Some folks may think I’m covering the C-drama adaptation of Lost You Forever a lot (comparatively) but those who read my novel translations know I’m probably not talking about it enough. I have so much to say still but am almost too happy with the drama version I don’t know where to start. The five leads are perfectly cast as this point (21 episodes in), Yang Zi has chemistry with all three potential love interests equally but each in different ways, the directing is measured and lovingly presented (the set pieces and costumes are muah *chef’s kiss*), and it stays about 95% exactly as the book write with the 5% changes basically all Xiang Liu added scenes that the book leaves silent for the readers to assume but now we see happen. The drama just hit an astronomical 33,000 hot buzz on Tencent and we get a cute poster of Xiao Liu (miss that sneaky snarky girlboy) with gone too soon Fei Fei baby making a “humph” noise probably about his sacrificial demise for the plot.
Tencent also heard the fan howls of misery and added one episode drops this Thurs and Fri rather than a 5 day break so thank god for that. I did pay more attention to the airing calendar and realized Tencent also gave spoilers about the plot in each of the episodes with a symbol that gives it away (at least for me who knows the novel inside out). For example today’s episode 21 has a swing and we see Cang Xuan and Xiao Yao back on Xi Yan (Xuan Yuan) Mountain and he pushes her again on the swing under the Phoenix Flower Tree. So episode 23-24 has the Fish Amethyst (Jing and Xiao Yao), 25-26 has Xiang Liu’s mask (unmasking Bei as Xiang Liu), episode 27-28 has kissing lips (Jing and Xiao Yao in Chen Rong (Sheng Nong) Mountain), 29-30 is the Phoenix Flower Tree (Xiao Yao’s assassination), 31-32 is the white clam shell (underwater kiss healing), 35-36 is a broken heart (Xiao Yao breaking up with Jing), and 37-38 is Xi the word for wedding/celebration (Jing’s wedding), and 39 ends Part 1 with a black royal hat (I’m guessing Cang Xuan/Zhuan Xu’s ascension as the King/Black Emperor).
Surprised that you are so happy with this drama when the special effects are so freaking unrealistic and obviously low-budget, practically on par with Legend of Anle. Yang Zi looks so unnatural in many scenes as well.
When u say Yang zi look so unatural in some scenes, u r totally right, I blame her hair styles, she could have been styled better to frame a face beautifully. Sorry to say this but she looks constipated when her whole hair is pushed back.It doesn’t take away much from the show because the plot n the acting is good.
Some dramas even if they lacked special effects and feel unrealistic, as long as the storytelling is good, the acting was great, the plot is different, I will continue watch and support the drama. Those previous dramas people hype and highly talk about with high budget, great costume, high quality special effects, if the story no compelling enough or too much suffering on the MC, too much of misunderstanding or the mc too naive or not considering people around them, sorry it is not my cup of tea. probably will watch few episodes and skip other, and direct to final episode just want to know what ending is.
That’s only if the drama doesn’t have a lot of budget to splash out on special effects and costumes, like The Untamed and Word of Honor. Lost You Forever has very high budget, yet it doesn’t reflect at all in the quality of its special effects and costumes. Makes one think where all the money went to, marketing and buying data perhaps? I’m not going to support a drama that’s so perfunctory, it only encourages production teams to continue making such shoddy works.
Haha yes, just think of The Untamed. We all loved it to pieces but productionwise I still laugh when I remember it.
word of honor is a favorite of mine, it’s my beloved dangai BUT the special effects are really so laughable! i always facepalm everytime they use that same river. it’s like there’s only one river in the jiang hiu. lol! some sets were even reused for other scenes. that’s because shl had a low budget, despite that, it’s very obvious how everyone really put their heart into making the show, that’s why i love it to bits.
as for LYF… i can’t say i’m not disappointed they didn’t go all out with cgi and the costumes 🙁 it would’ve made the show even better.
It’s funny how LYF charts so high with hundreds of hot searches everyday yet advertisers have been withdrawing their ad placements for it. I heard that it’s now left with 1 drama-specific ad (and this ad was from a company whose product was endorsed by TJC), not counting the general ads that’s shown in all Tencent dramas.
I love reading your update for Lost You Forever! Like you I am loving this adaptation, thank god Tong Hua is involved in this and we get sooo many new scene and we can see events from other characters POV rather than just with XiaoYao. I hope it will stay like this until the end!!!
Koala, you deserve to talk about Lost You Forever coz you translated the novel. So please continue to update us. I love all chemistry of the male leads with Yang Zi. And Yang Zi is looking so pretty. Love her acting too. Superior production values compared to lots of Xianxia dramas. Guess it makes a difference when the screenplay is by the same author.
I get that u love the drama because the acting is good n it stick close to the book. But the is nothing chef kiss about the costumes n set designs expecially, now that they have moved from the village part.u can see the fakness of the set is even laughable, it so apparent that u notice it straight away. The costumes are good but nothing ground breaking. Let call a spade a spade, peace out .
Has anyone read about the new regulation that episodes now have to be 45 mins (or less) and seasons have to be broadcasted 12 months apart? If this impacts Lost You Forever, I’m definitely not going to start watching it now…
It won’t impact LYF because the drama has already finished shooting its season 2 scenes before the regulation was written.
thank you Jurippe! I was so scared I had to wait a year to start this drama :’) I don’t want the season to end on a cliffhanger and I can’t watch the next episode. I’m showing a lot of restraint despite all these positive reviews making me waver.
