Ruyi - where have you been all my life?

Even though this journal is 90% kdramas, my favorite drama type is actually Mainland period dramas. Nothing is as good as those, nothing as designed to appeal to my tastes. I haven't seen nearly as many of them as I have kdramas, in part because the subs are hard to find, in part because at minimum 30-40 eps, they are a major time committment, and in part because once I find a good one, I tend to hoard (yes, I am still saving Romantic Red Rouge for a rainy day. Sue me).



You know, what I love as much as I do period cdramas? Yang Mi, the gorgeous and charismatic star of Jade Palace Lock Heart (and many other dramas). I have a massive girlcrush on her. Another thing I love? Manpain and romance.

What do you get when you add all of these together? You get the upcoming period cdrama romance Ruyi starring Yang Mi and Hawick Lau.



And do you know the plot? Using fragrant tea plantations as the setting, new drama “Ruyi” is a Republican era piece starring Yang Mi and Hawick Lau. Hawick Lau will play Tan Mingkai, the young master of the Tan clan and the heir to its fortune. The title character, Ruyi (played by Yang Mi), is an ordinary worker on the tea plantations. A secret? Their lives are the result of a switcheroo – Mingkai’s real mother almost died giving birth to him; to save his wife, Mingkai’s birth father (a plantation worker) sold him to be Madam Tan’s son. Family conflict, former best friends become enemies, disaster and calamity…and of course, challenging it all, love. (from cfensi).

Oh God, has this thing been designed especially for me or what? I WANT I WANT I WANT!!!

( Behind the cut, gorgeous preview stills )

Ruyi - where have you been all my life?

Even though this journal is 90% kdramas, my favorite drama type is actually Mainland period dramas. Nothing is as good as those, nothing as designed to appeal to my tastes. I haven't seen nearly as many of them as I have kdramas, in part because the subs are hard to find, in part because at minimum 30-40 eps, they are a major time committment, and in part because once I find a good one, I tend to hoard (yes, I am still saving Romantic Red Rouge for a rainy day. Sue me).



You know, what I love as much as I do period cdramas? Yang Mi, the gorgeous and charismatic star of Jade Palace Lock Heart (and many other dramas). I have a massive girlcrush on her. Another thing I love? Manpain and romance.

What do you get when you add all of these together? You get the upcoming period cdrama romance Ruyi starring Yang Mi and Hawick Lau.



And do you know the plot? Using fragrant tea plantations as the setting, new drama “Ruyi” is a Republican era piece starring Yang Mi and Hawick Lau. Hawick Lau will play Tan Mingkai, the young master of the Tan clan and the heir to its fortune. The title character, Ruyi (played by Yang Mi), is an ordinary worker on the tea plantations. A secret? Their lives are the result of a switcheroo – Mingkai’s real mother almost died giving birth to him; to save his wife, Mingkai’s birth father (a plantation worker) sold him to be Madam Tan’s son. Family conflict, former best friends become enemies, disaster and calamity…and of course, challenging it all, love. (from cfensi).

Oh God, has this thing been designed especially for me or what? I WANT I WANT I WANT!!!

( Behind the cut, gorgeous preview stills )

Ruyi - where have you been all my life?

Even though this journal is 90% kdramas, my favorite drama type is actually Mainland period dramas. Nothing is as good as those, nothing as designed to appeal to my tastes. I haven't seen nearly as many of them as I have kdramas, in part because the subs are hard to find, in part because at minimum 30-40 eps, they are a major time committment, and in part because once I find a good one, I tend to hoard (yes, I am still saving Romantic Red Rouge for a rainy day. Sue me).



You know, what I love as much as I do period cdramas? Yang Mi, the gorgeous and charismatic star of Jade Palace Lock Heart (and many other dramas). I have a massive girlcrush on her. Another thing I love? Manpain and romance.

What do you get when you add all of these together? You get the upcoming period cdrama romance Ruyi starring Yang Mi and Hawick Lau.



And do you know the plot? Using fragrant tea plantations as the setting, new drama “Ruyi” is a Republican era piece starring Yang Mi and Hawick Lau. Hawick Lau will play Tan Mingkai, the young master of the Tan clan and the heir to its fortune. The title character, Ruyi (played by Yang Mi), is an ordinary worker on the tea plantations. A secret? Their lives are the result of a switcheroo – Mingkai’s real mother almost died giving birth to him; to save his wife, Mingkai’s birth father (a plantation worker) sold him to be Madam Tan’s son. Family conflict, former best friends become enemies, disaster and calamity…and of course, challenging it all, love. (from cfensi).

Oh God, has this thing been designed especially for me or what? I WANT I WANT I WANT!!!

( Behind the cut, gorgeous preview stills )

Ruyi - where have you been all my life?

Even though this journal is 90% kdramas, my favorite drama type is actually Mainland period dramas. Nothing is as good as those, nothing as designed to appeal to my tastes. I haven't seen nearly as many of them as I have kdramas, in part because the subs are hard to find, in part because at minimum 30-40 eps, they are a major time committment, and in part because once I find a good one, I tend to hoard (yes, I am still saving Romantic Red Rouge for a rainy day. Sue me).



