Greetings,
I'm both new to Chinese Dramas but have also seen about 11 of them at this point. I wanted to share a silly list of 'Academy' awards I've accumulated so far, which I'll call the Harts.
BEST EMPEROR OR EMPRESS AWARD
Much to my surprise the Empress in LUOYANG was incredibly riveting. Yong Mei's Empress was soft spoken, rarely spoke, and made her subjects talk to her back. It was as if with a twitch of a finger she could order the death of hundreds. She was actually a nice person but her aura was frightening. Her subjects would often drop to their knees in terror that they displeased her. I now will watch ANYTHING with Yong Mei.
https://mydramalist.com/people/14838-yong-mei
BEST HAIR STYLING
For some reason MAKE A WISH has a hairstylist to end all hairstylists. Simply every character had a better than normal hairdo, lol. Watch this (long) song opening and you'll see some amazing cuts. When the boy picks up the girl and spins her around they're simply showing off --
https://youtu.be/QIOOfAXxBkc?t=9
MOST ADORABLE OPENING SONG
is that song in the last link. It's actually the two leads singing -- which, like the show, makes me smile silly.
MOST TOUCHING END CREDIT SONG
The series IMPERFECT LOVE with Zhou Xun was pretty good, but this ending song LINGERS with you longer after the show.
https://youtu.be/d1j3UQgJ-mw?t=1918
MOST EPIC PRODUCTION
Speaking of ending songs, this one from REBEL PRINCESS reveals the eye-popping production values of this drama. The eye candy here is thru the roof and will give you Type 2 Diabetes.
https://youtu.be/e4af8dAjL7I?t=2584
BEST NEW UNDER-USED ACTRESS
This is a tie.
He Hong Shan walked into RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE and completely stole the show from so many incredible actresses it boggles the mind. She's adorable but with a charmingly devilish twist. I can't believe China hasn't found that perfect role for her yet.
https://mydramalist.com/people/7761-he-hong-shan
Back to MAKE A WISH: Gia Ge is simply breathtaking. You hang on her every word and line. (I really hope that's her acting and not some other girl's voice on top.)
https://mydramalist.com/people/41105-gia-ge
BEST NEW UNDER-USED ACTOR
Another tie, both men from REBEL PRINCESS.
The lead Zhou Yi Wei may be better looking than the legendarly and lovely Zhang Zi Yi, which isn't easy to pull off. But since she plays her role frustratingly low key, this man must carry the romantic weight of this show on his shoulders -- and with his acting skills and looks -- completely pulls it off.
https://mydramalist.com/people/7743-zhou-yi-wei
But within the same show is an actor I nick-named 'Aquaman', because he's sort of the Chinese answer to Jason Momoa. I can't quite figure out which actor he is (Peng Bo?) but this is a picture of him --
Oh, and ladies -- if this ain't enough 'hunk' for you, Tony Yang is in this series as well.
ACTRESS WHO NEEDS TO STOP STALKING ME
I was introduced to Zeng Yi Xuan in RUYI but she keeps popping up in other things I've watched, including IMPERFECT LOVE, REBEL PRINCESS, LUOYANG.
https://mydramalist.com/people/41985-zeng-yi-xuan
ACTOR WHO NEEDS TO STOP STALKING ME
Liu Duan Duan comes off to me as a Chinese Michael Jackson wanna-be, which means his appearances in Imperial Dramas just don't work for me. JOY OF LIFE, REBEL, LUOYANG -- I can't shake this 'Smooth Criminal'.
https://mydramalist.com/people/7638-liu-duan-duan
BEST SOAP OPERA
No contest -- THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN. This story focuses too much on archiecture in the Bund during what I believe is called the Republican era, but forget I said that. The cast is fantastic and the INSANE soap opera twists and turns make this MUST CHINESE TV.
