of the drama. There was nuance and implicit meaning in the dialogue and scenes. There was always something that held my attention.

I loved the costumes! Some were more accurate and some were less accurate, but all of the costumes looked well-made.

I’m not sure if the ending left me satisfied. I think it was the right ending for all of the characters, so maybe I simply wanted more. Or maybe it’s the knowledge that, historically speaking, worse years are ahead.

This story definitely played into some of my favourite tropes. There are some clichés, but they’re executed deliciously. There are also some unusual twists.

City of Streamer was a riveting viewing experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

#City of Streamer #流光之城 #cdrama #period drama #Jing Tian #Xu Wei Zhou #republican era #review #my thoughts