[ SECRET POST #4783 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4783 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



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02.


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03.
[Art by Itks]


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04.
[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]


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05.
[The Last Kingdom]


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06.
[Judah from Bojack Horseman]


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07.
[The Untamed]


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08.
[Project Blue Book]











Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 40 secrets from Secret Submission Post #685.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

02. https://i.imgur.com/eNunHyu.png

[fishnchips]

To be fair, the donghua is by far the adaption that's behind on the plot the most of all adaptions so there has been much less development between them- not to mention much of second season was mostly a weird tangent that didn't have much to do with the original.

I also think a lot of stuff gets lost in an animated series - facial expressions especially and with the very subtle stuff going on with LWJ, I guess that's the main reason why it doesn't seem quite right.
Then there's the thing that, even though compared with other Chinese productions, MDZS is quite good (and the backgrounds are gorgeous), it's still not the best quality animation.

I'm not too fond of the donghua voice actor for WWX myself - at one point I was confused because him and the VA for The Untamed are so extremely different and I thought it was the same VA but I rememebered it wrong - the drama CD VA is the same as the Live Action VA.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I suppose I should give it more of a chance. It's just that by the time WW is dropped into the Burial Mounds, I feel like his and LWJ's relationship is further along in the live action version.

I'm biased because I saw the live action first, but I really prefer the voices in it over the donghua in general. But WW stands out to me as being the least impressive.

[fishnchips]

I still think it's interesting how despite all the censorship, the live action is still the version with the most UST - probably because the actors have great chemistry.
Some of the VAs in The Untamed and the donghua are the same (or even more confusingly, they voice different characters in different adaptions). LWJ has the same VA in the donghua but some are cast in really different roles. It's confusing.

[(Anonymous)]

The chemistry is crazy good. Live action LWJ speaks volumes with his eyes and micro expressions, I love it. I read that the same voice actor did LWJ in the donghua and the live action, but honestly, it doesn't sound all that similar to me. Lots more emotion in the live action version, and his voice sounds deeper not unlike Wang Yibo's IRL.

[fishnchips]

It's really great. I still think it's so sad how much hate Wang Yibo got from people who didn't like that he was the hunk they imagined because of fanart and stuff - he did such an amazing job, I never would have guessed he's not originally an actor. I think it's interesting how the VAs kind of adapt to the versions they do the voices for - there are some major differences in the various adaptions and I think it's cool that they don't do all of it the same. I still think it must be weird for the actual LA actors though haha

[(Anonymous)]

I was surprised to hear that but then, I wasn't in the novel fandom so The Untamed was my first exposure to this story. I thought Wang Yibo was perfect and wouldn't change a thing. I already started watching "Love Actually" because he's in it and again, adorable. Definitely my new fandom crush.

Oh yes, it makes sense for there to be differences between all the versions and I'll get around to trying them all. But I suspect the LA will remain my favorite.

[fishnchips]

I'm not usually much of a live action drama fan (most of them have too much second hand embarrassment for me, I'm super sensitive about that haha). But I think it's nice that Wang Yibo gets all the recognition now (Xiao Zhan as well but Wang Yibo definitely was the one who impressed me the most). So i hope you have fun with it!

[(Anonymous)]

I can totally see that on the secondhand embarrassment. I've never been into much animated stuff for different reasons, but mostly because the voice acting is sometimes off putting. I also like watching actors do their thing, and the cast of The Untamed are all so adorable. I hope everyone's careers take off.

[fishnchips]

Yeah, I loved all the behind the scenes footage so, so much.

[(Anonymous)]

They were hilarious. The interviews were funny, too, though I felt a little sorry for the actors having to do so much promotion.

[fishnchips]

Yeah, they really seemed quite strained in some of the many promo events.

[(Anonymous)]

Tbh in some respects I like live action LWJ even more than the novel version, the novel doesn't get a lot from his POV and I think it can be a bit difficult to get into his head. The live action otoh is getting a ton of mileage out of even just what the actor is doing with his eyes and it's really endearing the character to me in a way the novel didn't quite manage.

