Seige in Fog

Siege in Fog 迷雾围城 starts out mired in controversy as author Fei Wo Suo Si 匪我思存, who also wrote Chronicle of Life sues the production for breaching a 5-year contract that ended March 2016.

In their defense, the producers claim that a substantial investment has already been made since December of last year with no objections from Fei Wo Suo Si and for her to suddenly demand an extravagant sum is unfair and unwarranted.

Not sure what will happen here but stills are out for Siege in Fog, which is a romance drama starring Elvis Han and Sun Yi. Elvis Han has been getting major exposure since Monster Killer with the potential to become the next big star thanks to his smoking physique and onscreen charisma and I swear, I don't ogle every single time but he seriously looks mighty fine in a suit.

Seige in Fog will revolve around a love-hate relationship between its leads where the protagonist is a cut below the average immature male by forcing his love interest into a marriage she never wanted.

To make matters worse, lies of epic proportions are uncovered, putting the married couple at odds with each other. Already, it sounds like Chronicle of Life in a Republican setting, no thank you.

For synopsis, cast and ratings, see 2016 c-drama recommendations.

Source: EntPeople

First Look: Chinese Paladin 5

Chinese Paladin 5 Yun Zhi Fan (CP5) 雲之凡 comes back with a tried and tested formula that is familiar yet uniquely Paladin, rehashing the archetypical diamond in the rough, the ravishing female heroine and the quintessential cool guy to match the plucky second lead.

The series is led by Elvis Han, Gu Li Na Zha, Joe Cheng, Gina Jin and Xiao Cai Qi, a beautiful cast as usual and I expected as much from the Chinese Paladin franchise.

Episode 1 begins with a voiceover introducing the events 20 years ago when Jiang Shi Li allegedly colludes with the You Min Tribe, immortals expelled by the Goddess Nu Wa, to take over the human race. 

In the name of good, the Four Great Houses and the Seven Saints of Mountain Zu launch an attack to destroy the alliance. Jiang Shi Li is defeated and captured in a pool of red blob but not before he sends his pregnant wife to safety (so many against one, it's hardly a fair fight).

In the present, Jiang Yun Fan (Elvis Han) is a foolhardy lad under the care of the big bandit, his protective godfather, who wishes for Yun Fan to live a happy and carefree life just as his birth mother entrusted.

After a job that goes off without a hitch, the gang is astonished to discover that the treasures they lugged back to camp are merely eight men bound men kept in a box. Determined to find the real treasure, Yun Fan takes it upon himself to interrogate the head eunuch only to be knocked unconscious by a hooded figure.

Up in the air, a blue shadow soars at full speed towards the Mountain of Zu. Sensing the presence of a demonic aura, the Seven Saints of Zu Mountain rush to secure the blood jade which has engulfed Jiang Shi Li for the past 20 years. 

Long You (Joe Cheng) succeeds in breaking the stone but soon notices that it regenerates with surprising ease. Since the Seven Saints are at his trail, Long You retreats while expressing amusement at his current predicament. 

Long You is the 2nd Prince of the You Min Tribe and he learns that only a half man half human can wield the Fu Xi Sword that is powerful enough to shatter the blood jade once and for all. 

This person is none other than Jiang Yun Fan, Jiang Shi Li's long lost son who wakes to realize that he lost all the captives during his watch. Ashamed, he writes his godfather a letter saying that he is leaving to hunt down the missing hostages. 

Along the way, Yun Fan meets Tang Yu Rou (Gu Li Na Zha) as she is caught in a skirmish with a band of demon monkeys. Always the courageous man, Yun Fan runs to save the damsel in spite of Yu Rou being more than capable of handling her own as she helps him in the background.

Yun Fan takes Yu Rou back to camp where she is welcomed with open arms except for Cai Wei, the lone woman who finds something fishy behind Yu Rou's seemingly innocent persona. Upon discovering her medical skills, the men line up with their respective ailments and in order to find herbs, Yun Fan and Yu Rou head up to the mountains.

First Impressions: Despite being a fan of Elvis Han in Monster Killer, I find him oddly out of place in ancient garb. Apparently, so do netizens who pick on his auburn hair and the fact that he isn't Hu Ge. However, I refuse to stay fixated on appearances because that aside, Elvis Han has been decent as the unpolished hero of CP5.

While CP5 does not pack the same punch as CP1, in its defense, the original had the advantage of a fresh concept, enamoring viewers with iconic characters made more memorable thanks to a spectacular soundtrack. CP5 on the hand has enormous expectations to live up to, and for the most part, it manages to entertain.

