About a week ago I got bitten by the Gong / Palace bug. Also known as Jade Palace Lock Heart (smooth translation is NOT the name of the game), this mainland drama draws heavy inspiration from two sources: a Chinese novel about a 20th century girl who travels through time to the Qing dynasty, and the Japanese manga/pop culture phenomenon Hana Yori Dango. Although JPLH has drawn criticism for its unabashed rip off these two much-beloved sources, it doesn't really bother me. Let's just say I don't look for too much originality in dramas anyways. What I do look for, and what JPLH has in spades, is magnetism. The show's gorgeous, fun, addictive, shippy, and that's quite enough for me. Besides, it's my first real mainland drama (unfortunately, I think Taiwanese dramas scared me away from all Chinese-language fare years ago) and I'm newly obsessed with the Qing backdrop. It's so different from the Joseon of Korean period dramas, and I'm eating it up!
For anyone interested in following this show (35 episodes total), let me direct you to its Viki channel, where the peerless fansubbers are going at a pretty amazing speed. You may also want to check out its spcnet forum for the latest news, pics, and commentary. You procede at your own risk; this drama may end up consuming unfortunate amounts of your time and energy as it has mine...
But anyways, check out how pretty!!
(What's this? Fourth Prince knows how to smile too?)
(Here are our lovebirds in modern garb, posing for some Valentine's Day promo stills.)
No comments:
Post a Comment