I’m starting to lose interest because it is so damn slow, like drinking tea. Haha. YZ styling is overall bad. Her transformation from boy to girl is mediocre. Scenes were it should be wow were meh. It should be her shinning moment e.g. becoming a girl, coming out party… it just fell flat. Deng is but a flower vase at this point. So far the theme with each ML is just rotating but the story hasn’t progressed much. I am surprised that this drama is popular but I can’t see it. And agree above, CGI sucks you can tell, even Fei Fei looks so present-day character edited into a period drama. A lot of green screen used.
Comparing this to TTEOTM which was panned, I don’t understand. TTEOTM story moved so fast I can’t wait to see what’s next.
This one… drinking tea… drinking tea.
TTEOTM story might have moved fast but it was a super shitty story, so that’s not saying much.
I’m not even watching LYF (yet) but gosh TTEOTM was a huge waste of time. All it had was big budget costumes and CGI.
i only watched 4 eps of the show so far, i’ll wait for both s1 and s2 to air before i’ll continue watching because i’m impatient af. but i get so excited everytime wetv posts trailer for every ep haha.
anyways, i’m really glad that the drama doesn’t stray too far from the novel, and that the added scenes were xiang liu scenes, and he’s my favorite character so i don’t really mind. the only thing bothering me is the CGI… sometimes it’s so bad it makes me wonder if LYF is really an S+ drama. i wish tencent got stellar gravity (producer of love between fairy and devil aka cang lan jue) 🥲 but hey, atleast the storytelling isn’t over the place and the acting is really good!
ever since becoming a cdrama fan, i always watch yangzi’s dramas and i liked every drama she’s in. in 2021, i really liked the psychologist. in 2022, immortal samsara, and this year, 2023, lost you forever. not really a huge fan of yangzi but her dramas always lure me in.
Funny how Yang Zi’s appearance is the focus of these negative remarks. which, based on general audience remarks I’ve seen on other platforms, I don’t think is lacking. (a very obvious biased comment from an anti)
Anyhow, I’m glad that the drama stays extremely true to the original source; it keeps getting better because the plot is progressing with the FBB character introduction and the palace politics that Xiao Yao and Cang Xuan need to sort out. Additionally, Jing and Xiao Yao’s relationship is headed towards disaster.
Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms has poor CGI, but most Chinese drama lovers still consider it to be one of the best xianxia, so there!
I don’t even want a Part 2 but hopefully the LYF team uses the 3 month break to redo the cheap special effects. The director is young and pacing is her weakness.
The first chapter of the drama in Qingshui Town was good because of the non CGI sets, once they went to the palaces it became melodramatic and draggy like a typical palace drama. Nevertheless if the palace arc is scripted and filmed properly it should be more watchable since palace dramas are banned and people craved this genre. Unfortunately it feels like kids cosplaying grown ups because TongHua has never been good at writing power play arcs, she’s a romance novelist and I doubt she has the guts to change her own plot so it will plod along according to the novel, well I lost interest once they got into power machinations during the book too.
Scarlet Heart was 35 episodes so Tonghua’s weakness at writing non-romantic arcs was not exposed, LYF is much longer than it needs to be for a romance plot that is essentially Scarlet Heart’s FL v 4 MLs rehashed.
Eee why some people are so bitter about the drama?
I agree with Koala. I have very soft spot for this drama especially after reading the novels. And I have been actively stalking anh news regarding LYF. So please keep it up esp the hype.
Please people, acting and plot wise, it’s better than most recent Chinese dramas esp TTEOTM, I dropped it half way due to the mouth spitting blood scenes. *cries*
Ha ha you all are slowly convincing me, if it’s episode 21 and you still like it, maybe I’ll start watching too though I might want to finish The Longest Promise first (I am a slow watcher…). I am also Watchung Mysterious Lotus Casebook and My Lovely Liar, but those 2 I just started, I can’t add a forth drama!
So are we really going to have to wait one year for the rest of the episodes meaning season 2 to air? 🤦🏿♀️🤦🏿♀️. I hear it has to be 12 months between seasons now?
Lost You Forever Part 2 is reportedly slated for Lunar New Year 2024 period so sometime in late January/early Feb 2024. So about a 5-6 month wait.
As a book fan I’m really enjoying it so far. The drama is everything I could’ve hoped for and more. I’m pleasantly surprised by how well casted the characters are especially Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao. Now I dread the wait for part 2..
It’s interesting to see how some people continue to watch a drama despite criticizing its acting, actress’s face, CGI, unrealistic sets bla bla. I didn’t notice these flaws until they were mentioned, and even then, I found them tolerable. For me, the story and the actors’ ability to portray their characters’ emotions are the most crucial elements of a drama. If you hate it, stop watching and move on to another drama la. You’re just spoiling other people’s moods who like the drama very much and some haters even complain about miss koala commenting on how much she likes the drama. go find another blog that hates the drama, I’m sure you will find peace.
Charting high but losing advertisements. Why? Logic isn’t playing right.
It’s Yang Zi the queen of marketing, and this drama has been certified as a waterfall drama. So most yxh and cnets expect heats to reach 50,000 at least. Heat index so high, views mediocre and discussion so low. Most are just waiting to see how high Tencent and this drama and all it’s actors can blow themselves up with it’s watery data.
Where can I read/ get the books in English ???
Soy mexicana y puedo decir que en mexico ha sido muy bien aceptado me encata la trama me gusta mucho la actuacion de la protagonista excelente elenco !! X.L. mi favorito de los protagonistas masculinos para que se quede con X.Y . Espero llegue la segunda temporada de este drama pronto. Saludos ..