Besides, talk about contrasting opinions because Joe Cheng and his blue mane is a clear winner. As an actor who got his break in Taiwanese rom-coms, he is killing it in his first foray into Chinese martial arts dramas by becoming the living and breathing incarnate of a prince from the underworld. Is he evil or is he not? I have to know (fangirls)! Continue to episode 2 recap.

For synopsis, cast and ratings, see 2016 c-drama recommendations.

Source: Ent163

Go Princess Go and Monster Killer in hot water

Pardon my far-from-perfect Chinese skills, but if my interpretation is correct, the highly-talked-about drama Go Princess Go has been taken down from video-hosting sites due to a breach of moral values. I have seen a couple of episodes of Go Princess Go and I can see that its quirky humor may not sit well with China's censorship agency known as SAPPRFT.

Go Princess Go would have been your average drama if not for its outrageous over-the-top storyline that you will either love or hate. If you are the former, you probably cannot stop watching. Fortunately, the drama is only blacklisted for the time being as its broadcasting company LeTV announced that scenes are being re-edited to accommodate SARFT's citations.

A second drama called Monster Killer, which I absolutely love, is also temporarily banned in China maybe for violence (again sorry for my weak translation skills). It's not all bad for Monster Killer because it just had a pretty good run in Hong Kong with its final episode ending at an all-time high. While Monster Killer still can't compare to mainstream dramas, it has amassed enough attention to boost the popularity of rising star Elvis Han (Chinese Paladin 5). Seriously, he is a good-looking guy with a six-pack. Who can resist?

Source: cankaoxiaoxi, People

Chinese Paladin 5

Chinese Paladin 5 Yun Zhi Fan 雲之凡 is the highly-anticipated third installment of the popular Chinese Paladin franchise. This is the first time that Hu Ge will not be appearing in the series, which is a relief considering his character Li Xiao Yao would have aged considerably since Chinese Paladin 1. 

Yun Zhi Fan's main leads are rising stars Elvis Han (Monster Killer), Gu Li Na Zha (Legend of Nine Tails Fox) and Taiwanese actor Joe Cheng (It Started With a Kiss). Elvis Han caught my eye as the man without a heart in Monster Killer but didn't leave much of an impression as one of Guo Jing's two disciples in the Romance of the Condor Heroes. Maybe short hair just suits him better because something also felt amiss in his Chinese Paladin 5 attire. On the contrary, Joe Cheng is sizzling with charisma. I never imagined that the anti-social genius in It Started With a Kiss would look like that in what I think may be his first period drama.

Much like its predecessors, Chinese Paladin 5 is about be the age old story of a man's journey to become a legendary hero, yet this time around, the protagonist Jiang Yun Fan's bright and positive persona is layered with the stigma from being the son of a murderous villain. 

On a sidenote, I was browsing through articles and apparently, Jiang Jin Fu (Legend of Qin) and Victoria Song (Ice Fantasy) were initially in talks for the lead. I follow k-pop group Fx and their leader Vic umma is drop-dead gorgeous but from the stills alone, the casting change was definitely a good thing. 

For more 2016 c-drama recommendations, click here. Release date: May 2016 (avaliable on viki).

Sources: Bizhi4493, JieMian

First Look: Monster Killer (Wu Xin Fa Shi)

Monster Killer 無心法師 is a 20-episode Chinese drama starring Elvis Han (Chinese Paladin 5) and Gina Jin (Qin's Moon).

Episode 1 begins on a stormy night where a monk (Elvis Han) walks along a dreary path. An army of soldiers accidentally throw him off the cliff saving nothing except for a piece of his clothing. The monk miraculously survives unscathed and encounters Yue Ya (Gina Jin), a young girl on the run from her evil stepmother.

With nowhere else to go, they travel together to an obviously haunted mansion to procure medical supplies for Yue Ya's injured leg. True enough, something wicked lives under the well, yet the monk named Wuxin remains largely unfazed because it turns out that he is actually a demon hunter in disguise.

First impressions: Martial arts dramas are an acquired taste. Martial arts fantasy dramas even more so. I for one wouldn't tell my rom-com-watching friend to check this out. However, if you like sci-fi, you might like this.

From the get go, this seems like my kind of storyline and it doesn't disappoint. The story progression is similar to an anime where the protagonist faces different enemies along the way but there is a bigger story to connect the dots in the form of Wu Xin's nemesis Yue Qi Luo (Chen Yao). She was certainly evil but also one of the most intriguing characters in the drama second only to Wu Xin. If I had to complain, I don't understand why each character had to have some semblance of a bowl cut. 

For Monster Killer synopsis and ratings, see my 2015 Chinese drama recommendations.