You know, what I love as much as I do period cdramas? Yang Mi, the gorgeous and charismatic star of Jade Palace Lock Heart (and many other dramas). I have a massive girlcrush on her. Another thing I love? Manpain and romance.

What do you get when you add all of these together? You get the upcoming period cdrama romance Ruyi starring Yang Mi and Hawick Lau.



And do you know the plot? Using fragrant tea plantations as the setting, new drama “Ruyi” is a Republican era piece starring Yang Mi and Hawick Lau. Hawick Lau will play Tan Mingkai, the young master of the Tan clan and the heir to its fortune. The title character, Ruyi (played by Yang Mi), is an ordinary worker on the tea plantations. A secret? Their lives are the result of a switcheroo – Mingkai’s real mother almost died giving birth to him; to save his wife, Mingkai’s birth father (a plantation worker) sold him to be Madam Tan’s son. Family conflict, former best friends become enemies, disaster and calamity…and of course, challenging it all, love. (from cfensi).

Oh God, has this thing been designed especially for me or what? I WANT I WANT I WANT!!!

( Behind the cut, gorgeous preview stills )

Ever felt like murdering for a nice perfume? What do you mean 'no'?

Just because I clearly do not have an insane watching list already, I started Scent of Fragrance, a period cdrama starring Michelle Yi, Hawick Lau and perennial Yu Zheng 'never gets the girl' favorite Mikey He.

It's set at the turn of the century and revolves around rival perfume-making clans. There is true love, vendettas, murder, doppelgangers and a lot of angst. Of course.

I have just finished the first episode and like all Yu Zheng dramas it's gorgeous (oh, the costumes), melodramatic and insanely addictive.

Have a shippy MV:

Ever felt like murdering for a nice perfume? What do you mean 'no'?

Just because I clearly do not have an insane watching list already, I started Scent of Fragrance, a period cdrama starring Michelle Yi, Hawick Lau and perennial Yu Zheng 'never gets the girl' favorite Mikey He.

It's set at the turn of the century and revolves around rival perfume-making clans. There is true love, vendettas, murder, doppelgangers and a lot of angst. Of course.

I have just finished the first episode and like all Yu Zheng dramas it's gorgeous (oh, the costumes), melodramatic and insanely addictive.

Have a shippy MV:

Ever felt like murdering for a nice perfume? What do you mean 'no'?

Just because I clearly do not have an insane watching list already, I started Scent of Fragrance, a period cdrama starring Michelle Yi, Hawick Lau and perennial Yu Zheng 'never gets the girl' favorite Mikey He.

It's set at the turn of the century and revolves around rival perfume-making clans. There is true love, vendettas, murder, doppelgangers and a lot of angst. Of course.

I have just finished the first episode and like all Yu Zheng dramas it's gorgeous (oh, the costumes), melodramatic and insanely addictive.

Have a shippy MV:

Ever felt like murdering for a nice perfume? What do you mean 'no'?

Just because I clearly do not have an insane watching list already, I started Scent of Fragrance, a period cdrama starring Michelle Yi, Hawick Lau and perennial Yu Zheng 'never gets the girl' favorite Mikey He.

It's set at the turn of the century and revolves around rival perfume-making clans. There is true love, vendettas, murder, doppelgangers and a lot of angst. Of course.

I have just finished the first episode and like all Yu Zheng dramas it's gorgeous (oh, the costumes), melodramatic and insanely addictive.

Have a shippy MV:

Pretty much a ton of caps from ep 11 of Heartstrings

Whenever Heartstrings tries to do traditional plot, it falters - I have zero interest in performance shenanigans - it's a school production, not Broadway, and in any event, Gyu Won is a gageum player, not an actress so whether she gets to perform or stay an understudy seems supremely not to matter for her future (that is why Hee Joo and her mother's plotting strikes me as kinda insane). And Shin has a band and will continue to have it and perform and write music whatever goes on with the anniversary show (yeah, it's a fun exercise for him to write a fusion classical/rock piece but that is all that is) so to ask me to be invested seems weird. And I continue to have zero interest in the various-rival-professors storyline. I don't hate the plotty bits or anything but in comparison with organic, realistic, freestyle 'Shin and Gyuwon fall in love' aspect which feels like you are peeking on real people, it falls flat. Most of this ep, however, was not plot but Shin and Gyuwon together, and so I was a happy happy camper.

Also? How much do I love that there is no stupid misunderstanding on Shin's part that Gyuwon likes the Director. For once, a male lead who uses his brains!

( Caaaaaaps of gorgeousness here )

This drama reminds me a lot of Mary Stayed Out All Night and not just because of rocker-falls-for-girl storyline. The script of HS makes about a million times more sense than MSOAN's, but they share the same thing - whenever the plot happens it just gets in the way of what really makes the drama tick - the insane chemistry between the leads and the quirkiness and appeal of the main twosome.