If there was one thing that hasn’t changed about me since I was in kindergarten, it’s my love for the genre of Chinese Historical/Wuxia.
Gorgeous costumes, alluring settings, badass fighting, a complex plot, and interesting relationships set in a fantasy world? Plus, sprinkles of classiness with the use of the ancient language and historical details? Yes, I’m all in.
This leads me to the main point of this post: I’ll like to recommend Bloody Romance (媚者无疆), a 2018 wuxia/fantasy/adventure Chinese drama. The episodes are short, around 25 minutes each and the entire drama is on YouTube with English subtitles. I recommended this especially for those who are rather new to C-dramas and want to try something new. It’s not a classic Chinese drama but it’s relatively easy to comprehend.
Watch Bloody Romance’s Trailer:
Here’s my quick summary:
Adapted from a novel, Bloody Romance features Qi Xue, a beautiful 16-year-old girl living in poverty, as the main protagonist. The story starts out with her doing physical labor to earn some food rations for her family but ironically gets sold to a brothel by her own father. Desperate to save her life first, Qi Xue enters the mysterious Gui Hua City (translates to Ghost Flower Gity). However, this was not a normal city. It’s a mini kingdom specializing in training female assassins and everything there revolved around the assassins’ performance and loyalty. Although she is now alive, here she’ll go through mental exhaustions, physical torture, and ongoing struggles with herself around the debate of how and who should decide whether someone else lives or dies.
Reasons why you should watch it:
- Stunning cinematography and costumes.
- Artistic and clever use of animated graphics to show story background
- Stylistic production design (Can you believe it was low budget??)
- Satisfying acting. Many of the faces are unfamiliar but they’re great.
- Great chemistry between the female and male lead. The focus was largely on their bond and really shows how you do not need physical interactions to see the deep emotions.
- Truly intriguing characters–each with their own tragic back story
- Inclusion of female characters in higher levels of power. Set towards the end of the Tang Dynasty, the idea of Gui Hua City is actually a myth behind a real historical figure, Empress Wu, China’s one and only ever female Emperor.
- Find more out for yourself! Check it out and let me know!
- Lastly, the soundtrack!!! TT
1 Comment. Leave new
It’s hard to seek out educated individuals on this subject, however you sound like you already know what you’re speaking about! Thanks