[(Anonymous)]

Hard same. LWJ doesn't have much in the way of dialogue in the novel and you don't really get the same sense of personality as you do from WW. But in the live action, the actor really gets across both the stiff air that looks like arrogance and the times when LWJ is clearly struggling with his feelings, even when he doesn't have any lines. It's wonderful, really.

[(Anonymous)]

Loving your icons, btw!

[fishnchips]

Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

I love all these Untamed secrets, because I'm just starting the series. Keep 'em coming and maybe I can participate... within the couple weeks it takes me to finish the series lol.

So, to get this straight... the only CANON gay one is the novel, right? The anime and manga (sorry China, whatever your equivalents are) are ambiguous, and so is the live-action Netflix drama. But as far as "no kiss but it's fucking obvious they're gay"... would you say the live-action drama does the best in that regard? I'm not too far in yet, but I am feeling some UST already.

I don't mind live-actions but theoretically I prefer anime/manga because they usually can pull off scenes and dialogue without the cheesiness that comes with live-action. But so far, I don't mind this one too much. The actors are beautiful and the costumes are so gorgeous.

[fishnchips]

The novel, as the original BL novel, is canonically gay. The Untamed is censored but has some obvious subtext and I expect it will be the same for the animated series - from what there is of it now, it looks that way. The manhua may yet be uncensored (well... at least in the general romance department lol) as there appear to be slightly different rules for manhua censorship. If I remember correctly the audio drama also doesn't have the romance censored.

[(Anonymous)]

So the manga actually is gay, too? Or just isn't far enough along in the story to tell?

I understand Chinese law right now prohibits gay relationships on television. I did watch one Chinese anime that had m/m kissing, but it was explained in the narrative as being like a way to transfer powers and they totally pretended it wasn't gay. I sort of assume the Untamed anime would also not be able to show that stuff. Rumor has it that Chinese law has even started cracking down on web novels so I guess manga would be treated similarly... but I am talking way beyond my field of expertise here.

At any rate, I guess I'll start with the Netflix adaptation and maybe read the novel after that. Though a few minutes of watching the anime on Youtube, I'm really impressed with how pretty it is.

[fishnchips]

I'm not entirely sure it will be since it's too early to tell - the romance is a very slow burn in the novel as well and only actually happens relatively close to the end. But there are a lot of manhua adaptions of BL novels with the BL part still in place so chances are it will stay in the MDZS manhua adaption as well.

The anime you mention was Spirit Pact, right? I think with that one, the author of the original novel also claimed there was no actual romance going on and it was simply an exchange of power so that might have been another reason they got away with it. Censorship has gotten worse lately, especially for any novel containing adult scenes. Those have mostly been nuked from all the big novel platforms or at least had to be massively censored. Manhua and audio dramas seem to be a bit of an exception though, no idea why.

Technically, I'd always suggest reading the novel first for two reasons- 1. There have been some major changes to the general plot due to censorship as well and 2. I think the pacing of the novel makes for a more interesting plot development and some plot reveals are quite heavy handed in the show and it takes away a lot from the impact those scenes have. But in any case, that's just my opinion, you should obviously go for whichever you prefer.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, it was Spirit Pact!! Seriously, even the author claimed there was no romance? Ohhh bullshit, lmao. But I guess you have to hold your cards close to your chest trying to get BL-flavored stuff greenlit in China. :-/

Thanks for the advice! Maybe I will try the novel first, then. I only got ten episodes into the drama, wonder how much is already different. Noted that the romance is supposed to be a slow burn, though.

[(Anonymous)]

Hope you're enjoying the show and I'd love to see any secrets/opinions you have about it! IMO, the live action has major UST and I love it so much. Haven't tried the manhua, the donghua isn't as UST-filled so far, IMO.

[(Anonymous)]

Is this the friend mentioned in that previous secret?

[(Anonymous)]

Is who the friend? If you mean the OP, then no.