The problem there is no proper subtitled version of this, and so you have to dance around the net to see most of it. Now I know someone will invariably post a link to YouTube where this series has subtitles --
-- but you don't understand. They're weak subtitles and there's about 6 episodes in a row deep in the series without subtitles at all, making you watch the show on Dramacool -- where -- the audio is out of sync. WORSE: whenever a song is played in this series, which is often, it is edited out of the YouTube links, forcing you back to Dramacool to find out what happened. Often it's big story moments. BEYOND frustrating.
MOST OVER-RATED SERIES
So far it's JOY OF LIFE. I'm not saying it's bad, but it's weaker than almost every series I've seen. In my review on this site I explain why, but (in a nutshell) the smug main character destroys all dramatic tension (since noting bothers him ever) and this wordy talky series took 25 or so episodes to hook me. Which is absurd considering CRAFTSMAN takes two episodes. (Two!!!)
Battle scenes in REBEL are epic and riveting. In JOY they play salsa music. I shake my head...
BEST ACTRESS IN CHINA
No contest -- Zhou Xun. If I ever bumped into her in Los Angeles (somehow) I'd do a Royal bow and kneel so fast it would alarm her. It's that most rare actress that can play any role at any age with grace and beauty. America had Bette Davis, Chinese has Zhou Xun. I'll watch anything with Bette Davis or Zhou Xun.
BEST ACTOR IN CHINA
I don't feel like I've seen enough actors but so far WALLACE HUO (RUYI and CRAFTSMAN) has no male peer. I hang on his every word. He also can play different types of people well. I have no American equivalent for him. He's more serious than Cary Grant, not as serious as Gregory Peck, and more handsome than Humphrey Bogart. I suppose he's something like Gary Cooper but a much better actor. I'll have to think about this, lol.
BEST BITCHY ACTRESS THE DESERVES A GLOBAL STAGE
The ONLY reason I finished JOY OF LIFE was Xin Zhi Lei. Her role in RUYI is beyond belief. Such an incredible balance of beauty and evil. You love to hate her -- with a passion. Everywhere she appears, and yes even in JOY OF LIFE, you sit on the edge of your seat to see what she says next. Her open contempt for royalty leaves you in awe. Where all others would be beaten to death she just smirks and walks off. It's INCREDIBLE.
If I could get Hollywood to listen to me, I'd pitch Xin Zhi Lei as a James Bond franchise spinoff. That MI6 would have a secret agent in China doing the bidding of the West. The thing is she'd notoriously ignore orders and do whatever she thought was best. And the Chinese audience would love it. But the same character would be exploited by the West to sometimes (only sometimes) criticize certain element of Communist China.
In other words, bitchy but beautiful Xin Zhi Lei would be an ambassador for West and East, trying to find a happy place for both persuasions to admire each other. And let me be clear she'd speak almost entirely in Chinese, except when she might drop the F bomb at a Western spy (Bond?) trying to get in her way.
That is not a woman. That is a weapon.
BEST ENSEMBLE
Another No Contest -- RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE. The weapon above, Zhou Xun, Wallace Huo, Li Qin -- the list goes on and on. And a special nod to the incredible Janine Chang as Ruyi's... urm... best friend? You have never seen a human so devoted to another. Even when told to back off a bit, lol.
https://mydramalist.com/18756-ruyis-royal-love-in-the-palace/cast
BEST HIDDEN ROMANCE
Sorry to not let RUYI go, but there's a top secret love affair in this show that sneaks up on you and moves your heart and soul. I cried something silly when it... ended. (And it has nothing to do with Wallace.)
BEST OVERALL SHOW
No surprise here: RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE. Unfortunately it's a loooooong show, full of tragedies, and might send you to a therapist in the second half. It not only gets inside you but then takes over. It's probably about 6 episodes too long but that's because the show has a thing where they'd introduce a new actress and tell a new story. The last two ladies were great but it felt like too much, in the sense you wanted to know how the story would end instead of meet two more people.
I know people who rewatch this series like it's FLUFF. Once a decade will be enough for me, but I sense I will rewatch it in 2030, lol.
